Unruly

When you spend time observing bird behavior, you can't help but draw some conclusions.  For example, if you watch Starlings you may be reminded of a loud, boisterous family gathering where a couple of the people have a little too much wine, words are spoken, food is thrown, feathers are ruffled. But when you add kids to the mix, any shred of manners just flies (yes, pun intended) right out the window.  I put starlings in about the same category as blue jays when it comes to the behavior of the youngsters - you have to wonder why the parents don't start flying and not stop until they've left all the loud, unruly kids far behind.  

Like most nesting birds, by the time the kids fledge, the parents are mere shadows of their former selves whereas the kids are big hooligans (except for my poor little brood of chickadees, but today is a new day).

I am happy to say that a rarely get starlings here in our garden.  But I can reasonably expect to get them en masse when the nearby nests start to fledge their young.  What started as one juvenile accompanied by two parents late yesterday became about 15 rowdy kids with parents in tow today.  The noise was incredible.  Even the blue jays were horrified; and the woodpeckers, titmice and 'dees were dumfounded.  

So, I enjoyed the morning, sitting under our canopy in a light drizzle, clicking away to my heart's content, entertained by the endless antics of the starlings.

Now, getting ready to operate the "decontamination station" as Hubs is doing our weekly grocery shopping.  It will be a quiet day today as the weather is calling for showers the rest of the day.  That's okay.  

Thank you for your empathy yesterday.  I am aware that I am on a thin emotional wire at the moment (like many of us) and that the fate of the chickadees felt far worse than it might have at some other time.  Certainly some have survived - I can see the parents shuttling food up high into the forest canopy where they have the survivors safely tucked away.  

Be kind.  Be safe.  Stay socially distant.  And rock your mask.

xo
Debbi

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