A current meme circulating among the GenX crowd hits home with me: “As you age, it’s ridiculous how quickly bird-watching creeps up on you. You spend your life being wholly indifferent to birds, and then one day you’re like, “darn, is that a yellow-rumped warbler.” I feel this — deeply.
As far as I know, I have never been a “bird lover.” I didn’t show an unusual interest in birds at any earlier point in my life. I admired their beauty and nest building skill, of course, but I never bothered to get to know them on a deeper level.
I didn’t wish birds any harm, but I wasn’t out looking for them either. I didn’t have a bird bath. We didn’t erect bird houses. I considered it an act of kindness when we sealed up the obvious gaps in our house so birds no longer came inside. When they did, they became panicky and trapped.
The birds and I seemed to be on the same page about cohabitating. We were against it. I felt about birds like I did most of nature — they could have “the great outdoors.” I claimed jurisdiction over our home.
Knocking
I did enjoy the sighting of cardinals, particularly the male ones (they’re prettier). Then one winter, a cardinal spent weeks trying to gain entry into our house. He was so angry that we wouldn’t throw open the door and usher him in.
He peered into a variety of windows, including the bathroom. I would be trying to take a shower, and there he would be, tapping, looking irritated and being visibly annoyed with me through the window. It felt personal.
Just a few years ago, I inherited quite a few bird books from my grandparents: the classic Audubon efforts. One was titled “A Field Guide to THE Birds.” Like, not just any birds, THE birds. It makes me laugh when I look at it.
I enjoy bird prints (again, I’m a sucker for Audubon prints). I have brass bird statues. I have carved wooden birds from Maine. I have ceramic birds (again, grandparents). I definitely have a bit of a “bird thing” going on.
Still, I’m basically a fraud. I don’t consider myself any kind of bird expert. I think they like berries and seeds. Is that right? They fly south for the winter, except when they don’t?
Over decades of boating, I have come to enjoy great blue herons. They stand so still and majestic along the shore. I give gulls a wide berth and hide my snacks accordingly. Pushy little buggers. I know geese are terrorists. I give turkeys a wide berth. I was attacked by a rooster once.
Nesting
I was getting ready to fluff and spring clean our big wrap around porch to enjoy for the summer. As I began to strip the winter cover off one of the gliders, I discovered the most cunning little bird’s nest tucked into the cushions. Inside this nest lay a pile of eggs.
Around me fluttered one very nervous mama bird. I understood her concern. There I was with my giant self, lumbering around her babies. If this bird had spent any time at all around our home, she knows I’m clumsy. I backed away with my hands up to show I meant no harm. Obviously, the porch belongs to the birds now. I’m not a homewrecker.
There is an irony in the fact that I am currently being held hostage by birds. Granted, hostage might be a strong term. Is “under siege” more appropriate? Which term properly conveys the drama of not being able to use a portion of my home?
I can’t use the space until the bird has hatched and raised her family. We would like our porch back before summer. I just hope these little birds are high achievers and head out on their own earlier rather than later.
As a mother of human children who has long believed that “healthy birds fly,” I don’t know what we will do if these are slacker birds with no desire to leave the nest on their own.
Still, my growing interest in birds has caught me quite off guard. I am seriously considering getting a bird feeder that can attach to a window. With this, we can have an up-close view of the birds. I claim this is for the cat but I’m not fooling anyone.
I’ve also added a wireless bird cam to my wish list in hopes of spying on the birds digitally with my mobile phone. This, obviously, is of no use to the cat. He doesn’t even have a mobile phone.
