I could do a post about the amount of time Mike, Sebastian and even Sophia have spent playing Angry Birds on their Apple gadgets. When I think Mike is busy replying to email, checking the weather or looking up something on his iPhone, instead he is playing this game.
But I’m not actually referring to the Angry Birds game in this post. I’m talking about the family of robins that have taken over a tree in our backyard, including the surrounding perimeter. We noticed the nest a couple of weeks ago. The mom and dad robin would chirp whenever we went near the tree. We saw them flying in and out. Eventually they were flying to the nest with earthworms and other delicacies in their beaks. I took a peek into their inner sanctum on July 7 and saw this.
They didn’t exactly look like cute, fuzzy baby chicks like Sophia was anticipating. We lovingly referred to them as the four “Ugly Birds”. The days went by and the robin parents continued to take turns at the nest and brought food to the babies. We tried not to disturb them, but unfortunately their nest is right next to my rain barrel and compost container. Each time I made my way over to fill a watering can or deposit compost materials, the robins would start to freak out. This past weekend they not only freaked out, they started to dive bomb whenever we went near the area ~ thus their new name “Angry Birds”.
She seems cute and cuddly doesn’t she? Nope, she’s an Angry Bird.
He seems like a good dad, providing food for the family, right? Nope, he’s and Angry Bird.
I think Sophia was actually worried that they would land on her head and start pecking at her. Good thing she never saw the movie “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock.
We knew the mom and dad robin wouldn’t like it, but they were already mad at us so we grabbed a step stool and peeked into the nest.
The baby birds that had been pink-skinned with eyes that were sealed shut had grown feathers and turned into baby Angry Birds. I was able to snap a couple of photos before their mom and dad started making a huge fuss. By the time I moved the step stool away, one of the babies had flown to the ledge of the garage window. The whole family was chirping, swooping and generally freaking out. I guess I was a bad example to the kids who I’ve always told to leave a nest alone if they find it.
I did check back later in the day and found that all four baby birds were safely tucked back into their nest.
*No birds were harmed in the photography for this post.
M. Sullivan Photography 