It seems that, since Swiss Family Robin has made its home in the nest above my coach light (formerly known as One Mourning Dove Lane), my front porch has become their staging area. Papa or Mama Robin, with food for the young'uns in their beaks, seem to rest for a few moments on my front porch or its railing. I just looked out through the sidelights of my front door only to see a robin staring back at me.
Well, I was happy to be a grandpa to mourning dove chicks two or three times, so I guess I should be just as glad that now it's robins.
Actually, the Robin family chose a poor place to raise their Robinsons and Robindaughters. They used a nest that had been built by mourning doves the previous year (and used again by the doves earlier this season).
The mourning doves seem more adapted to being around human beings. The nest they built, atop a coach light right next to my garage door, is pretty close to human activity. The doves pretty much took it in stride when my car entered and left the garage, but it bothers the robins more: they often fly away when the car comes in or goes out. (I think actually it's not the car that spooks them but rather that they can see and recognize a human inside the car.)
So, given the robins' relative skittishness, that's a poor place for them to nest (although I guess it was okay in the end since they successfully hatched their eggs). But I feel akin to the robins here because I may have chosen my home poorly, too. Guess I'm no smarter than the robins. Call me bird brain.
Copyright © Richard Stein
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment