Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Surprise

Imagine my surprise this morning when I stepped out my back door during my extra hour of the day and frightened a Mama red bird. She has just started this nest which is eye level and five feet from my back door. She chose a Rose of Sharon that volunteered in this wrong place. For three years now I have needed to move it. For three years now I have been doing ART instead.

Below is a side view of the nest and I hope you can see the stalk of dead flowers that hang down at the bottom. And can you see the little swirl of twisted vine right there above the leaf that I have documented on? This is ART.

Minutes later while at the kitchen window, I saw her dart around the corner. Oh gracious! My heart leaped knowing I was going to get to witness this house building. And oh gracious, could I possibly get a photo of her! First I had to run get the Windex and clean the windows. There are two. One in the door and one in the storm door. Mind you I didn't clean the whole window, just the little area my camera would look through.

Just after I was all focused and waiting, she came back with more house building supplies. I think she sees me. Oh how I wish I could stay and watch the whole event. I'm sure she will be finished today as fast as she is progressing. This is so exciting.
I Hope you have a surprise today.
Sharon

15 comments:

  1. This may be better than when we watched the little blue eggs hatch because your view will be daily. How lovely that she picked your window, she must have sensed your caring spirit and knew how safe she and her babies would be. Word spreads around the bird world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sharon, thanks for another beautiful bird post, one I'll definitely have to share with my mom-in-law. A mama blue jay used to build her nest on a limb right outside our second-story bedroom window and I loved watching.

    Sherry in Little Rock

    ReplyDelete
  3. Indeed, this is very exciting! I love to see Nature!
    Thank you for sharing this.

    --Jane

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is art! Lucky you to get to watch! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh! so very beautiful .... what a joyful surprise for you .. can't wait to see the egg pics soon!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh what a surprise for you. When witnessing things like this it almost seems like we are looking at God. Oh how I love birds and their miraculous ways. Great pictures too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Birds have to have the mot delicate of touch to weave and maneuver things they find into a nest. It is really a wonderous thing to see. Red birds are so special and we have a few, their song is also lovely. She is like a pioneer with a need and still it is a beautiful creation. I would name her Etta, the same are Butch Cassidy's lovely girl friend.

    When I comb the dog on a windy day sometimes birds fly right in and catch the dog hair floating on the wind. I always wonder if the nest gets wet if it smells like a wet dog.

    A lovely surprise for the day.
    Our surprise was a bear running at a great clip through the field.

    Up North with a smile, Emelie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sharon, Cardinals are just about my favorite birds. There is a reason - they are red, so I can SEE them better than other birds.....these days, too, I love to see the Mourning Doves priss across my deck to eat. They would be my favorite birds to HEAR. We recently had a wren build a nest in a basket high on a shelf in our garage. We had to leave the garage door open all day and half the night...just in case Mom and Dad needed to fly out for food. They are all gone now...another family on the move. And, yesterday, we FINALLY saw a hummingbird! Yes, backyards can be very entertaining!!! Glad to "see" you today!!! Pat

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a joy to watch.. Is not wonderful all the art in nature.
    Katelen

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh she's so lovely. How wonderful to be able to watch her close up. And good on you for *not* cleaning all the glass ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. How on earth do you manage to get such great views of your birdies? My birds are always way up inside a tree and I can't see them.

    I hope you'll post more pictures as everything progresses! I love seeing these kind of pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  12. How great is that? She knew you needed to see her build her nest and raise her young so that you could share the events with us.
    There are three little Cardinal babies flying awkwardly around in our yard...taking turns in the birdbath and fighting for a position at the bird feeder.
    What could be better than watching little ones grow up?

    ReplyDelete
  13. WOw Sharon I have never seen a red cardinal bird before !
    this morning I saw a kookaburra on a telephone wire - made my heart sing on the way to take my girls to school!
    Magic!
    Hugs
    Marelle (Australia)

    ReplyDelete
  14. this is so exciting, reminds me of a robin i watched last year. keep us updated!

    ReplyDelete
  15. She is beautiful! I miss the cardinals. We don't have any in my area. My sweet birds nest was robbed two days ago by a snake. The nest is on my front porch, a good 15 feet up and the darn thing got up there. I woke DH up at 11:00 to get it! Too late. Now they are hanging out on my back porch and I don't know what they will do next.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.