Every evening when my helper arrives
she checks the baby Bluebirds, watches them being fed , takes images and has looked up a lot of information on these birds
and shares with me.
Oh how I hate to tell her this evening what happened.
I repeatedly chase the squirrels away as they sit on top of the Blue Bird house.
This is easy as I can just stand on the deck and clap my hands and they leave.
Now so sad as I recall yesterday evening.
All of family has left
I glance out of the window as I clean kitchen
and see a long thick item hanging out of the bird house.
Without thinking grab my long walking stick
head out the door, onto screen porch and down the stairs into the flower bed.
I want to cry, a snake hanging out of the opening and birds, the parents and several kinds are in a frenzy
flying around. I step off of the black top drive into the flower bed put the walking stick against
the snake trying to knock him off of blue bird house, he or she just crawls in the house.
I am helpless with my balance issue of going further into the garden and lifting latch on little house.
Tears flowing down my cheeks
as I imagine baby birds, fed by the parents and watched daily by me and Mashell
are being eaten.
I realize that it is difficult for me to return to house by stepping up on blacktop and continue up the steps and inside
realize I did not bring phone with me and for a moment frightened and fear falling
steadying myself I am able to step up on the blacktop and continue inside.
So thankful
and a reminder to start wearing an alert I have used and stopped when my son arrived
6 weeks ago.
5 comments:
This is a common problem for birds. I have seen wrens killed by a black snack. We got him out of the nest (in a kayak as wrens are so stupid where they nest) and took him deep into the woods, but he returned that evening when we were inside and ate the young. If it is a birdhouse you can looked into getting a baffle installed around the post or pole that will avoid squirrels and snakes. You also need to make sure the birdhouse is not within jumping distance of predators from shrubs or trees nearby or overhead. It is a terrible thing to see, but remember that new birds can come this summer or next year if you protect the house.
Thankful you got back into the house without incident. So sorry to imagine the trauma you encountered!
Oh dear Ernestine ~ What a traumatic thing for you to witness. I am so glad you made it safely back inside. I wear a little zippered fanny pack that I keep my cell phone in when I am outside in case of an emergency, plus it comes in handy for taking pictures.
Love you and pray for you dear heart ~ FlowerLady
I cant stand the thought of snakes--especially one in my bird house.
So hard to handle that part of nature. I am often reminded that all predators must eat, too, and that hunting prey is the natural way of life for animals which eat meat/fish. Painful, nonetheless, to see this happen. I am sorry you had to see this and sorry about your helper having to face this. I have a friend in GA who gave up on her birdhouses entirely because of snakes. The issue persisted no matter what she did. They climbed the arbor, trees/shrubs, etc. We have crows in our area which watch our gardens daily and which I scare away with claps and screams. I am not on guard duty 24/7 however. Our nest of baby Juncos left the nest on Sunday, a day or 2 earlier than expected. Crows were waiting, of course, so we spent an entire afternoon guarding the babies and helping their frantic bird parents, hoping to prevent murder in our gardens. I don't know if they are safe now or not and think about them constantly.
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