A Face Only a BirdMom Could Love

As reported a few weeks ago the inside of my fence was the chosen spot for what I affectionately call my Mommy "Crackhead Robin" Not the brightest bulb in the birdy bunch I fear as she built her nest on the inside of a fence post facing my interior yard and deposited three gorgeous blue eggs in it. My yard is not only the home of 3 bird dogs but 3 cats that roam the inside perimeters. Rounding out the predator threat is a pine tree where the grackles nest just 30 yards away. I was never a Girl Scout as will be immediately evident when you see the photo of the makeshift screen I built around the nest using old sunflower stalks, jute and coconut liner. If this nest area was on Craigslist it would be described as a "charming fixer upper"

Fiona has been fascinated by the set of robins and has religiously watched the nest sight for the past few weeks. Ever the setter she will start her stalk the moment she leaves the doggie door and skulk slowly off the deck, around the corner, past the shed and then put a full out point to the nest. She does this roughly 57 times a day and will hold her point until she gets too tired and then will lay down and watch the nest. This robin vigil has created several worn grassy spots and two trampled hostas but you have to love her determination. Every day it's as if her memory has been erased and she is seeing those birds for the first time.

Today I arrived home late morning after running some errands, opened the doggie door and noticed Fiona making a strange whine from the corner of the yard she patrols so seriously. I glanced out the kitchen window and saw the nest completely on it's side with a strange little puff of fluff dangling out! I panicked and raced outside sans shoes to see Fiona chasing two loud grackles out of the yard. Thanks to my makeshift stalk configuration the nest was not on the ground and thanks to Fiona the grackles were gone. Nervous Robin-Mommy twittered on the neighbors roof as my husband put the nest back in place and snapped a picture of the lone offspring.

Talk about a face only a Crackhead BirdMom could love. The little chicken is just a big beak with a rubber neck and a little bit of fluff posing as feathers. But I am enamored with the little thing and so apparently is Fiona. She spent the rest of the day underneath the nest. I'm not so naive to think that if this little guy did hit the ground Fiona wouldn't have finished what the grackles started...but in my fairy tale world she is the protector of all that is good. I love the joy she has watching the nest and the joy we have watching her watch the nest. I bet when this little one grows into that beak he or she will be one lovely bird...with a great appreciation for English Setters.