The third

I don’t recall if I mentioned this on the blog or not.  Shortly before I left for Roatan another set of three baby mockingbirds hatched at the same spot as before, under the solar panels.  I assume it was a different mockingbird mom this time.  She just sort of cleaned up the existing nest instead of rebuilding it.  Before I left the three babies were very small, unfeathered and helpless.

When I returned one of the first things I did when I went into the chicken yard was check on the baby’s progress.  They had grown, had feathers but there was a problem, I only saw two of them.  The nest had become somewhat dislodged and was sitting at an odd angle, presumably from not being completely renovated.  Maybe it was excessive rain or  the weight of the baby birds that dislodged it but the end result was one baby was now gone.  I scoured the ground looking for it but had no luck, of course this made me sad.  A couple days later the damaged nest was once again empty, presumably the babies were able to fly away, a process which happens amazingly quick with mockingbirds.  Well at least two made it.

So yesterday I am out tending to Kathy.  I see she is in the old chicken tractor hanging out.  As I walked over to check on her I see something else on the ground.  As I got closer I could hardly believe it, it was the third baby mockingbird.  It traversed at least 75 feet to get to there it was and was smart enough to find a spot that gave some protection/shelter.  My initial thought was I needed to do something to ensure it’s survival.  I tried putting water nearby and some dried worms.  All that did it was scare it.  It sort of tries to fly on the ground very clumsily.

As I was standing there trying to imagine what I could possibly to do to help the little thing I heard it, the sound of the mockingbird mother.  I am quite familiar with the sound as anytime I was near the nest she would fly away but make sounds letting me know she was watching.  Well I heard her up in the oak tree right above me.  I am presuming she is still flying down and tending to her baby until it is strong enough to fly on it’s own. The baby is pooping and looks healthy enough so mom must be feeding him.  Ever since this discovery I do a baby check every time I am out there.  Finding out the third was not lost helped brighten a time period that could use a little light.  I look forward to the day where he is nowhere to be found, hanging with his siblings in the sky where he belongs.