Mr. & Mrs. Bluebird: The Saga Continues
Mr. Bluebird is missing!
Mr. Bluebird has not been seen for the past week. Mrs. Bluebird now has the full load of feeding their young. And it is not an easy task. She is continually finding grasshoppers and other bugs to faithfully deposit in the mouths of two hungry little ones.
There is one major obstacle that makes her duties as a mother and sole provider even more difficult. Mockingbirds! Each return trip she makes to the nest is a serious challenge. A mockingbird invariably attempts to snatch her catch from her. The continuous confrontations remind me of the family feud between the Hatfield’s and McCoys.
Recall that Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird had to fight with the mockingbirds in order to claim their rightful use of the bluebird box located on a tree next door (about ten feet away) to the mockingbird’s tree. Mr. & Mrs. Bluebird won the battle and set up housekeeping in the bluebird box which now houses two offspring.
As Mrs. Bluebird makes her approach to her nest, it is obvious most of the time that she has a fine catch of a grasshopper clutched in her beak. The mocking birds can’t resist and the aerial battle begins. Their maneuvers include climbs, dives, sharp left and right turns around trees, over trees, and through trees with the mockingbird in hot pursuit. It soon becomes a matter of endurance with occasional rest stops on a tree limb or power line.
It is the occasional rest stop that Mrs. Bluebird uses to her advantage. The mockingbird has a tendency to loose focus while waiting on Mrs. Bluebird to make her next move. After a short rest stop, the mockingbird will either spot a bug to catch or suddenly remember somewhere else to go.
Mrs. Bluebird will then make a cautious approach toward the birdhouse with stops along the way. Once she arrives, her babies consume her delivery in an instant. She perches on a nearby limb for just a little rest and relaxation only to be interrupted by the hunger cries of the little ones. Off she goes, one more time.
I wonder what has happened to MR. Bluebird?
‘Til next time,
Poppy
Wonderfull post will come back to view more for sure!