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Mocking Birds Not Allowed!!

15 years ago

Where to start...? This first brood of this year (with 20 years or so "in the business") was the first time we've observed them daily with the camera in the box. It has been full of ups and downs, mainly due to our ignorance of what to expect.

Mom laid egg no.1 on 3/14 and she laid 4 more the next 4 days. She started to brood them on day 4 actually and the first egg hatched on 4/1. All five hatched and Mom and Dad worked to keep them fed and clean for about 10 days. We never saw Mom again after that.

Dad raised all 5 to fledging and we were priviledged to see 3 of our 5 babies step up to their little window on the world and jump. We missed seeing the first 2. That was this past Monday, 4/19.

Apparently the Mocking Bird with a nest in the front yard had decided she could tolerate 1 competitor, but not 6. We watched as she attacked 1 baby in flight only an hour or so out of the box. He died and he's the only one that we know where he is. We haven't seen Dad or the other babies again.

It's all how the Lord made it to work so we accept it, not happily, but we accept it. I'm thinking we shouldn't feed the next brood. They may become overly dependent on us, plus the food attracts other less desirables like this MB in our case.

We're just hoping another family will move in after this MB gets her little family out of the neighborhood.

I think we should let the cats stay out more, now that it's so warm.

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