Birds, Nests, and Eggs

Michael's job is eventually going to be installing sewer pipes at a part of town that still uses septic tanks. Before they can do that, though, they have to clear the brush to make room to dig. This has let to the discovery of nests and eggs.

The first nest they found, was so high up that they didn't see it until it was too late. One of them accidentally touched the nest and the eggs inside so it was abandoned by the bird. :o( They felt so bad about it.

A few days later, they spotted another nest. This one was lower to the ground, so was easy to see. Even I could see it with no problem, without even getting out of the truck! I did, though, because I was curious. Without touching, I was able to see 4 little eggs. They were light green and reminded me of Easter candy! I knew all birds couldn't lay eggs as big as chickens...but didn't know they came already dyed. hehehe

Michael and George were so excited about the 2nd nest. They purposely left the tree it was in and some surrounding bush so the bird would stay and feel safe enough to hatch her eggs. It worked. The bird even started to trust them and started to stay in her nest while they were working close by.

Their one mistake was to let the boss know. As soon as he was told, he grabbed a saw and cut down the tree! I was SO upset when Michael told me. The boss is my cousin and I wanted so much to give him a piece of my mind. Michael said that the nest was where they wouldn't reach it until well after the eggs had hatched...possibly not even until next spring or summer. There was no reason to cut down the tree. It was a senseless, very cruel thing to do and the next time I see my cousin, I will tell him how disappointed I am.

A few days later, Michael was driving toward the dump site to dump a load of brush they had cut. He noticed what looked like a bird in the road. It didn't move when he drove by and that seemed strange to him. He backed up and realized that it was still alive. Just like last time, he put his gloves on, picked it up, and put it in the grass along-side the road. He figures it must have been stunned by being bumped by a car or something. He stopped to check on it when he came back but the bird was gone. So at least we know he wasn't seriously injured.