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Natures Story

R

RayD

Guest
Watching Nature at Work

It was mid April 2004 when we noticed bits of straw, twigs and the like, on the patio floor, by the kitchen door.
Keeping watch from the greenhouse, we found it was starlings building their nest under the roof tiles.
This changed after a couple of weeks to both parents busy feeding some very noisy young.
We took little or no further notice of nature at work, until one morning we were confronted by a very noisy, and obviously agitated starling, on the lawn.
Its frantic calls were being answered by one of the young ones, but its answering call was not coming from the direction of the nest.
Using the method of placing ones ear to the bottom of a glass tumbler which in turn was pressed to the wall, (used for listening to the neighbours normally ) we were able to confirm that the young one had fallen down inside the cavity wall.
It appeared to be close to where a plastic drainpipe from the washing machine went through the wall to the drain outside.
The pipe was dismantled until the piece going through the wall could be removed.
Bingo! We were confronted by the face of a very frightened but, apparently, unharmed chick.
A garden bench was placed against the wall to allow the parent birds to land on the arm, which was just below the hole.
In next to no time the feeding process was resumed in earnest, with us being able to watch through the kitchen window.
It provided me with a ready made excuse not to cut the lawn or do any gardening, in case we frightened the birds away.
It was about the third or fourth morning after, that, after rising early, (about 10 am!)
I noticed the mother, perched on the arm of the bench, with a beak full of juicy grubs trying to entice the young one to come out of the wall.
This went on for several visits until, finally, out fluttered the young one on to the floor.
There then followed a hectic session of squawking as mom tried to urge her offspring to get out of sight.
Eventually, the youngster tried to follow mom across the lawn towards some safe looking bushes.
Suddenly, a black and white flash seemed to come from nowhere and the next minute our new-feathered friend finished up in the jaws of our neighbours cat. :drool:

I guess if it had not been the cat, it most likely would have been the magpie that had been patiently watching the event from a nearby tree.

Watching, and trying to interfere with nature can be a harrowing experience, but there again, we could be overrun with starlings, I guess.

They are nesting there again this year………….


Ray
 
Nature

Nature can be Cruel & Kind, its the way of life :(
People also can be Cruel or Kind
RayD your Good ,true story shows You & your people
ARE the kinda folks :lol: Cheers M8
 
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