Lessons from a Mama Bird

The cat jumped off the kitchen counter as soon as I walked in. She knows she isn’t supposed to be on the counter, but a flutter at the window over the sink revealed the irresistible temptation to break my rule. A bird was building a nest in the window sill outside. I thought it odd, and when the nest sat empty for several days, I decided that Mama Bird must have been scared off by Minnie the cat. But a few days ago, I noticed that Mama Bird was back sitting on the nest, and neither my working at the sink, nor my cat’s repeated violations of the counter rule seemed to ruffle her feathers. So now each morning while I make my coffee, I say good morning to her and ask how she passed the night. I am looking forward to the day when little heads will be raising up and cheeping at me.

I worried about her the other night when thunderstorms moved through the area, preceded by strong winds and dumping more than two inches of rain in the space of an hour. But the next morning she was still on the nest and I was relieved. I’m curious about why she chose the window sill and not one of the dozens of seemingly more hospitable trees and shrubs in the neighborhood. After pondering it, I realize she probably has the safest nest on the block, thunderstorms notwithstanding. Instead of fighting a turf war with the gangs of squirrels that rule the trees, or risking her babes to one of the neighborhood’s marauding cats – my declawed, indoor cat not among them – she has chosen a spot where nothing without wings can reach her. Apparently her building skills could be the envy of New Orleans architects, as gale force winds did not disarrange a single straw from the nest.

I think she is a mockingbird, although my bird-watching skills are rudimentary, and my bird books are packed already for an anticipated move to Texas where, like Tennessee, the mockingbird is the state bird. I Googled mockingbird, and she certainly fits the physical description and coloring of a mockingbird, although Wikipedia declares that they build their nests in shrubs and trees. I may have to interact with Wikipedia (you can do that you know) and tell about my little mother who chose an unlikely, seemingly exposed location, which has proven to be a safe haven for her and her eggs.