Its All About The Birds!

  Obviously, birds are meant to be my friends.  Lately, that has become more apparent than ever.  I think nothing of hand feeding the herons, egrets and pelicans but now I can add wild quail and mockingbirds to the list.  Over the past few years, I have picked up chimney swifts, catbirds, mockingbirds, cardinals, doves, wrens, woodpeckers, blue jays and owls.  Of those, only the cardinal decided to give me a good peck.  The others calmly accepted the fact that I was merely trying to help them.  The cardinal was evidently in pain after being hung up in some wire and, perhaps, I used a bit more force than necessary in freeing the bird.  That said, the newest escapade involved a juvenile eastern bluebird.  No, I did not actually hand feed nor hold the youngster but it seemed to be highly attracted to me, for some odd reason. 

  Early this morning as I was picking the figs, I heard the bluebird family making their way to the birdbath.  Each morning, I have watched as they start their day by splashing in the cool water.  It never occurred to me that I would have a "close encounter" with one of the little ones.  This morning, however, one little rascal decided to take flight before the parent birds gave their directions.  The squirt flew directly for the fig trees and, therefore, directly toward me.  Maybe the little one did not see me but it nearly landed on my hand as I was reaching up to pluck a fat fig.  Can you imagine the poor thing's thought when it realized that it was almost in my clutches (which was never my intention in the first place).  Both parent birds came fussing at their little one to "abort the mission" and retreat!  The little one tried but being a novice at this flying stuff, it simply fluttered to the ground.  There, it sat, bewildered.  Mama and Papa Bluebird came to investigate the safety of their wayward child and, then, came to investigate the person picking figs.  After flitting about the tree for a few moments, they seemed assured that I meant no harm so they gathered their brood and went to search for grasshoppers in the lawn.  Our brief encounter ended on a happy note.