Nature Diary #1

5.28.2011                          

The Way It Was, and The Way It Is

     Today I saw something that I  will never forget.  I hope that most of you out there won't be snickering when you read this but thinking about the title:

         In my yard, a bird sat there, not noticed by anything but the flies.  Soon my father found him and saw that it had been in a fight.  All the feathers on his head had been plucked out and all what was left was a red rotting head and two sullen eyes.  He was Alive, Breathing, And in pain.  But what struck me most was that he was only a baby bird.

         My father said that he most likely was in a nest or tree and fell out.  Then another bird must have mulled him.

         Occasionally, a fly would crawl up the still body and onto the head to lay maggot eggs on the rotten scalp.  As soon as the fly made contact with the exposed skin, the baby bird would shake it off.

          If this wasn't enough, I saw an older bird land onto the ground next to it.  The elder noticed the baby and nudged it.  Then she hopped a few yards away.  A moment later, she came back and stayed there for a while.  It struck me that this might be the babe's mother.  But after a long stay, she flew away. 

          Then, If That Was Not Enough, I heard a call from an anonymous bird.  The injured bird peeped in reply and started hopping into our neighbor's yard. He kept hopping and calling back.  Unfortunately he was going away from the sound.


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