Cupcakes and Musings: A Bird's Eye View

I'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine. (You know I'm desperate to get a puppy when I start naming the neighborhood wildlife... But that's another story for another time.) Today, I learned some unexpected lessons in family life from some mockingbirds.
About two weeks ago, two mockingbirds began building a nest in the woodwork above my backyard patio. I began to doubt that there would be any eggs waiting in this nest because it seemed so quiet, but the two birds busily continued to add twigs and weeds to their home. Days went by, and I kept checking for signs of baby birds to fawn over, but there was no such luck.

This morning, I awoke to the sounds of excited chirping from the backyard. The baby birds had finally arrived! All day, I've been fascinated with watching them through the window and from below on the patio. There's a tangible tingle of excitement in the air; I'm not even in the same species as these birds, and I can tell they're excited.

Like I said, I've been enamored with these birds all day. The mama and daddy birds were very clever with the placement of the nest - it's nearly impossible to get a good look at the new little birds. Being my curious, troublesome self, I was determined to get a long glimpse of these new babies, and I wanted to snap a photo. So I stood on a patio chair to get a closer look, making sure that the parent birds weren't in sight. Just when I was about to take a picture of the three most precious baby birds, one of the angry parents swooped at my head with lots of angry cries as the other watched closely nearby. Of course, I screamed and jumped off the chair and ran away. Really brave, right? As I retreated to the other corner of the patio to catch my breath, I realized that I had just witnessed some stellar parenting skills.

These mockingbirds are fierce protectors of their young, as I learned today. They plan ahead, and they're not impulsive. They're not helicopter parents, and they don't hover over the nest needlessly. They return every so often with some food for their little ones, and they strike swiftly at the first sign of trouble. The two parents work together as a team, and they both seem to have each other's back. I have to say, I admire that. Not being a parent myself, I can only imagine how difficult it is to strike that balance between protection and smothering. It seems like these mockingbirds have it right, though, and it's only their first day of parenting. Pretty impressive, I think.