Basic Instincts

As we were saying farewell to to our neighbors who had stopped by for a visit, M and her baby E , we noticed that the first brave baby bird had jumped from the nest and was wobbling across our side yard. M's dog made a dash for the helpless youngster, but M was able to call her off with no harm done.

We breathed a sigh of relief and headed towards the back of the house, looking again for the bird, hoping to get some action shots of his flying attempts... but we weren't in time to prevent what happened next. The poor little thing had decided to head back through our fence towards its nest, underneath which our dog Maddie was waiting. I'm sure the scream that emitted from my throat scared more than just the dog (and probably convinced my neighbors that I am a little crazy). Maddie did drop the fledgling after a second shrill scolding... but it was too late. We buried the little guy near where he had spent a few fleeting moments of his too-short life, hopping and flopping around like a baby bird should.

I'm not sure whether my tears pushed him to do this, but Ryan promptly put up a makeshift fence around the nest so that the other three, when they become bold enough to take that leap of faith, have a fighting chance.