Outside our front bedroom is an evergreen tree. In the spring Bob noticed a lot of action taking place in and around that tree. It turned out to be a nest being built by mockingbirds. We thought it would be a wonderful chance to document through photographs the hatching and development of the baby birds. I did some research online and found interesting information. Apparently the pair of mockingbirds did not get their information from the same source! Things did not go according to the plan outlined on the websites. There were four eggs and they had hatched over a period of four or five days. Once the eggs hatched the babies were supposed to be in the nest for 12 days. We had to get out a ladder each time I wanted to take pictures and we couldn't tarry too long. The chicks needed feeding every 10 to 15 minutes. That's a lot of feeding! The parents were fairly patient with us and our camera. One evening, about day 7 or 8, I tried to get some good shots. The oldest chick had finally gotten some real feathers. I was unable to get any good, clear shots but got one that was reasonably usable. I thought I would have more opportunities; those are famous last words! The next morning there was a lot of squawking and commotion in and around the nest. Both mockingbird parents were in a tizzy. We thought maybe a squirrel or other invader was trying to get into the nest. We peered into the nest and it was empty! No babies were to be found. They couldn't have flown away; only one had any real feathers the evening before. We looked under the cedar tree and saw two baby birds; both appeared dead. We felt sick and wondered if there had been an invader after all. Later in the morning we thought maybe we could try putting one of the babies back in the nest; maybe they weren't dead and would revive. So back out to the tree we went and got down on the ground to look. I saw the oldest chick hop; it was alive! We eventually found one more baby and, leaving them alone, hoped for the best. Number three was definitely dead and we never found number four. I talked to a friend who had mockingbirds in his tree and found out the parents pushed the chicks out of the nest early in that case also. He tried putting them back into the nest and the parents promptly pushed them right back out again. Tough love, for sure! We never saw the baby birds after that. The nest was never used again. Now every time I see a young mockingbird in our yard I wonder if it's one of "our babies." We'll never know.
