On a terribly arid day in late August, a bird started hiding inside a hanging flower pot in the porch of our house. It stayed there for hours on end, completely still, and my sister and I were beginning to worry it was injured and simply couldn't get out of the dense foliage on its own. Not knowing if we were making a bigger problem out of the situation, we decided to leave the bird be and if it was still there the next day, we'd look into solutions to help the little guy out without touching him or spooking him. To our surprise, however, when I went to check on him the following day with my dad, the pot was birdless. That was until we took a closer look and found a single, small egg.
The bird wasn't injured or a dude; it was a MAMA BIRD taking care of her little egg!!!
My joy and exultation at learning this information is hard to encapsulate in written form, but it made me so happy to know this birdy thought it safe enough to take refuge in this flower pot in front of our house and use it as an improptu nest during those super hot summer days.
Over the following weeks, my dad, sister and I kept a close eye on the pot, making sure the flowers didn't wilt so the egg would remain protected whilst the mama bird went out to get food. We'd update each other on the bird and her egg's progress in our gc and literally felt like proud family members when the egg finally hatched.
Post-hatching, we watched from afar as the mama bird fed her little one and it got progressively bigger and stronger. We knew what would happen next, but it still came as a surprise when we came to check in on them one day and finally found the nest empty.
I'm regaling this tale not just to share the happiness I felt during those late summer weeks, but to recommend being respectful to and protecting our fellow animals with whom we share this planet with; especially the ones we encounter so often in our day-to-day lives and don't stop to think twice about.
Pictured below is one of the few hi-res pics I was able to take of the mama bird as she guarded her little egg (she was incredibly smart in picking this location– you legit couldn't even see there was a bird in there unless you were really looking).
