Bird Watching

I love to watch birds. This started when I was pretty young. I remember watching for hours a robin build a nest outside my bedroom window and loving the process of two robins raising their young all within 15 feet of my window. I used to keep a journal of new or unusual bird sightings. My bookshelf still contains a number of bird enthusiast books. I don't take as much time now to watch the birds but hopefully someday there will be a slower paced life and I will once again return to the joy of birdwatching. I think there are lessons to learn from the bird world. Right now I have a robin who has built her nest in a tree outside my studio window and the view of all the workings of raising a family is in plain sight. With robins, at least in the beginning it seems that the mother bird does most of the work. She builds the nest, she sits those long days on those precious eggs. When she does leave the nest for a quick bite to eat, I've noticed the father bird lands on the edge of the nest, but he does not take over keeping the eggs warm. He seems to cock his head from side to side, viewing the eggs, almost as if he's wondering what they are! He may not seem like a very active participant or maybe he is having difficulty attaching to something that is just this round blue object at this point, but he is the protector. If a scrub jay ventures too near he is the first to sound the alarm and rush at his blue predator with a great clamor. Scrub jays are notorious for wiping out robins nests so it's no wonder father bird sounds such alarm. When those chicks finally arive then father bird will get busy. It will seem like there is no end to the feeding, keeping the nest unfouled, and teaching those little ones where the best worms are. A robin's young always seem to leave the nest much too early. They cannot fly and so they hop around chirping to keep mom and dad informed as to where they are and doubtless every other predator like all our cats, some of which seem to have a fond taste for 'baby bird'. One would think that very few baby robins make it to adulthood and I'm sure the mortality rate is high. That's why robins have several batches of young every year. They know the odds of some making it will be greater if they have 2 or 3 nests with 3 or 4 young in each. Sometimes as a parent I forget that a mom and dad's role are different. Usually the mom is more nuturing, more hands on, she usually is the one that puts in all the hours of care. The father's role is often more the provider and protector. I think just as God made it that way in robins He designed our families to function best fulfilling the role we've been given. So next time I'm stewing about all the time I put in taking care of things around the house and my children, I'll remember the robins outside my window and the joy of seeing their family grow and take wings of their own.