Big Bird

Sunday, July 18, 2021 — (In 5 days, July’s fullest moon [“Thunder”] will rise.)

Yesterday, my baby Robin visited out of the blue. After three weeks in my care it had gone out on its own, not even showing up on the day earlier. Suddenly, its sounds, little peeps with whistles, were a pleasant surprise. The baby was safe and thriving. I hardly recognized this bird, independent only a few days and still with baby spots, but resembling more a sleek efficient adult.

Baby hopped and followed as I watered plants, made its sounds in responses to my hellos. It stayed three or four feet away and and flew off if I reached for it. I left the bird alone and it hung around. Didn’t open its beak for food and seemed just to be saying hello.

After shutting off the water and walking toward the garage, the bird followed, and so, I paused to sit in a chair. We continued talking and as I watched the bird, it turned and hopped into in the yard’s wet area. It pecked around, suddenly removing a flower from a weed and eating it. A surprise, who knew Robins eat flowers? Could hunger be motivating this visit?

Curious, I went into the garage for a leftover tub of night crawlers and removed one with forceps. I took it outside, sat in a chair near the bird and danged the worm. Bird watched and didn’t seem interested. Unsure what else to do, I tossed the worm to the ground near the bird.

The bird attacked, treating the worm as if it were a snake, grabbing, dropping, and repeating time after time, until the worm no longer moved. Then the bird, that only days ago couldn’t down an entire night crawler, expertly lifted one end and sucked and consumed the creature.

As bird stood digesting, I wondered about those behaviors, and repeated my offering. With this brand new crawler, Robin again in the same focused way killed and wolfed. Now satisfied, bird flew off and landed in the wet area before disappearing under a big plant to hunt.

Dear Friends: Proving, that a mom of any kind tends to be an easy tap for a meal. Diana