A Little Birdie Told Me...

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Somehow amidst all of the chaos in life there can come little subtle reminders that life is meant to have joy, and that diligent effort pays off. It’s ironic how you can see reflections of yourself in the most unlikely places. This week serendipity has visited me in the form of a little bird nest and the daily visitor working so hard to build it. My heart has been heavy with worry, so this unexpected happy surprise has given my weary spirit a break, a welcomed re-focus on something other than this colossal renovation that has Jeff and I very taxed. Watching birds is something that has always brought me great peace, and I needed this tiny visitor especially now. But I never expected to learn so much from what this little birdie told me.

It started the other day when I noticed some random leaves and pine needles collecting in the kitchen window. I shrugged it off of debris from the cluster of summer thunderstorms we’ve had. But then each subsequent day there was more and more stuff placed in there, strategically it seemed. Everything started taking on a sort of domed spiral shape, and more artfully each day.

Please excuse the dirty window:-)

Then as washed one of my favorite stainless steel pots one evening I saw a surprised little bird face pop up in the window to glare at me. She was a mere 15 inches from my face, and the look on hers was a cross between, “Oh my goodness I didn’t see you standing there!” and “Oh it’s just you. I shall carry on with my business.” She’s building her nest right there in our window. I’ve enjoyed seeing her expert building efforts, and being the perpetual science/biology geek that I have always been I wanted to identify her and learn all about their habits and learn everything I could about them. I went to a wonderful site I discovered some time ago called Whatbird.com to help me classify her. I learned that she could be one of these:

This gorgeous photo from bigdogsbirdblog.wordpress.com

I think she's a Carolina Wren, but I am not 100% sure. She looks a little longer than this bird but still has the downcurved beak and similar coloring. She may be some variety of Thrush, which was my first guess. I'm still doing my research:-)

I’ve always marveled at birds’ nests. How can these little creatures know how to build such structurally sound and functional nests? It’s as if each little one is a designer, architect, and construction expert. Most humans can’t claim that! They just know what to do. It’s instinct. They construct these amazing feats that are stable and tough enough to weather storms, yet are gentle enough to cradle in comfort their offspring to continue the beautiful cycle of life. And they do all of this without arms! That is amazing to me.

For days I’ve been watching her scouting locations to build her nest. She chose well. Our screen is stuck into a 2” open position and we haven’t been able to fix it because of the location. Pretty smart bird to build in a nice dry, secure area. I’ve seen her dutifully selecting just the right materials from all around the yard and in the surrounding woods and fly back into the window with her found treasure. She’s quite particular, too when she’s picking out nesting supplies! She’s thinking ahead and planning the perfect little home for her impending family. She’s just a tiny little thing, and some of those twigs are pretty large for her to be carrying around in her little curved beak.

She's quick, and it's hard to snap a picture. My husband managed to capture this photo this morning.

I know that it’s hard for her, but she does it. When the storms come, she stops to rest and let them pass, but she never fails each day to build upon what she has already done. And little by little she’s making her nest and looking forward to her new life. That’s what I need to do: mind the storms, but don’t let them discourage me. There will always be storms. It’s how you deal with them that matters.

In the evening after the construction toils of her day she flies away to wherever her current home is to rest for the next day of preparing her new one. I relate to her. We’re trying so hard to build our “nest.” It’s been such a difficult couple of years with so many unexpected bumps in the road with finding the right location, right home, and right way to plan this renovation that is taking forever. I feel sometimes like we’ve run out of steam. I’m carrying some fairly heavy twigs in my beak, and my wings feel tired. I long for the time that we can just pitch down in the evening like all the birds living around our space now. It seems far off, but I still plan and I still work at something each day to get to our goal. I’m doing the same thing she is—maintaining one home while preparing for life in our new one, being particular about all of the little necessary details, and building the vision day by day. She has the right approach: you just keep working and doing what you’re supposed to do and never quit even when the storms pop up. Things start to take shape. You eventually see your vision come to life. I’ve learned by watching her that the best structures take time and hard work, but eventually all of that pays off.

Her beautiful nest is almost complete and it’s an intricate structure that will be perfect for her to lay her eggs. I’m so excited to see the eggs in the coming days and then to see the hatchlings that she has so lovingly prepared for. I’ll be able to watch her feed and nurture them, and eventually witness her teaching her fledglings how to fly so they can go out into the world and repeat this nest-building process on their own and continue the amazing cycle of life. I’m not as far along in my housing plan, but there has been so much inspiration I have drawn from this little bird; she inspires me to keep working hard to create my perfect nest—little by little, twig by twig, for all the little creatures who will need to be rescued and housed in a safe and loving home with us. It’ll all come together!

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This bird looks very much like a Canyon Wren. If that is true, she is a long, long way from home. I really want to know what she is so I can learn more about her. Stay tuned.