For the past couple of weeks, the little babe and I have woke to the pleasant soft chirping sounds of the House Sparrows that live in our shed. However, yesterday morning I was awakened by a loud raucous cacophony of bird noises. I know "raucous cacophony" is quite the mouthful, but this was quite the earful that I was hearing! I looked out the window and saw the House Sparrows flitting here and there looking all up in arms. Then I saw the problem - a Starling was trying to fly into their nesting area. They were being invaded by one Starling on the front of the shed and then another Starling appeared and flew towards the nest on the back corner of the shed. The House Sparrows, both males and females, were very upset and were doing their best to drive the Starlings away, which they eventually did.
The nests are permanent fixtures under the shed eaves. I really noticed them for the first time last year and was amazed at the variety of materials used in their construction. I don't think that there are any eggs in the nests yet, since I see both the males and females every morning, not sitting on a nest. Last year I found several eggs on top of our chicken coop, which is right next to the shed. I was puzzled by the mystery and thought that Brown-headed Cowbirds might be the culprits, but now I know that it wasn't anything so exotic sounding. Just plain old invasive European Starlings. While I don't like seeing the House Sparrows so distressed, apparently they are also not the nicest of birds. However, I will not remove their nests, as some bird experts advise you to do.
Despite the fact that they are invasive species, watching them is a great learning experience for the little babe. (And myself!) To hear a two year old say "House Sparrow" is pretty darn cute. As the Spring mating and nesting season progresses, I'll keep an eye out for more Starling carnage.
I am joining Chrisy at Living A Good North Coast Life for her "Reconnecting With Nature" series. As we bloggers sit around connected to our computers, it is a great way to force us to step outside and maybe notice something new in the natural world or just appreciate something that we see every day. Read more about the Reconnect with Nature - one photograph at a time idea here.
I shared this post on The Self Sufficient HomeAcre for The HomeAcre Hop.