Birds really DO "do it!"

Our backyard feathered friends must feel safe in our yard, because I just discovered a fifth brood brewing.

Mother Nature has been quite busy, indeed!

It all started with a couple of house sparrows. The male booted the bluebird couple from the bluebird box (no one had moved in, but it's called a "bluebird" box for a reason), and the feisty sparrows went on to have two separate broods. I never got to see their little ones - papa would get very antsy if I ventured too near to his kids - but I was able to hear the baby chirps when I'd be out in the yard.

Then, about a month ago, I was looking over my honeysuckle, trying to decide if it needed to be trimmed back a bit, and a male house finch swooped into the honeysuckle. I was curious, of course, and upon further inspection, I discovered the finch couple had built a nest at the top of the honeysuckle where it winds around our gutter and downspout.

I figured three feathered families was pretty cool; the most we've ever had was a chickadee family last year and the year before, but they didn't return this year. But I was happy that other birds were feeling safe in our yard that this is where they wanted to raise their family.

Then last week I caught a glimpse of a male bluebird ducking into the bluebird house. It was unoccupied, fortunately, and since then I've seen the bluebird couple perched on the trees in our yard. Finally, they figured out that THAT house was put up for them ... two years ago. But who's counting?

This past Saturday Mike and I did quite a bit of planting, so we made many trips back and forth from the garage with the wheelbarrow. The honeysuckle is climbing on a trellis just outside our garage, and I didn't give a second thought to trudging past it since the house finches flew the coop a few weeks ago. But, to my surprise, a mockingbird dove into the middle of the honeysuckle just as I was passing! I got a bit closer and was stunned to see that Miss Mockingbird had built a nest among the fragrant blooms and twisted vines.

That's five families of little ones - and it's only the end of June!

I'm very excited about this (can't you tell?) because I love working in my gardens and doing what I can to attract the birds, so it's really rewarding to see them have their babies here ... especially since it seems that those are the only babies that will ever be around this house.

Are this many bird families a good luck thing? Or is it nature taunting me? Regardless, I like it ... a lot.

P.S. Birds really DO do it, in case you didn't know. The sparrow couple stayed in the bluebird house a few days after their little ones fledged, and as I was watching them one afternoon, I realized that the two of them were involved in some sort of sex act. The cooperative female sat on the perch just outside their house, while her fella jumped from the neighboring butterfly bush to the perch where she was roosting, jumped on her for a few good old-fashioned pokes, then jumped down to the birdbath. He repeated this little ritual no less than ten times - until his lady got tired of his shenanigans and flew off. Horny little things, aren't they?