The Egg Part 2

The bird’s egg we came upon unfortunately came to a sad demise. I’ve realised such frail items should not be within reach of small hands, particularly amongst a group of little boys. Funnily enough we soon found another egg in a different part of the garden this time. It’s quite puzzling figuring out exactly where they are coming from. One thing is for certain – they are not blackbird eggs. We ended up finding the blackbird nest within our passionfruit vine and daily watched it slowly being fashioned into a small woody bowl.

A few days ago I peered in while the mother bird was away and spotted three blue-green eggs a little larger than the small white rejected ones we found on the ground. Every time I came back to take a picture I found the mother bird back guarding her eggs, her wide eyes watching me. I grew up with blackbird nests in our garden each year but not till I had children of my own could I actually relate to what this mother bird must be feeling. The instinct to protect is very strong.

I eventually got another look-in the other day. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when they hatch and take their first flight with our cat Cart around. Hopefully he'll be licking his lips indoors at that point. I really think gardens are so important to young children - a place to learn and explore.