If you find a bird nest outside of your window…

Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy

Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy

What started as an innocent on-line baby book to chronicle Jill's stay-at-home days with her children, (Lily, Ben, and Evan) quickly transformed into a vibrant community of parents, brought together by a common theme: Parenting doesn’t have to be perfect. Learn more here.
Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy

@scarymommy

NYT bestselling author of Confessions of a Scary Mommy and Motherhood Comes Naturally (And Other Vicious Lies). Fond of curse words, sarcasm and Diet Coke.
Got a kindle or nook? You could be reading my book in three, two, one... http://t.co/wSQIvse8zW - 4 hours ago
Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy
Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy

Latest posts by Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy (see all)

If you find a bird nest outside of your window, do not worry that the birds are overheated in the 100 degree weather. Do not open the window to try and create shade for them. Do not show your children how tiny they are and do not try to document the whole experience for your blog.

If you do, the baby birds may just make a run for it…

And they won’t be nearly as cute as you imagined.

{The above picture was followed by three bird babies running around on the counter. Followed by one falling behind the radiator. Followed by me having to rescue it, Diego style. Much screeching ensued. And some hyperventilating. Pardon the lack of photography. I was a tad busy.}

The birds are now safe and sound, but having nightmares, I’m sure. As am I.

bird flip off

Around the web

{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }

1 gorillabuns July 7, 2010 at 8:47 pm

holy crap! that is a strong bird!

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2 Sara Plays House July 7, 2010 at 8:48 pm

Nature is SO creepy. Even when it’s babies. And ESPECIALLY when they’re in your house.
(I’m wishing for a vlog here. With screeching.)
Sara Plays House recently posted..Poop- Tomatoes- and Hair

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3 Scary Mommy July 7, 2010 at 10:59 pm

You would have gone deaf. We were all screeching at the top if our lungs– it was quite the scene. I do NOT do well in animal situations.

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4 C @ Kid Things July 7, 2010 at 9:02 pm

That’s hilarious. And creepy. I’m surprised the mama bird didn’t come by and try to peck your eyes out.
C @ Kid Things recently posted..It’s Not What You Wear- It’s How You Wear It

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5 Scary Mommy July 7, 2010 at 10:59 pm

I was SO terrified of that!!

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6 Marti July 7, 2010 at 9:02 pm

YIKES! ::thinking:: don’t mess with the birds in the chimney they’ll leave on their own…
Marti recently posted..Wine -amp Cheese – 4th Serving

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7 Carabee July 7, 2010 at 9:15 pm

Baby birds are a reminder that they really are the descendants of dinosaurs. God, those things are fugly.
Carabee recently posted..16-404

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8 Scary Mommy July 7, 2010 at 11:00 pm

Seriously. Nothing cute about them. Had they been baby ducks? I would have raised them myself.

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9 jenny talia July 7, 2010 at 9:21 pm

Shit, those are some ugly birds!
Yay for you for rescuing & being nice x
jenny talia recently posted..annoying from afar

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10 Julie July 7, 2010 at 9:22 pm

I cannot believe they were in your house! I would have freaked out. Is it true that the mommy bird won’t come back to them if they’ve been touched? If so, you may have dead birds there soon. Ewwww. Sad.

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11 Scary Mommy July 7, 2010 at 11:02 pm

No. It’s a misconception. Since the incident I have done much research. Also turns out water can be fatal–I had to remove the cup I left for them. Next time? I leave the birds ALONE!

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12 Jason July 8, 2010 at 4:06 pm

The mother bird will only reject its babies if she her self pushed them out of the nest. Wild baby bunnies on the other hand the mother will not touch if a human has handled them.

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13 JenniferG of Hip As I Wanna Be July 7, 2010 at 9:24 pm

Not only are they fugly but they also leave a trail of bird crap up the side of your house and serve as a nice host for ant hills. Not that I have had any experience with that, of course.
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14 Scary Mommy July 7, 2010 at 11:02 pm

Oh, lovely.

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15 Beth Zimmerman July 7, 2010 at 9:38 pm

I was a little afraid of some retribution by the mama bird myself! :)
Beth Zimmerman recently posted..Out of My Comfort Zone

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16 Sarah July 7, 2010 at 10:07 pm

Holy hell I would have flipped out. Or flipped the bird. Literally OR figuratively!
Sarah recently posted..Blog Design 101

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17 Rachel @ Mommy Needs a Vacation July 7, 2010 at 10:12 pm

Oh I would have freaked out too. And by the way, those are some ugly ass birds. Not a fan of baby birds!
Rachel @ Mommy Needs a Vacation recently posted..Ladies -amp Gentlemen- We have a walker-

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18 Jodie at Mummy Mayhem July 7, 2010 at 10:16 pm

This is proof that there really is an endless list of blog post opportunities out there. And I mean that in a nice way!
Jodie at Mummy Mayhem recently posted..Backhanded Compliments Um- thanksI think

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19 Scary Mommy July 7, 2010 at 11:03 pm

Not quite how I envisioned it, but alas…

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20 Melinda July 7, 2010 at 11:13 pm

that was just ugly LOL

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21 Dana July 7, 2010 at 11:33 pm

you’re children will be retelling this story for years!
Dana recently posted..Throw out the nursing bras

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22 Dana July 7, 2010 at 11:34 pm

gak. forget the apostrophe. drop the ‘e.’ YOUR children. carry on.
Dana recently posted..Throw out the nursing bras

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23 f*ck yeah, motherhood! July 8, 2010 at 12:21 am

I think they look awesome but I certainly wouldn’t want one behind my radiator.

ps – the main dude in the top pic looks like he’s smiling but it’s more of a spider-to-the-fly way. did your research indicate whether or not birds can conspire?

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24 Erin July 8, 2010 at 1:12 am

What amazing pics! Glad to hear they are safe and sound!
Erin recently posted..Change

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25 From Belgium July 8, 2010 at 4:29 am

They also might have fleas… and ticks…

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26 Lindsay July 8, 2010 at 7:13 am

They’re so cute!! And the mental image of three little baby birds running around your kitchen is HIlarious.
Lindsay recently posted..5 Things About Blogging

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27 Rebecca July 8, 2010 at 7:33 am

It looks like the tiniest dinosaur left on Earth…gross! Glad you (and the birds too, I suppose) came out unscathed!!!
Rebecca recently posted..First Solo Trip with the Craziesthe Finale

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28 Sarah July 8, 2010 at 8:12 am

No worries there. I hate birds.
Video would have been nice though. You know, for educational purposes.
Sarah recently posted..Team Irony

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29 Jessica July 8, 2010 at 8:20 am

Gross! When I think of birds, I think of creepy parasites and bugs. I would have been screeching too! Too bad your kids didn’t grab the flip cam and video the rescue adventure, now that would have been priceless. Nice pics!
Jessica recently posted..This Mama Works It-

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30 Jessi Arias-Cooper July 8, 2010 at 8:23 am

Well, that’s officially a lesson learned for me on your behalf. Screw you defenseless birdies!
Jessi Arias-Cooper recently posted..Rainbows and Bubbles- Gifts to Parents

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31 Rachel S. July 8, 2010 at 8:24 am

I peed myself a little looking at the photo & caption of bird giving you the finger. Thank you, I totally needed that laugh…as a half an hour ago I stepped on a poop ball that escaped from my son’s diaper, barefoot. Yes, barefoot. Thanks for the hilarity that is delivered to me via your blog, everyday!
Rachel S. recently posted..A Letter to My Angel

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32 Gigi July 8, 2010 at 8:33 am

Lesson learned – I will never try to help Mother Nature – she can do it herself. Great pictures though. And the mental pictures you gave – even better.
Gigi recently posted..If wishes were horses

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33 Kady L. July 8, 2010 at 8:36 am

That’s crazy! We had a similar thing happen to us last year, but the birds fell out of the tree when hubby was trying to get a closer look :(

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34 Stephanie R July 8, 2010 at 8:40 am

Hahah! Im so glad you grabbed your camera!
Somehow I thought baby birds would be cuter {obviously you did too lol}.
Im glad you learned the lesson for both of us.
Stephanie R recently posted..Wordless Wednesday-

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35 erica July 8, 2010 at 9:12 am

Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!Ew! Ew!

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36 Anthony from CharismaticKid July 8, 2010 at 9:13 am

They mustve thought, ahh it’s a scary mommy! I know I know, I’m too clever.
Anthony from CharismaticKid recently posted..Teaching your kid the secret of charisma… Shhh- – Episode 3

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37 Crazy Lady July 8, 2010 at 9:15 am

I would’ve used a gallon of bleach on my counters.. Wow those are some ugly birds!! There is a blue bird nest in a tree in my yard. Momma dive bombs my greyhound.

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38 Holly {ArtistMotherTeacher} July 8, 2010 at 9:36 am

I had one FALL OUT OF THE SKY and hit me on the way down while I was weeding the garden a few weeks ago. I was INSTANTLY freaked out by the situation and needless to say done weeding for the night.

Crazy birds.
Holly {ArtistMotherTeacher} recently posted..So far pyromaniacs are way better neighbors than sex offenders

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39 katiezoeb July 8, 2010 at 9:48 am

Sounds like a darker version of If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Good story! (yours, I meant, but the pig one is good too.)
katiezoeb recently posted..Fairy God Family

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40 Jen July 8, 2010 at 9:49 am

Very sound advice.

Now please excuse me while I go rock myself in a corner. The birds! The BIIIIIiiiiiirds!
Jen recently posted..Heatwave

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41 angie July 8, 2010 at 10:30 am

Yikes. That rescue mission doesn’t sound fun. At all. I’ve had birds in my house before. Ones with feathers. THey poop everywhere.
angie recently posted..Wordful Wednesday-The Best Pet

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42 claire July 8, 2010 at 10:38 am

Yay! I LOVE it. We had baby birds again this year, while not on the counter it was still pretty fun!!
claire recently posted..Random Tuesday

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43 Val July 8, 2010 at 10:48 am

Wow! You DID have some fun! I think you have the makings of a horror flick!
Val recently posted..Cookies this side of the barrel

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44 thepsychobabble July 8, 2010 at 11:02 am

ugly little things, aren’t they?
thepsychobabble recently posted..Mandatory Monday canceled this week

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45 Justine July 8, 2010 at 11:11 am

You are right – cute when together, not so much when by themselves. But still – kudos to you for the rescue mission.
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46 Yuliya July 8, 2010 at 11:13 am

really that will teach you to be a good Samaritan. Our dog alerted us to the presence of a bird (still alive, don’t worry) in the yard last week and hubby and I called the next door neighbor (who’s a firefighter) pleading with him to come take care of it because he’s a “real grown up.”
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47 Danielle July 8, 2010 at 11:42 am

My dog knocked a Robin’s nest out of a bush a few years back. (Damn nosy Dobermans.) Those birds were like my kids. I would check on them every day. One day before going to the movies, I checked the bush, only to see three babies scattered all over the ground, wings asunder. I had to fix the nest and put the babies back in. I helped the mother with food (raspberries and wet dog food are preferred) and kept an eye on them until they left the nest. I was so happy when they finally went off on their own, until my ex-bf’s douche bag sister told me that her evil Chihuahua killed one of them.

Now I’ve moved on to fostering kittens. I have two families living at my house, in addition to my own brood. Pics on blog. Oy vey. :)
Danielle recently posted..New day- new blog

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48 PSPants July 8, 2010 at 11:47 am
49 Lolli July 8, 2010 at 12:28 pm

I’m kind of freaking out, and I didn’t even have to deal with the baby birds. I have had my share of baby wild animals at my house, though. Please, don’t ask.
Lolli recently posted..The Truth About Amusement Parks

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50 Liz @ Peace, Love & Guacamole July 8, 2010 at 12:55 pm

Two words: heebie jeebies!

And a few more…I love that he gave you the finger. That totally cracked me up!
Liz @ Peace, Love & Guacamole recently posted..Diving in

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51 Joie July 8, 2010 at 1:43 pm

Oh, come on!! They are so adorable!!! I absolutely disagree that they are fugly!!

It’s ok little dinosaur birdies! I love you!
Joie recently posted..Isnt this supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday

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52 Marinka July 8, 2010 at 2:01 pm

This is seriously disturbing shit.
And now I’ll traumatize you further by telling you that once you touch the baby bird its mother will reject it. So it’ll probably die. Nice going.

You should probably nurse it. In public.

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53 adhocmom July 8, 2010 at 2:43 pm

Tres nature show. I’m impressed by your compassion. They look nothing like the baby bird on umi zumi by the way. . .
adhocmom recently posted..True Love Is Wearing a Bathing Suit in Public

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54 Bruna July 8, 2010 at 3:33 pm

Haha. Funny with the finger thing. But I heard that if we touch the baby birds then the mother doesnt want them anymore? Hope this doesnt apply to this one! :/

Cheers!
Bruna recently posted..Agora é só esperar- -

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55 Jason July 8, 2010 at 4:08 pm

Jill your lucky mama bird and daddy bird didnt go nuts and try to get into the house. They look like they are baby blue jays. Blue Jays are very very defense of there nests and have been known to attack humans.

You should keep an eye on them, its a great teaching/learning tool for the kids. And it is a great story for there first science class. Take lots of pics and you can help make a board for class using the pics.

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56 Susie @newdaynewlesson July 8, 2010 at 4:32 pm

That is tooo cool!
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57 vanillasugar July 8, 2010 at 5:23 pm

babies are ok though? wow what scare that must have been to seen those little ones taking off!!!!
i heard that Baltimore, MD was the top winner in the highest of heat. Congrats! lol
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58 Barb July 8, 2010 at 6:33 pm

Awww. Ugly as hell, but cute at the same time.

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59 Jennifer July 8, 2010 at 7:10 pm

I would have freaked completely out.
Jennifer recently posted..The Bucket List

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60 LCW July 8, 2010 at 7:24 pm

So sweet and scary and exhilarating. And he’s totally shooting you the bird (pun intended)

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61 Rosa July 8, 2010 at 8:28 pm

Those where some great pictures. Suprise a cat hasent hate them.
Rosa recently posted..Tests during pregnancy life

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62 Jen July 8, 2010 at 8:29 pm

I happen to think that baby birds are not cute at all!
Jen recently posted..It’s Nice to Know I am Not the Only One

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63 Kelly July 8, 2010 at 10:20 pm

Your pics are amazing…if that were me, everything would have been out of focus because I would have been screaming and jumping up and down! Haha!

Impressed how you kept your cool. Yuk.
Kelly recently posted..Le Tour de France- Revisited

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64 LizzB (@hereslizz) July 8, 2010 at 11:27 pm

FLASHBACK!

When I was homeschooling, we found a nest in the yard. I wanted to take a picture of it to put in our science portfolio under biology after talking about it. So my son and I went outside with the camera. I took a pic and the flash went off. It scared the crap out of the birds and they all jumped out of the nest and ran around all crazy, cuz they couldn’t fly. They wouldn’t let me catch them. So I’m sure they probably died from cats and hawks.

So yeah. I don’t homeschool anymore. :/

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65 Ellen July 9, 2010 at 12:36 am

Perhaps you should consider a show on Animal Plane? Heather Armstrong has some show coming up on HGTV, you can do…birds! Yeah!
Ellen recently posted..Surfs up

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66 Dumb Mom July 9, 2010 at 7:22 am

Holy-ugly-ass-skinny-bird Batman! Whoa. Awesome shots. Not awesome experience. Good for you for doing the Diego thing. I probably woulda been more Ghostbuster-ish. I don’t touch the wild. We had birds lay eggs right outside our window earlier this spring. too. We were all sad when a wicked storm came and flung the eggs, the nest, and the mama bird all over our yard. Stupid-face-stupid-Nature. Totally ruined my photo ops:)
Dumb Mom recently posted..I Live in a Warehouse

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67 Lynn from For Love or Funny July 9, 2010 at 7:26 am

Holy cow! Or, holy bird! I had no idea that such young birdies would be capable of running around like that!!
Lynn from For Love or Funny recently posted..Little Green Men Like Me

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68 Life with Kaishon July 9, 2010 at 10:18 am

Oh my gosh. They are not as cute as one would imagine. Kaishon and Shoshi found a baby bird this year and we kept it overnight until they could return it the next morning. We put a heat lamp on it and it survived. I hope it made it. That happened in the spring. I really should do a post about it. I am SO behind in blogging.
Life with Kaishon recently posted..a list of ten things

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69 Kevin Bruce July 9, 2010 at 1:03 pm

We already had a nest of birds hatch, grow up and move on this season. They set up shop in a hanging basket of ours. We had to stop watering it because they were in danger of getting all wet. By the time they moved on, we had a super-ugly husk of a plant hanging in our front porch :P
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70 Jack July 9, 2010 at 2:12 pm

The good news is that they’ll tell their friends and next thing you know you are going to have three or four nests hanging out at your house. It will be like a virtual aviary, pretty cool stuff.

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71 Sara -The Football Wife July 9, 2010 at 2:37 pm

We have had two rounds of baby birds on our front porch but without a chance of them sneaking into the house. However, our last nest of baby birds decided that they didn’t want to fly far away and began to live on our porch furniture. Is that the equivalent of grown children living in their parents’ basement?
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72 Shannon July 9, 2010 at 9:44 pm

No.

No, no, no.

Birds freak me out, man. There is absolutely NO way I would’ve been able to open the window, let alone go NEAR it!
Shannon recently posted..Look what was in my yard this time-

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73 Lamb July 12, 2010 at 9:29 am

Not behind the radiator! LOL, thanks for starting my day with lots of worry ;)
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74 Dawn July 12, 2010 at 9:48 am

thanks for the warning! oh boy, i can just see that happening in my house with me and the kids all running around screaming-don’t know if I would have been able to save them like you-love the last picture!!!
Dawn recently posted..Im melting

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75 Cynthia July 13, 2010 at 6:49 am

BLECH!!! I have a horror of birds in general*, so thank God this would never happen to me. I sure hand it to you for keeping your shit at least halfway together! Those things are vile.

* I blame it on psychological scars inflicted by my sister’s ageless parrot who 20 years ago greeted a teenage me with a resounding “there’s that CUNT!” and still, to this day, saves that lovely expression just for me. Seriously. He never says it unless he sees me, which is like every ten years, or less frequently if I can manage it.
Those things are vile.

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76 Danielle Friedland aka That Danielle July 13, 2010 at 9:41 am

We had a nest of robins outside of our bathroom window that I enjoyed peaking at whenever I peed but we always kept the screen closed. The mom always flew away whenever she saw us.

Sadly, the one surviving baby and the mom are gone. My mother who is somewhat of an amateur ornithologist said they probably met an unhappy ending. Good for you for trying to help yours!
Danielle Friedland aka That Danielle recently posted..My Mothers Breast Cancer Gift

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77 Danielle Friedland aka That Danielle July 13, 2010 at 9:42 am

Btw isn’t funny how baby birds are ugly to us while baby mammals are so adorable? I guess their moms think they’re cute.
Danielle Friedland aka That Danielle recently posted..My Mothers Breast Cancer Gift

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78 Elly July 13, 2010 at 10:52 pm

My mom has a nest outside her front door. She has been taking pictures of the baby birds as they have grown up. One of them left the nest recently. It has been fun to see a new picture of baby birds every few days.
Elly recently posted..Solidarity

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79 Tina Edwards July 19, 2010 at 10:50 pm

What kind of birds did they turn into after their ugly phase? It seems maybe mama bird wanted a little help raising her ugly children. I would try to give them away too.

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80 Sarah@afterhood July 24, 2010 at 5:25 pm

I think your children (okay, and you) will remember this for a very long time, and maybe become bird-rescuers themselves.
I recently had to save and re-home a baby woodpecker! See: “Brrrck…” http://www.afterhood.com/?p=651
And he’s in foster care now!
Sarah
Sarah@afterhood recently posted..The Butterfly Diaries- Red Admiral

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81 Anibras September 13, 2010 at 9:54 am

My son and many other neighborhood kids were outside palying and he came running inside to say there were baby birds! I said, Dinner is ready. We all ate and about 5 -10 minutes later there was a knock on the door. I went to the door to find the Police. Apparently the birds had fallen out of their nest and all the kids said, my son had made them fall. The police officer said, there was about 40 people working on the rescue mission and filling out witness statements about the incident! I am really stunned – 1st I did not know that birds falling out of their nest was illegal – I mean really witness statements. 2nd – 40 people REALLY! I guess my son is now officially a criminal at age 9!

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