Saturday, November 06, 2004

Now there's four - or more!

I just can't work this one out. First there was just one bird building a nest. Then came Dad and presumably, previous baby. Now there are a host of adult birds which fly in willy nilly and simply take over. I only wish I had some way of marking them as individuals so I could log their comings and goings. The poor gardenia is withstanding the traffic brilliantly however at times it sways drunkenly as each bird clings to the trunk and around the canopy, either to change places, like the veritable changing of the guards, or to peer in with a mock kind of chirping - beak going ninety to the dozen with barely a sound making it through the airwaves.

While 'mum to be' is sitting she occasionally spies an insect or the odd spider which has made it's home in the screen door, so close to her nest. She hurriedly removes herself from the nest and dives perilously close to the glass window to retrieve the tasty morsel, so keeping my back door area free of these small creatures.

It certainly is a community effort by all accounts. This morning I saw one of the 'mob' fly out and on as if to get away for a brief spell of sanity, only to see it turn in a direct swoop to squark and presumably scare off a much bigger bird flying past minding it's own business.

Guess all there is to do now is to wait and watch for the hatching. These birds aren't called 'noisy' miners for nothing - I'm sure we won't miss it!