The continuing saga of the uninvited nest seems to have come to an end. The hatchlings have died.
It’s not entirely clear why they perished, althought there is no doubt that they perished — the nest is crawling with ants.
Possibly the noise of the work being done in the yard kept the mother bird away from the nest too long. Possibly the blazing hot, full-on summer weather made the newborn chicks more vulnerable (e.g., to dehydration). My better half opines that mama bird appeared very young herself; is it possible she was not yet capable of providing the necessary care for a nest of hatchlings? (Chicks having chicks …)
We’re still glad we gave the brood a chance, and sad that it didn’t work out.
Despite the fact that we seem to keep muttering, “Circle of life, dude,” as we look toward the nest, we have no plans at all to aid the ants now feasting on the birdie corpses in their ant life plans. Indeed, should they venture inside, they can look forward to being sucked into a vacuum cleaner or having their exoskeletons melted with Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap.
The vast multitude of birds in our neighborhood seem to be going on with their lives as if nothing bad had happened in the nest in our yard. Clearly, they are better evolved than we are in this regard.
*snif* At least you tried.
The curse of consciousness.
save their skeletons, unless the bones are not yet ossified, in which case, the ants will leave nothing behind. how old were they?
The oldest chick was maybe two days old, the youngest perhaps a day younger than that. When I get home I’ll see if the ants have left anything behind.
I had to repeat the “circle of life” mantra the first couple days after 2 of the 3 goslings in my pond were circle-of-lifed into the mouth of a raccoon/cat/bigger bird/something. bummer, though.
I feel sad for you. Refer to here and here.
Your failed to experience that “somewhat hypocritical and in the end selfish socio-psycho need to feel good that you have been a protector of innocent life while sacrificing your feelings of urgency to change the landscape over which you have control.” (narrow-minded goals of the “ID, religious right, environmental protectionists, animal protectionist, dietary vegan, and other related socio-ideologic sects.”)
You failed to give these poor creatures a little immortality through your own experience, relegating it to the ants—“If you are from my old country and Japan and other Asian cultures, you will carefully take the eggs and prepare a nice rice-based dish of only the highest quality, and just before dining, crack each of the eggs carefully, do not disturb the yolk (or the developing embryo), as a topping to the serving. Eat the egg (or embryo) with reverence savoring every taste, and go away feeling good that this life has now been continued as an addition to your body and being.”
You failed to actively participate in Darwinian evolution—-“but a pure Darwinist, depending on your disposition at the moment, gently or violently destroy the nest and the eggs with it naturally (don’t flush them) so they can contribute to the natural non-human chain of life in your backyard. Go away feeling that you have insured that the genes in the progeny of these parents who were stupid enough to build a nest and lay their eggs in your backyard in such a labile location will not survive and those who did build their nests in a secure location will.
Ends are the same, despite the means. Now one might argue that you are a “passive” Darwinist!
But, geez, why not accelerate things with action?
But “hold it! Your strong pro-life, anti-abortion, anti-Darwinian, anti-neo-Kantian stance in leaving this labile nest and brood alone in such a hostile and labile environment creates the responsibility to actively protect it and a fair shot at survival of the brood in this labile location and situation.”
You now bear the guilt of the abortion of these three small lives! And untold long term consequences on our evolutionary journey.–“If you had decided to quickly destroy the nest for any of the discussed reasons, so early in the season these errant parents will be given another chance with another round of female fertility (if I am not mistaken), a chance for selection of a more secure nest location, and maybe even hit the 5 egg limit.”
Let’s hope that she is out there somewhere hitting the “5 egg limit.”
Geez, I didn’t think about ants, my gosh, the most highly evolved societies in the biosphere. I was thinking of those dang urban cats. Oh, my gosh, who can blame the ants, they have no owners (or did you not put out your anti-ant insecticides in that backyard?)
Oh, but you now bear the guilt of inaction, a sin equally severe as misguided action—“There is another active path for you in light of your new responsibility. Take the eggs, incubate them, nurse the young, and teach them to fly yourself. It’s a beautiful thing; I have done it as a child with my parents help. The little fellers place their waste in a neat little membrane bag on the edge of the nest as soon as they are hatched (use tweezers), and they are voracious eaters from liquid in an eyedropper to earthworms and hamburger later. (When they were mature, we ate two and released two).”
The demise of these three little lives is on your hands and conscience.
Note bene: As a consolation, in the old country, we would eat the ants, sauteed with soy sauce. You have one last chance to participate in the chain of life without resort totally to socio-ideological rationalization and regret related to the whole experience.
Yellow Mouth: contemptible, ugly, fatuous, and jejune. Go lurk under another bridge.
Janet: maybe it was all the activity in your yard, and maybe it was something utterly unrelated. You sought counsel, received it,and accepted what may have been the most inconvenient for you. There is much to learn from your yard, and you have begun the process. Seek more knowledge and a truly wondrous world will unfold. And ignore the yellow stream–we all know what flows downhill.