Michael & Liz are Bloggable

That's the most pathetic blog post title I've ever had... but it's true.

By the way, the other two birds hatched yesterday so they are all alive and well inside the house.

Yesterday during our Harry Potter Marathon some may have noticed that I'm a little too obsessive over the safety of our birds in the backyard. Part of it is that I enjoy seeing them grow up and care about them but it's mostly because I wouldn't be able to take the fact that if the Mom, Dad, or baby bluebirds were killed it would be 100% my fault. If that were to happen I don't know what I'd do. I set this birdhouse out and I couldn't help but feel responsible if something hurt them. I might take the house down or who knows, it may solidify my resolve to keep them safe. So needless to say, I feel like I have some sort of responsibility toward the birds.


Yesterday during the marathon a male House Sparrow(pictured above) landed on the house and I freaked out. I threw up my arms and ran out the door and scared it away. Now granted the Mom and Dad were both there to scare it away as well so they were doing their jobs, but House Sparrows are the #1 predator for Bluebirds. I was surprised because I have a "Sparrow Spooker" installed on the house. Obviously it's not working and it concerns me. But if they got into the house, they would kill the Mom, Dad, and babies, and then lay eggs in the birdhouse on top of their carcasses, and use their dead bodies to feed their own babies. This cannot happen.

Last night I woke up at 2:30 AM in a sweat after a dream/nightmare in which I opened the birdhouse and this exact scenario had played out. I was sweating, my heart racing and as ridiculous as I know it is, I spent the next two hours mulling over what to do about it. It was the middle of the night so obviously I wasn't thinking clearly, but I considered going down and checking on them. I realized that they were probably safe, so I then thought "Should I go down and watch the house and make sure nothing hurts them?" So if the Sparrow Spooker isn't working, what do I need to put on the house to stop the predators?!?! All really stupid thoughts, but I lost two hours of sleep thinking about it.

Maybe the answer is to do nothing and let nature take it's course. I hate that answer.

I just opened the house and the baby birds are OK... but on a related note, I may be going insane. I'll keep you updated :)