Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Signs of Spring: The Bird Family at Walmart

Disclaimer: This is not an advertisement for Walmart. I received no compensation for this post. It just happens to be the all-purpose superstore in the area and, as everyone knows, a haven for travelers who need a safe place to stay.








Like many other areas around the world, our local community has suffered the loss of trees and other types of natural habitat due to wild weather and fires. We've all gritted our teeth, cried a bit over the results, and burned a lot of energy cleaning up while minimizing the effect on wildlife.

I drove to Walmart earlier this month looking for chainsaw oil. It was a dark and stormy night cloudy, windy day that had the truckers pulled into their special area while they kept off the road. I parked nearer to the entrance than usual and got out of the car.

(Okay, use your imagination!) Flapping their wings to stay aloft in front of me were Mr & Mrs Bird. It was sort of hard to understand what they were saying because my grasp of birdese is limited. When Mr Bird finally hushed and let Mrs Bird have her say, I found out the tree a mile over in which they usually built their nest had been blown down. They followed the big rigs off the highway to Walmart and found one of the young trees planted along the walkway between parking sections had limbs strong enough to hold a nest!



Just like any young couple, they proudly showed off the home they were building. Leaves, straw, twigs, and twine formed a sturdy exterior wall, while soft down plucked from their own bodies lined the interior. 


Mr Bird pointed a wing towards the customers going in and out of the store. "They're nice," he chirped. "We've been here just a short time and we've had a potluck of fresh greens dropped off on the ground for us."

Mrs Bird agreed and added, "One lady even opened the wild bird seed she bought for her yard and left us some."


They mentioned how wonderful it would be when the leaves reached their full size. Mrs Bird commented on how nice it would be to hear the conversations of locals and tourists walking to and from the store. She mentioned how her mom had complained about being left out of things when her day and night was spent sitting on the eggs to keep them warm until the baby birds hatched out. "I won't have to face that!" she chuckled in a bird sort of fashion. "The people who come will stop to talk with me and admire our beautiful children."

I said goodbye and ventured into the store. When I walked back to my car, they both trilled "See you later" and watched to make sure I got into the car okay. I smiled as I drove home, feeling happy that all God's creatures are adaptable and thriving despite the hurdles life throws in the way.

What signs of spring have you encountered?

19 comments:

  1. We had a minor hiccup here yesterday because it snowed, but other than that the weather has been nice and spring seems to be coming early :)

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  2. I always love to see bird nests and watch birds interact. It's such a calming experience and helps you to have a greature appreciation of nature!

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  3. Aww, we've been noticing the birds coming back too. These past few days have been cold and the little finches haven't been around though.

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  4. Glad everyone is being so nice to the birds there! The cardinals are back out again, which means it's going to be getting warm around here pretty soon!

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  5. There is nothing better than finding a birds nest at eye level! I saw the first flower in my garden bloomed about a week ago.

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  6. There are so many sweet signs of the seasons changing. It's wonderful that you have stopped to recognize them.

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  7. Horray for springtime! I'm so glad to see the birds out chirping, the flowers blooming, and the children back outside to play.

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  8. Love the pictures. I like seeing birds in their nest. It makes them more cute and it makes me want to feed them.

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  9. We have a few birds that come back to our yard every year. I love looking at the babies.

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  10. When all the Canadian Geese come back we know that Spring is in the air. I saw a huge flock of them the other day flying over head so this got me excited! - Jeanine

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  11. The deer have come out in full force. Seeing them out around our neighbors bird feeder is a sure sign spring is here!

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  12. Right now, the biggest sign of spring around here is everything being covered in pollen! But the birds are around, too.

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  13. The birds at our Walmart seem to find their way inside and build homes in the rafters away from the cold. Now that it's spring I'm sure some will be happy to move outside.

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  14. I have been hearing a ton of birds around my home but haven't seen any nests yet. The flowers are blooming too!

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  15. I have a bird family living in my front gutter - they tried to build a nest on top of the casings on my front door. Lol. There is a bunny family living in the front yard too. I love Spring

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  16. I was finally able to clean out all of the feeders and get the birds fed last week. Then, it snowed on us yesterday. SO ready for it to all just go away.

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  17. I'm traveling at the moment and am seeing budding trees in bright green that seem like spring has arrived. At home, there was just a foot of snow yesterday, airport closed, etc so I feel sure it has not arrived there!

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  18. That is so cool that you saw those birds at Walmart. I love seeing the nests in the trees!

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  19. The signs of Spring for me has been the bees and the wasps! LOL! It has been lovely.

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