The early mornings of August have been quiet outside. The fledglings have flown so the parents no longer chirp, defending their nests. The at-dawn chorus, wooing a mate, are also over for the season. But these troublemakers have been anything but quiet all summer….
I’ve been more enamored by our resident birds than ever before. Perhaps I’m extra thankful, knowing I’m about to leave these green acres. We’ve also had highly entertaining and somewhat nasty newcomers to the property, demanding our attention.
They initially made their presence known by swooping low over me while I was in the pool early-July – nowhere near a possible nest. Days later, they dove fast into our garage, attempting to build a nest just above my husband’s beloved black HEMI Challenger. They pooped on the car. His displeasure led to chasing them out with a net. I wish I had video…it was hilarious.
Those birds were determined to build a nest on a random beam exactly over that vehicle. Of course, my husband made sure they were unsuccessful but they did not go quietly nor easily. Two of them swooped into the garage whenever the garage doors were open, which was often. I kept thinking the female would have to unload those eggs somewhere else soon, but it took nearly ten days. There are trees all around but they wanted that wooden beam! Eventually, she laid them elsewhere.
For six weeks, they also yelled at each other and any other poor random sparrow in their path. I watched these aggressive birds chase other birds! They also didn’t show much better behavior toward their own kind.
I thought I could take photos of two of them fighting “sometime tomorrow”, since they squawked all day for weeks. But as if they knew I was heading out with my camera, the birds disappeared. I hadn’t seen one in days and then finally, two started chirping again. Then, I saw three babies flying around with the parents. I couldn’t get pics of the babies.
They have surprising wing span considering how small they appear.
I downloaded a few pics (see at the end) that resemble what they look like to get some help identifying the species. The territorial troublemakers on our property were loud, they “dive”, glide and “swoop” vs. the sparrows that flutter! In the last week, they are near-silent and much more well behaved. I have caught them quietly sitting on the white pool fence, looking all adorable and innocent.
Some of you reading are avid bird-watchers and well-read about various bird classes. Does anyone have a guess what type of birds these might be? I’m unable to identify our small, dark birds with white bellies. I fall pitifully short in the bird-species-knowledge area, so here are my lame, best guesses based upon a quick internet search (click on images for sources). And, these might not even be representing what we have here…
Any guesses are welcome and thank you for reading!…MLM
Tales from a Mid-Lifer 
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