If I didn't mention it this month I must have mentioned it last month - the drama between a male and female sparrow as it relates to the 2 bird houses that hang off of the soffit of the garage addition.
Okay so we had the newer (2021) white bird house. There was a couple in it and I think it was the same couple who lived in that house year round for a couple of years. Wife died as did the egg behind her. I had to clean the whole house out, crying the entire time. Put some nesting material in there and male wintered over. He really decorated the place this year.
Along comes a female this spring. It looks like they are going to settle in the nicely furnished white house when I see her flying over to the older brown house a few feet away. He visits her in that house and also stays in his white house. Usually by Mother's Day I can hear the faint whisper like chirps of newborn baby sparrows in both houses. Well, Michigan finally had a spring this year (as opposed to jumping from winter to summer) and it was chilly longer. No baby sounds at Mother's Day. Usually the babies are chirping at Mother's Day and I'm watching for them to fledge by Memorial.
Memorial Day comes, I got nothing. So finally on Father's Day (usually the time for the second clutch of sparrows to be hatching) I hear a fain't whisper chirp coming out of the brown house. Thing is I'm not seeing the female go there much and I'm like, oh Lord, am I about to add another sparrow to my flock. I give her time and she's feeding the baby. Get this - so is the male in the white house. Mind you, he's helping feed the baby in the brown house while doing the dance of the seven veils on the patio like he's trying to get another mate.
I noticed today that all that traveling cost one of the babies it's life. There was the remnants of yolk and a broken egg dried out on the patio so at least the baby hadn't started developing. So I have a male technically living in the white house with the female feeding a baby in the brown house. A few minutes ago I saw the female on the stoop (perch) outside of the opening of the white house. She had the male sparrow dangling off her beak like she was trying to choke him out. I banged on the kitchen window and she let him go.
In summary - I have no idea what it going on with that dysfunctional relationship between the adult sparrows. I do have at least one baby in the brown house that is being tended full time by the female sparrow and part time by the male. In 20 years of having bird houses in the this location I have never seen anything like this.
There are many elements: wind, fire, water
But none quite like the element of surprise
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