Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Blueberry Thief

Last year we planted a blueberry bush. Actually, we planted three, but we won't discuss what happened to the other two. Let's just say it wasn't pretty.

The remaining lonely bush has been thriving. Last year, it gave us dozens of blueberries. Most of which were not enjoyed by anyone in this family because thieves made off with the fruit.

Feathered thieves.

This year, we've again had a bumper crop of blueberries. But just about the time the berries are ready to be picked...they disappear.

The thieving begins anew.

We never knew who was doing the stealing. There are many, many birds flitting in and out of the yard. But today, the thievery had eyewitnesses.

The guilty party was...a robin.

A mama robin.

She plucked a berry from the stem, hopped it over to her baby (more like a toddler) and proceeded to try and shove it down the baby's throat. The baby kept spitting the berry out, and the mama, ever so patient, would pick it up, give it another squish with her beak, and then shove it back into the baby's mouth.

All I kept thinking about was how I didn't know how to do the Heimlich on tiny little robins.

Thankfully, there was no choking. The baby finally swallowed the berry.

So, even though we've yet to get a berry for ourselves, the birds are well-fed. And I can't even be cranky about it when I know babies are being fed...

But it would be nice to get enough blueberries to make muffins. I can dream, right?



2 comments:

  1. Heather, I 'll send you my new book, "The Heimlich Maneuver for Feathered Friends." ;)

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