A Bird Mom’s Love

    

    It’s early spring and my backyard feeder is teeming with activity: House sparrows, chickadees, juncos, cardinals, plus a tiny chipping sparrow I’ve been watching for a few weeks. She’s so petite compared to the others, yet holds her own amid the feeding chaos. Then my eyes catch two pairs of cowbirds. Trouble has arrived.

    Cowbirds, members of the blackbird family, are brood parasites. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving the host bird to raise their young (a pretty devious way to skip parenthood, I’d say). Some birds reject the foreign eggs, but most go on to hatch and raise the cowbird young as their own.

    Fast forward to mid-summer and I’m entertained by fuzzy sparrow fledglings teetering on the ground with gaping mouths, waiting for mom to deposit food. Then I see my little chipping sparrow friend feeding a chubby youngster over twice her size. Wait, what? It takes a moment to register but then it hits me. She’s been mothering a cowbird, bless her tiny heart. A bird mom’s love…

Author: Kelly Mathwick

Photo: Sue Thompson