A few weeks ago we noticed birds trying to build a nest in our front-porch light fixture, so we chased them away and cleared out the sticks. The other day we saw they were at it again. It took a couple days to get around to pulling out the stepstool and reaching up to the light. The biggest clump was on top of the light so I reached over my head and pulled it out gently. To my surprise I was holding a nest with 6 small green eggs. I froze and stammered to Christine, "there's eggs!" She cried back in dismay, "Put it back! Put it back!" During this process birds were fluttering with some alarm around the porch area. I put the nest back, clearly not as securely as before and missing some of the substructure which I'd already disturbed. We were quite worried the birds saw us take their nest or would pick up our scent and abandon the nest. Through the front door glass we watched anxiously to see if they'd return. The momma bird was perched on the gutter and made a few trips to places unknown but kept returning.
Finally, some hours later, we spied her serenely back on duty in her nest and we breathed some relief. Most likely the light was acting like an incubator and they couldn't resist the warmth of the spot. Now, I guess we're signed up to monitor the progress of the eggs and what we hope is their hatching. We worry about fire so I'll switch out the light for a CF unit, and worry about the eventual hatchlings' first foray out of the nest and the hard patio beneath. But that's in the future, and we, like the birds, take things in stride.
Here's a photo of momma bird at work. Happy Mother's day!
