Baby Bird Field Trip Day

It all started with an innocent walk. "Let's go see if there are nay baby ducks at the pond!" I told my kids this morning. So we grabbed some bread and walked to the pond. We see baby ducks - two families, in fact. We marvel at the beauty of these tiny, fuzzy little guys. All are happy.

Then we notice that there is a lone duckling. He gets entirely too close to the wrong mama duck, who then proceeds to try to drown her. Really. Like grabbing with her beak and thrashing the baby. So horrible, I have to grab my daughter and say "Don't look!". We are horrified.


Here is the mean mama in an earlier territorial dispute.

Luckily, my son is a faster thinker (and a big eater so he immediately came up with a great strategy) and throws bread toward the angry mama (the one with feathers) to distract her. It works! We walk along the shore with the duckling until he reunites with his proper brood and leave feeling great about the world.

On the way home, my daughter almost steps on a baby bird that fell from its nest and lay dead on the sidewalk. She bursts into uncontrollable tears. Even brother walks home slowly, mournfully, and tells me "It's like seeing a dead kid in the middle of the sidewalk". We are very sad.

We arrive home and notice a robin's nest in a tree in our front yard. We can see a tiny head popping up and chirping. It's a baby bird! We all cheer and are happy again.

I go in my house - and really need a nap. So much drama! I feel like I boarded the roller coaster ride by mistake instead of the gentle tea cups. When I download our pictures from the morning, my son suggests calling them "Baby Bird Field Trip". And it was. And so much more.