baby birds.

they hatched last week.  wednesday, if i remember correctly.  small pink pulsing things with not a feather between them.  one of the eggs did not hatch, and that was our first loss.  we wondered about the environment, the timing.  maybe that was the one she laid first - a day before the other two - and it just wasn't quite ready.

but the other two made it.  it's hard to know what thriving means in the world of baby birds and wild things.  they were growing - anyone could see that.  but the mama was there less and less as the days went by.  we rationalized that maybe the nest was now too small for all of them.  surely they didn't need her constant vigilance - food was more important, right?  in any case, they grew and grew.  more than tripled their size by the time we got home on sunday afternoon.  sprouted delicate and unfathomably tiny feathers on their little baby wings.  hung their faces out of the nest, mouths gaping, waiting for their next meal.  justin read that they eat every 20 minutes when they're this little....and i thought a human baby was a demanding eater.

i guess it was too much for her.  this morning when i left for work, i saw one on top of the other.  i hoped maybe they were just sleeping, nestled in with each other.  but justin looked closer when he was leaving, and the bottom one had no open beak, no quick pulsing breaths coursing through its little body.  the live sibling was in bad shape, too, so justin scooped him up and brought him to work.  fed him mashed dog food and water.  have i mentioned the drought we're having in texas?  this is the manifestation.

justin is on his way with our little survivor - bringing him to a wildlife rescue place where they are trained in the art of baby bird rehabilitation.  i guess we'll see.  but i do hate the reminder of how nature gives but it also takes away.

here's a pic of marcus, our little survivor, in the incubator when justin dropped him off at the wildlife place. we hope he's a fighter!