Bird homes

What do you think birds do with their spare time?

The spring of the year is their busiest time. I'm here to tell you they throw it into overtime when it's nest buildin' time.

A lot of birds use birdhouses us humans have tacked up for them, but the ol' robin starts from scratch and ain't a bad mud dabber either. They don't worry too much about a top for their house because ol' ma robin just fluffs up her feathers and makes a pretty tight lid.

Now, the ol' woodpecker -- he's got a little more work. He's got to hunt around and find the right kind of tree and then thump his brain loose drillin' a hole to find the hollow.

If he makes the wrong choice, there may not be no hollow and he's got to do more work to make it that way.

Can't you just see ol' pa woodpecker workin' for days on this ol' dead tree finally peckin' out a cozy little nest, and then ol' ma woodpecker comes by and don't like it? Back to the drawin' board for him.

You see, the reason I'm so smart about woodpeckers is that I've watched one work all spring. He's drilled a hole in a big sassafras tree down on the branch in front of my kitchen window and over the rim of my coffee cup.

He hasn't used a compass, square, level, steel tape or any of the silly tools us humans use, and he's done a perfect job. That hole is as round as a dollar and just the right size for him to slip through.

I wonder where he got all his smarts. I'll bet he didn't take shop 101 at SEMO either.

He's awful proud of his job, though, because I've seen him set for three hours just lookin' at it. Maybe that is how a woodpecker gets the right girl woodpecker for his mate.

If she don't like the looks of the house or the feller woodpecker that built it, she can just fly on by and he'll wait for another.

As far as I'm concerned, it would have to be the house that makes the difference because one woodpecker looks just like the other. Of course, I don't look through the beady little eyes of a woodpecker, either.

Anyhow, all these little birds are busy, busy, busy carryin' sticks, feathers, clay and leaves to make their new homes, and it won't be long until you'll see little FOR SALE signs on them because the fledglings don't stay home long.

After the youngins leave the nest, ol' ma and pa ain't got nothin' to do but eat and watch for the cat.

What do birds do with all that spare time? Maybe they're packin' up gettin' ready to go south for the winter.

COURTESY of Tom Runnels Publications. Copyrighted and registered by Tom Runnels and Saundra Runnels Revocable Trust. Printed in The Banner Press: May 12, 1988.