A Bird’s Nest

I found a bird’s nest—with two eggs in it! Now this isn’t really news in a mountainous area that still has considerably lush vegetation. If you set out here to look for a bird’s nest, your quest will end in less than thirty minutes. What’s special about the nest I discovered is that it’s cuplike, which is getting rarer to find nowadays. The nests here are commonly that of a sparrow’s—ball-like and has a small circular opening at the side.

I found the nest in the school across our house. I was taking a late-afternoon walk, pretending I’m Charles Dickens exploring the streets of London, when I noticed a sparrow’s nest nestled in the newly trimmed hedges. I happened to have my camera with me that time, so I decided to take a photo of the nest. The mouth was clearly exposed to passers-by, but the whole nest was intact because whoever spruced up the plant either had a good heart or had the artistic sense to include the nest in the design. After I took just one shot, a tiny bird flew away in fright from inside the plant. I brushed aside the tiny leaves and branches, and found the beautiful cuplike nest. I peered closer into the nest, and to my delight, I found two unhatched eggs.

The eggs were maroon or purplish. I could not tell for sure because it was getting dark. I took a photo of them, and I hope my camera processed the color right. I also did not see the color of the bird that fled from the nest; it just appeared to my eyes as a brownish blur. As I know from experience, though, cuplike nests are built by yellow hummingbirds (yes, the kind of bird that can fly backward).

I checked the sparrow’s nest, and as I had assumed, it had already served its purpose. The eggs had hatched and only shells were left there. I got worried that, just like what happened to me, the sparrow’s nest would attract passers-by and inadvertently lead them to the other nest. So I took the used nest and threw it away. I wished that the eggs would hatch soon because June was coming and regular classes would start again. The eggs or the hatchlings would surely not survive in the hands of mischievous students.

I wondered if the person who trimmed the hedges had seen the second nest. Maybe he didn’t, for the nest was well-hidden inside the plant and he must have been working fast. Maybe he did and he was really good-hearted so he left it there untouched. In any case, I was glad that it was safe. Soon, two lives would be born in it, and then fly around and liven up the air with their music.