Have you ever espied the makings of a wild bird nest that made you feel good all over?

[Ruby Rose]

In May, 1998, I witnessed such, which inspired me to write the following for my memory-book, and which I would like to share with you.

"Twinkling Sanctuaries"
by Ruby Rose

As the world began to thaw in Northern Quebec
Small plainly-coloured passerine birds...
The song sparrows...a harbinger of spring in the North
Began to search the ground once more...
For bits of this and bits of that
To build their nests...
To lay their precious eggs
Carrying little princes...about to be.

They watched as Nelson...the golden one
Basked in the sun one day...
With golden strands gleaming
And they sat and coveted those silken threads.
I need some of those for my nest...said one;
I, too,...said another.
The winds are strong...
And we need the strength.

After a snooze, Nelson gave a little shake...
Gold strands danced in the airspace about him...floating gently to the ground.
He then stretched and slowly ambled away.
Before the shadow of Nelson's great tail had left the day.
Three musical notes sounded in the air...
Golden threads were gently scooped up by tiny beaks...
And with their precious trailing kites of golden strands,
They drifted higher and higher to the tree tops...and began...

Hidden in the foliage, there are silver and gold-laced sanctuaries
For feathery princes about to be.
Reddish-gold highlights from the lady of the house, a silver curl or two from her man,
Small bits of yarn and such...fragments of Christmas tinsel found along the way
A bit of silver to twinkle the night away.
Soft corn silk toasting in the sun...honey-coloured down
To pad the tiny bed...to lay the precious eggs.
But most of all...silken threads from the golden one...Nelson, a golden retriever.​

 

[Aneeda72]

Nice poem .

I love wild birds nest and have seen quite a lot of them. Birds nest all over Utah and in the strangest places. The most unusual one was on the trim of a high rise hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.

A falcon nest which was watched on live tv as we all waited for the eggs to hatch. .

 

[Aunt Marg]

Simply beautiful, Ruby.

 

[Geezerette]

Loved it! “Golden threads scooped up by tiny beaks..”
Always gives me a warm feeling in the spring, seeing the birds pulling up and carrying bits of this and that, gazing around as tho looking for just the right spot, even the arguements about who’s going to get it.

 

[RadishRose]

I found what looked to be an owl's nest on the ground in our woods last autumn.. I thought it was fascinating.

The birds picked at a wreath hanging on my kitchen window, taking away bits of twig.

 

[Don M.]

Every year, the birds build a small nest in the "gooseneck" downspouts on our rain gutters. The overhang of the eves gives their eggs and young hatchlings some protection from the heavy Springtime rains. We enjoy watching the yearly "cycle" of these birds, and when Fall arrives, and they've gone their way, I clean the old nests off the gutters, and next year, the process starts again.

 

[Chet]

Where I once lived sparrows would build a nest on top of the pillar that held up the porch roof. It was nice up until they began dropping their droppings onto the porch floor. An eviction notice was delivered.

 

[JonDouglas]

Despite all my efforts to discourage a robin from building a nest on my garage door opener, she persisted.

I did not feel good all over when she crapped all over my car while flying in and out. Once the eggs hatched, I did feel good enough to use an old sheet as a safety net close to the floor for when the fledglings jumped out.