Nature's Mishaps...

I reported about 10 days ago that a robin had nested on our front porch. Rob came home last night at midnight and the nest was gone.  Something got it. We found the nest on the ground about 5 ft. away.  It wasn't windy and besides that she had it pretty securely rested in its location. Wind wouldn't have moved it.   For the past week she has been religiously sitting on the nest. Even sitting in a nearby try screaming at us when we are on the porch too long for her to return.  So we know she laid eggs, we think it was last Friday that she laid them.  However, there were no eggs to be found last night or this morning. 

We suspect that either a cat or an owl or a hawk took the nest down.  We're hoping that it wasn't some idiot messing around because the nest was very visible from the street.  But since the eggs are gone, we think it was something that was hungry!

This morning as we were waiting to Nadine on the bus, momma bird came to the tree and went to fly up to where the nest was but abruptly turned and flew away once she realized we were there.  Following her was papa bird.  It's amazing that they have returned to find their nest. I'm sure they will go through mourning just as we would in losing our children.  I'm sad because this means that there chance for new life has been squashed this year.

The irony is that yesterday was Earth Day. We were reminded that nature has a course, an order that as much as we try to aid, nature prevails.