Allene made her morning smoothie and stood at the window by the sink, watching the See Rock City birdhouse. It was mounted on the top of the four by four cross that her husband Thomas had built to hang the Yankee Flipper bird feeder. She had first noticed the bluebirds’ activity about a month earlier, in late spring. One morning as she was washing the fruit for her smoothie she saw a male bluebird land and look at the house. He went through one of the holes at the front of the house and then came back out. Later that afternoon she saw a female go into the house and come back out. Allene called Thomas and excitedly told him that the bluebirds were going in and out of the house. Not long after that the male came back with a bit of pinestraw in his beak and went inside. It was then that she began to watch and monitor the birdhouse on a regular basis.
Both the male and the female began bringing more pinestraw, twigs and grass to the house and placing them inside. They were definitely nesting. Allene was mesmerized and could not get anything accomplished in her office due to monitoring the bluebirds. She had retrieved the old pair of binoculars out of the closet in the front room and would check on the house at least three times a day. The male bluebird would sit on the beam that the birdhouse was mounted on and guard while the female was inside the house. The See Rock City birdhouse was partitioned off with rooms inside and by this point there was pinestraw sticking out of the top hole and both sides of the lower portion.
After a couple of weeks, Allene was watching through the binoculars one morning and the male landed on the crossbeam with what appeared to be a large insect of some sort in his beak. He hopped over to the hole and up onto the perch. That was when she saw the two little mouths open up at the front of the hole. Allene squealed with joy. There were two little baby bluebirds in the house. She texted Thomas and told him the good news.
The next morning was a Saturday. Thomas came out of the studio about eight-thirty in the morning and stood at the kitchen window for about fifteen minutes. There was no activity, so he went to fill the bird feeders. When he walked out onto the back deck, the male bluebird was sitting on the beam, guarding the house. Thomas walked out into the yard. The bright blue thrush looked at him and did not move. Thomas edged closer toward the house but stopped before he got too close. The female bird flew up and the male hopped onto the top of the house. She hopped up onto the perch and Thomas saw the mother bird put her head in the hole. The father bird sat on the top of the house, watching intently. After Mama bird was through feeding the babies, she and Papa bird both flew away. Thomas walked over to the Yankee Flipper, took the big feeder down, filled it and replaced it back on the hook. He then filled the rest of the feeders and went back upstairs to make food for the hummingbirds. He had had bird feeders and houses for many years, but this was the first time he had ever seen nesting birds.
Allene continued to watch through the binoculars and as the days went by she could tell that the baby birds were growing bigger. Then one morning it happened. It had been about two and a half weeks since she had first seen the babies and lately one would poke his or her head out of the hole and look about. This particular morning Mama and Papa each flew up and landed on top of the house. One of the youngsters stuck their head out of the hole and stayed there for quite awhile. Mama flew away, but Papa stayed at his guard post. He looked down at the young bird, which was now head and chest out of the hole and looking about. Papa flew away. A minute later Mama flew back up and landed on top of the house. The young bird retreated into the hole for a few seconds and then stuck its head back outside. It looked up at its mother and opened its mouth. Mama looked down at it and fluttered her wings. The little bird retreated into the hole again. Mama stood guard for a few seconds and then peered back down at the hole. The young bird looked outside again and up at Mama, opening its mouth. Mama just watched and the young one went back inside. Mama then flew away and the youngster poked its head through the hole again, this time coming about halfway out. It was brown with white specks all over its neck and chest.
Allene was quivering with excitement and kept the binoculars locked on the birdhouse. Mama flew back up, landed on the roof of the house and hopped down onto the crossbar. She had what appeared to be a cricket in her mouth and the young bird disappeared back through the hole. Mama hopped up onto the perch, put her head inside and then disappeared into the house completely. Meanwhile, Papa flew up and landed on the crossbar, also carrying some sort of insectuous treat in his beak. Mama flew out of the hole and Papa hopped on the perch. He then disappeared into the hole as well. When he flew out, one of the young birds came out almost all the way and put its right foot on the bottom edge of the hole. Then it really hit Allene what she was actually watching. The young birds were fledging and she was going to see them fly for the very first time. She swallowed hard and kept the binoculars on the lower right hole of the birdhouse. The young bird looked about and flew away. Allene gasped. Seeing what had just happened actually took her breath away.
The second bird then stuck its head out of the hole. Looking around, the youngster put its foot and one wing out, crawled through the hole, flapped its wings and hovered for a second before landing on the perch. This bird was a little more cautious and hesitant than its sibling. It looked about and uttered a few calls. It looked around again and flew off. That was that. Allene took the binoculars down and stared at the house. It was then that she realized exactly what she had witnessed. She had watched the bluebirds court, mate and build a nest. She had watched them nurture their babies. She had seen the babies grow and finally, this morning she had seen them leave the nest and fly away. She had witnessed the complete cycle. She thought about it for a long time. She then picked up her Yeti with the smoothie inside and went downstairs to her office to work.