We have been seeing some small birds flying around our front steps for a while, and then we saw them flying up under the porch. They are building a nest on an electrical box from which a light hangs. It seems like a great spot, sheltered from the weather and well up off the ground. Unfortunately, two or three cats frequent that area, and one of them is a killer.
This is Chloe watching the bird perched on the bottom post of the stairs. Chloe is very interested. When the bird flew to the other side of the steps, Chloe’s head followed.
Chloe is not the real threat to the adult birds. That would be Sylvester. He is a natural born killer.
I had intended to check the nest, and tear it down if there were no eggs or baby birds, but I’m afraid I’ve waited too long. We know what is going to happen. If the adults escape Sylvester’s bloody mouth, the baby birds will fall prey to him, or Chloe or Dusty. Chloe and Dusty are not the killers that Sylvester is, but I don’t know a cat that can resist killing a baby bird on the ground. The killer might even end up being Mollie, since she goes out for a while every day. She has already brought one bird in, apparently to play with it. It was still alive. We opened a window and it flew out.
This is apparently a pair of white-breasted nuthatches. They are fairly common throughout almost the entire United States.
I wish there was a way to save those birds.
Robin — I wish there was something we could do, but I’m afraid it’s too late. We had the same problem when a bird built its nest in a small crepe myrtle by the driveway. I didn’t see that one until it was too late. I did manage to stop another bird last year before it could complete its nest on one of our outdoor floodlights.