Do animals grieve?
We all have seen films of elephant herds mourning one of their members, but I never thought about birds grieving until I stood on our deck and watched a robin couple squawk back and forth after their nest had been raided by a blue jay.
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The two robins built a nest right outside our family room door. The male caroled his presence every day in nearby trees. The female brought more and more twigs to the nest and shaped the nest so that it fit her body perfectly. Within a few days, she stayed in the nest most of the time. The male began striking our windows with his claws extended. We put our shades down in the hope that he wouldn't be injured by his attacks on his reflection.
When we came back from our walk one day, we heard the two robins screeching in our front yard. Their calls came from high in the trees and were directed at a Stellar Jay diving into the bushes alongside our house. The jay swooped into the tight space between the hedge and the wood siding. Nearby, two juncos with a nest in the bushes also called out in distress. The robins flew in pursuit of the jay until he hurried away.
The next morning we awoke to more raucous cries. We peeked around the shade and didn't see the female in the nest. We walked outside onto the deck and looked up to see the two robins crying from a tree branch. Two juncos sat near them on other branches. The robins continued to cry over and over for a long time until they eventually flew away. We could see pieces of the nest hanging from the branches. Later in the day, I checked out the nest, spotted four crushed blue eggs, looked down, and spotted a broken robin's egg lying on the ground below the nest. The Stellar Jay had been successful.
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Every year we have nesting birds who thrill us when we see the babies attempt their first flight or harass their parents constantly for food. We have also seen losses from blue jays, crows, hawks, and even some birds you wouldn't imagine as nest raiders. We don't know if the robins' calls expressed their grief. What we do know: we had a chance to witness something in the wild that we had never seen before and we were touched by it.
Your post touched me, Martha. For all its beauty, nature can be harsh!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Teresa. It was puzzling and awe-inspiring to see the Robins.
DeleteFrom Pat by email: The last few weeks in England I have watched a daily show called Springwatch where hidden cameras in a stretch of wild country enable us to see birds breeding and raising their families, cuckoos replacing other birds eggs with their own, fish and flies laying eggs and mammals of various types, otters, foxes, moles raising their young. One of the nests was attacked by Jay just as you described. It was shocking and sad even though we know it is part of the natural predatory cycle.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your weekly dose of inspiration.
Pat, thanks so much for writing your story about the Springwatch show. We've often thought of putting a camera out in our backyard to catch activity we don't normally see.
DeleteFrom Letty by email: Thank you for sharing this heart-breaking story. You truly were fortunate to see nature in action and the moments of grief.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Letty, for your comments. It's sometimes hard to watch the other sides of nature.
DeleteFrom Meta by email: That’s an incredible and poignant story. It will stay with me and somehow connect me much more to the natural world. Thank you
ReplyDeleteMeta, I'm so glad that you were touched by the story. We were amazed to watch the Robins.
DeleteFrom Mary by email: Oh what a sad story. I know Doves mourn their partners too, we’ve witnesses that. I appreciate your insight and thoughtfulness for the world around us. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. I am glad you continue to read my posts!
DeleteFrom Linda on FB:Heartbreaking story…😢 I think the bird that’s been teasing my cat for the last week might be a female robin. One of your drawings shows what she looks like exactly. I have not seen a male robin around. She always has an insect in her mouth which I figured she was going to feed the babies. There is a Japanese maple next door which is where I think the nest is. I don’t have hummingbirds anymore because Scotty (cat) caught 2 of them & I took the feeder down. Couldn’t let that happen again.
ReplyDeleteRobins are fierce. The male was really protective. Thanks for telling your bird story too!
DeleteFrom Sharol on FB: Always hard to see, but hawks, jays, and other predators have to eat, too.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. We'd just never seen the raided birds reaction before.
DeleteFrom Jane on FB: What a shame! Our cat went looking for his brother in the garage for years … we carried him out through the garage to go to the vet… grief is universal.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane. Yes, grief is universal and this was a good reminder.
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