THE ROBIN AND THE SPARROW, CHAPTER 2

He had noticed the exhausted robin tugging at the string, and walked toward Robbie who flew to a nearby post, perhaps wondering if the man was going to steal his prize. The man gave several jerks at the sturdy string, left it on the lawn, saw the strange cloud, turned on the bird bath, and walked back to his house. Robbie seized the string flew it to Mrs. Robin. She had found the bird bath and was delighted to see the string. Choosing a hidden forked branch she used her beak for a tool and pasted small twigs together with the water/mud mix and smoothed it against the inner side of the cup-shaped nest with her side feathers. Together the birds interwove the string through the twigs and let it dry in the sun. Then Robbie flew in some soft new grass to line the nest.

Sparkie came over and with excited chirps announced that his mate had just laid six eggs and was going to keep them warm so they could hatch within two weeks and in another two weeks they would be ready to fly.

The man in the big house, came out again and looked at the strange cloud that was moving east. Sparkie zoomed in with another news flash, showed a beetle in his beak, gulped it down and gasped, "That strange cloud might be a beetle migration and we must warn the nearby trees. They may have time to produce some chemicals to frighten them off." Robbie agreed, and suggested all birds begin sending warning bulletins through cyberspace. Robbie's mate had laid five pale blue eggs and like Sparkie's mate would cuddle them warmly for two weeks, turn them over each day for even warmth as all birds do until babies tap against the shell with their beak tooth and struggle free.

Robbie took a shift to keep the eggs warm so his mate could exercise, get a drink, and find some favorite bugs for lunch. During the night he perched on a nearby branch to protect Mother Robin from predators. If a squirrel or other thief came by to steal their eggs he attacks them with screeches and dive bombing. After l000 miles flying to their northern home, then building a nest to raise their family, the possibility of bugs eating their tree home called for immediate planning. Within his computer brain, he sensed that a plan to help the trees would mean protecting the whole wonderful creation that was entrusted to all living things. He thought of bluebirds, considered the best song birds in the world, inspiring all with their loving gentle warble. Perhaps human leaders will realize how these birds and all songbirds are diminishing in number because pesticides cause their egg shells to thin and break before they hatch. People as well, were suffering with cancer from spraying and other pollution. Finally falling asleep at dusk he began to dream when a haunting call broke the night silence. Hoo-hooo-hoo-hoo.