Nest - final mosaic

Nest mosaic 2
Originally uploaded by rooruu.

And so what happened with the nest? One day, a basking nestling in the sun. A couple of mornings later, a dead nestling on the ground, already food for ants. At least two nestlings remained, but a couple more days later, the nest was empty and abandoned.

It was good to have caught this brief time - they grew so quickly from pink and helpless to the survivors gone, flown away into their own brief lives. I first took photos on 11 December and photographed the empty nest on 20 December, less than two weeks later.

I thought about whether to post the dead nestling picture, and then thought, well, it's part of what really happened. One day, a nestling basking in the sun in such a delightful way, and then the attrition which is also part of the cycle. If it had still been alive, I'd have tried to put it back in the nest, but it must have fallen at night and not survived till morning (it's been an unusually cool December).

That section of vines will get pruned carefully, leaving the nest in place. Maybe it will be used again next year.