Never mind Bat-man, here comes Robin!

Over the years, I’ve had a number of nests in and around my yard. For all my life, American Robins have nested on & off under the deck of my house, last year a pair of Black-billed Magpies nested in a nearby tree (which was later cut down as a new house was built) and three years ago I put up a nest box which, for two years uninhabited, now has a pair of Mountain Chickadees nesting in it.

Mountain Chickadee at nest box
Mountain Chickadee at nest box

Mountain Chickadees, Black-billed Magpies, American Robins – all birds mentioned in this story:  The other day, a Magpie was “inspecting the Chickadees’ home”. Why was it there? Magpies are known to be great egg stealers! What would happen to our Chickadees and their family? Holy heart failure, Batman!  Would no one rescue the chicks?

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Robin appeared. Stooping in like a falcon…or maybe a bat…Robin smashed at speed into the Magpie, knocking it away from the nestbox, and saving the Chickadees. Holy avian rescue, Batman!

Robin
The Masked Avian Rescuer

A friend of mine once had a pet Magpie and one time with the Magpie on his shoulder, a Robin came and smashed into his head! (aiming for the Magpie).

If you’ve had a similar experience, I would love to hear about it.