A bluebird house, given to me a few years ago by a thoughtful friend, had never been occupied until late spring.  One day, I noticed a straw colored blade of dried grass dangling from the hole, and I took a closer look.  Staring back at me were two dark eyes belonging to a pretty bird with a yellow green top and a black beak.  She wasn’t the least bit frightened, just annoyed, as she protected her nest.  In fact, there were many times in the days that followed that she flew very close to me on her endless flights back and forth from fence to tree to nest.  Once, I must have observed too long, because she pretended to be injured to lure me away.  The acting was so well done that I was truly concerned, and I followed her as she hobbled on the ground.  When I was a safe distance from the birdhouse, she took flight and sang more delightedly than ever!

     I named this special bird Bickie, although I really don’t know why!  But she learned to recognize her name, and she flew home when I called out to her.  I noticed that the bird in the house sometimes appeared to have more dramatic coloring, and I soon realized that there were two birds.  Bickie had a devoted mate who helped her with the unceasing duties of caring for the three baby birds that eventually hatched.  My friends who know birds identified Bickie and her companion as Prothonotary Warblers.  The sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet of Bickie’s bird songs really livened up the yard throughout her nesting days.  Every morning and evening, I visited Bickie’s House to watch the nesting activities.  The babies were so demanding that both parents flew back and forth all day, feeding the little beggars. 

     One morning, I peeked in, and it seemed that overnight the babies had feathered.  Now there were three tiny Warblers staring at me intensely.  In a few hours, I saw Bickie hovering, hummingbird style, in between the branches of a small Gingko nearby.  Her mate was perched on a branch of the same tree, and both birds were focused on the birdhouse.  Bickie was chirping and singing and flapping her wings, and I instinctively knew what was about to happen.  I sat down on the steps within a few yards of Bickie’s House to observe and enjoy that special moment.  It wasn’t long before the first tiny Warbler looked out onto the world through that small wooden doorway.