Buffy protects the robin's nest

[hheldorfer]

A pair of robins has built a nest on top of one of my downspouts, tucked up near the eaves of the house. The nest is rarely unoccupied as they are incubating their eggs, but occasionally both mom and dad are gone. As I worked in the yard today (assisted by Buffy and Ziggy, of course), Buffy suddenly started barking very insistently toward the neighbor's house. A big crow was perched on the corner of the neighbor's roof only 15 feet or so away from the robin's nest, which I saw was unguarded. The crow was eyeing the nest - probably wanting to steal the eggs - and Buffy was determined to keep him away. She and Ziggy put on quite a show, barking, jumping and stomping their paws until the crow flew away. They even "chased" him to the edge of the property to make sure he was gone. Mama robin immediately came back to the nest and all was well.

I know that Buffy has noticed the robin's nest but I didn't think it would mean anything to her. And we often have crows in the yard but I've never seen her react to them so vehemently. I can only assume that there was something in the crow's demeanor that she recognized as evil and felt she needed to defend her property against him. It was certainly an interesting encounter and, if Buffy really is clever enough to figure out the ill intentions of a crow, she's definitely getting smarter than me. Yikes.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Good job Buffy & Ziggy! You gave that crow something to crow about.

[Lynn in TN]

Great Job! Kelly has always been smarter than me, but I try to tell myself it's not so!

[KShep]

Are you kidding me? That is amazing!

[hheldorfer]

Are you kidding me? That is amazing!

I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself. Sometimes our little guys and gals are just plain scary smart.

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

Oh boy, I guess Ivy is not that nice. Last year, when a baby robin fell out of its nest, Ivy picked it up and carried it around spite my yelling at her to put it down and the mother robin swooping down and attacking Ivy. Ivy didn't have a care in the world-she was so proud of herself. Eventually, she dropped the baby bird without harm but I was a little perturbed with her for not listening to me sooner.

[Carolinasmom]

That is an awesome story! A couple of years ago a robin had babies in our front tree and along came a crow and grabbed them. I actually saw the crow fly up and heard the momma scolding. I instantly knew what was happening but I was too late when I rushed out the door to scare the nasty bird off. That poor momma sat in the tree the rest of the day chirping sadly. Good for Buffy!

[Zekey's Mom]

That's awesome! Buffy did a great job!

Something got at the robin's nest in my yard -- I found a nest with 4 beautiful eggs in it. Checked back later and they had hatched. Checked it again, and it was totally empty! I was so bummed. There are frequently crows flying around my yard, so I'm guessing one of them was the culprit. My guys will have to take lessons from Buffy!

[Autumn & Lola]

Way to go Buffy and Ziggy! Superhero Cairns!

[Malcolm's Dad]

Good job Buffy!

[Newman]

LOL Awesome story, good work buffy!