Bird Parents

With Mother's Day having just passed and Father's Day around the corner, and with Spring here, I thought a few words on bird parents would be timely. I have noticed that just like in human society, there are all types of bird parents in nature. There are birds that take really good care of their young; the Canada Geese at Tanglewood have 6 young and after watching them every day, I am impressed with their parental skills. They are vigilant and sometimes even nasty when it comes to protecting their young. The hissing and neck bobbing I see when I get anywhere near their goslings is enough to make me keep my distance. Then there are the birds that "make babies" and their job is done. This is seen in some species of Cuckoos, where the parents aren't responsible for any care at all of their young; the female will lay their eggs in other birds' nests and then she leaves, relying on a totally different species to raise her chicks. There are times when the traditional roles are reversed as with Phalaropes; birds in which the female is colorful (in the bird world it's usually the male) and the Dad does all the work building the nest and incubating the eggs; he's the one that does the important stuff.

All of these parental choices (and more) are seen in human society. Unfortunately all human parents aren't Geese-like in the care of their children, but many are and it is those in particular that we thank and celebrate on Mother's and Father's Day.