Kumbayah

I went out yesterday to take another photo of the one remaining baby robin in the nest under my canoe.

It had gotten huge, getting all the food and parents' attention since its siblings disappeared. As I approached, it jumped up and down and climbed out of the nest and glided down to the ground in the side yard, immediately being viciously attacked from above by a cardinal. It's surprised and panicked squawks brought both its parents on the fly, who then piled into the cardinal. A free-for-all ensued.

Finally one robin backed off and charged the cardinal at high speed, knocking it over and getting on top of it. While those two were occupied fighting, the other parent got the baby away and they vanished into the woods behind a brush pile. The cardinal backed off to a safe distance and let the remaining robin know what it thought with the obvious equivalent of obscene gestures and noises. Then both left the scene.

It seems a fitting metaphor for 2020 America! Kumbayah.