A moment of silence please

Kniphofia "Dwarf Yellow"

Today I have confirmed that our little Western Mockingbird baby is dead.

Yesterday there were no parents flitting about with meals for baby, and no squeaky noises coming from the nest - baby crying for food. Today, the same. So I stood on an upturned pot and had a look in the nest. Sadly, a nestling about a week or two from fledging was lying in there, lifeless.

It's possible the nest got infested with mites, or something else killed the baby and it died - birds in general are very delicate and sensitive, and baby birds can kick the bucket mere hours after becoming sick. As far as I know nobody else knew the location of the nest, and since the parents chose the middle of the garden to build the nest it's unlikely stress from humans made them abandon it.

Hopefully the parents will have another go and there'll be a Mockingbird family again soon. Still, it's a bit sad. :(