The big robin was prancing around on my front porch, pecking at this and that.

It spotted a piece of string that would make a nice addition to its nest.

The robin put the end of the string in its beak and took flight.

However, the string was tied to a post on the porch.

As the robin flew away, string in its mouth, the string grew taut. The bird yanked and pulled, its wings flapping in the air, but It was forced to let go.

Then after a pause, the bird returned, flew down and put the string in its peak, once again.

As the robin flew away from the porch, the string began to unwind and was stretched straight out like a clothesline.

Then the robin again was yanked back and dangled, wings flapping, as it pulled at the string. The bird repeated the process one more time.

I felt sorry for the persistent bird so got my my scissors, went out and cut the string free. I left it loose on the railing so that the bird could return and capture its prize. Then I went inside and forgot all about it as I went about my chores.

Late that evening, I decided to see if the string was still there. It wasn't.

There is yet another robin that has built a nest above the lattice work in the backyard.

Each time I go outdoors, she screeches and flies from her nest into a nearby tree. She makes all sorts of noises to let me know that my presence is not welcome. Go away, go away.

Watching the antics of birds is satisfying. It's fun to watch the habits of birds in their natural surroundings

I'm not a professional bird watcher but for many years while living in the country, I watched birds building and protecting their nests, and feeding their young

Out back of my house in the rafters above the patio, a mourning dove has built a nest and is sitting on her eggs. Her devoted mate stays busy bringing tidbits of food to her. Back and forth he goes all day long.

Occasionally she leaves the nest and visits the feeder near my kitchen window. But she doesn't tarry.

While I wash dishes or work at the sink, I look out and watch the birds peck the seed in the feeder.

A pair of Cardinal redbirds often visit the feeder in early morning and late evening.

This morning I watched as the male redbird came to the feeder. With him was a smaller bird, not so brilliant in color. I assumed it was his mate. They landed in a small tree near the window but my view was partially blocked by the branches..

Then the brilliant redbird did a strange thing.. He flew down to the feeder, put a seed in his beak, then flew back onto a branch of the tree. There he put the seed in the second bird's open beak. That sequence was repeated eight or nine times. The male would get a seed, fly to the other bird, and stuff the seed in its open mouth. How strange.

It was then a third redbird appeared.

Ah, hah. Now it all made sense. The third bird was the mother, the brilliant male was the father, and the smaller bird was their hatchling. The father had been feeding his offspring, seed by seed. It was only then I noticed that the offspring was smaller by comparison. It was fully feathered and perhaps half mature.

So at last count, I have a setting mourning dove, a redbreasted robin on another nest, and redbirds that have built nests in tall hedges across the alleyway. Soon there will be more hatchlings emerge from the eggs.

In springtime, it seems a bird's work is never done.

They are as busy as bees.