I’ve always wanted a bird to make a nest in my yard. There’s something extraordinary about a bird nest: how they pick the location, the time and work it takes for the meticulous construction, the eggs that appear and babies hatching on a spring morning. But I’ve never been so lucky as to be “chosen” by a bird couple.

I have a friend of mine who every year would have two ducks waddle in her front yard to make a nest. I would tell her the birds feel the warmth of their home and feel comfortable placing their precious eggs there. I also said it kind of jealous. I mean, no birds ever come near our house. The only nests we get are bee or hornet nests. We also had a mole who left dirt mounds and drove my husband crazy to the point that my husband was digging holes at 2:00 AM, which made our neighbors who we didn’t know at the time very scared of us.

Last year we finally planted some beautiful trees in our yard – small trees, but trees! To my total unbelief we discovered not one, not two, but THREE bird nests in our back yard! One belongs to the prettiest blue jay I’ve ever seen. The second to a robin who left six tiny eggs. The third to a peculiar shore bird with long legs called a “Killdeer” (I had to look it up online).

Killdeer birds make their nests on the ground and fake a broken wing to protect the nest. Sure enough, if we get too close, the mommy bird spreads her wings and flaps like she has a broken wing. Last night she flew off for a few moments and we walked up to her special spot. There we found one beautiful white egg with gray spots about the size of a small chicken egg.

I’m in love. I can’t wait for the baby to hatch. I’m already a proud Aunt.