Leaving the Nest

In a house on a hill on a farm, there’s a garage. In that garage, there’s a nest in a toolbox. Next to odds and ends on a dusty high shelf, three speckled eggs are warming.

The first egg hatched in late March. The nestling got a head start on gobbling caterpillars straight away. He was Greedy.

The second egg hatched at the end of March, it was the middle nestling. The piggy in the middle. Piggy liked to grab every grub she could.

The last to hatch was the runt of the brood. On the small side, Tiny emerged from her shell as an April fool and had to fight for every morsel of food.

Three Grey Shrike-thrush chicks began to cheep. One by one they opened their eyes and opened…