Could it Be?

Tony, Is that YOU?

It's not uncommon to see birds around our house...we have hundreds actually.


But this is a little strange.

A few weeks ago a bird appeared in the vineyard, right around the time my little brother Tony passed away. Jim and Jimmy were taking the garbage down the long driveway and noticed an ever-so-friendly bird following them and walking with them. The bird kept a safe distance but did not seem bothered by their presence. It walked and chattered along as if it was part of the family, it would constantly turn around and look at them as if to make sure they were still coming. Jim mentioned it to me but it was forgotten.


Then, all week long around the same time, anytime you would drive in or out of our driveway this same bird would pop out of the vines and swoop in front of your windshield--definitely trying to get your attention; so much so that you would slow down not to hit it. The bird seemed a little on the aggressive side, almost like it was taunting us. Jim, my mom, Jerry, the Doodle's nurse and I all noticed it.


The next week the same thing happened when Jim and Jimmy walked the garbages down the road on Sunday night. The little bird followed them, chattering away. This time, Jim and Jimmy came back and told me they thought maybe the bird was Tony.


As the days went on, the bird continued to almost greet us when we drove in or out of the property--and was very vocal with us. Now, most recently, it's moved it's nest from the vines near the driveway and is living somewhere just north of the house, much closer. He even came up to our glass doors yesterday and when I went outside to see him, he flew away.

Saturday, Jim saw the TWO birds and a tiny little baby bird and they were making a bunch of noise near his motorcycle trailer. Later that day, Jim called me over to see if we could see the baby and found the baby DEAD. Jimmy was pretty upset and wanted to make sure we buried it. Not sure how the baby died. I think if it would have been our cat Coco, she would have brought it to the front door all proud and eaten it like she does with her prey. It didn't look like it had been attacked.

Jim buried the little bird and we marked it's little grave with a wooden cross. So sad.

These birds nest on the ground and so I did some research with the help of Google and I think I may have found out what kind of bird "it" might be.

A familiar shorebirds the "Killdeer" is a robin-sized plover with two
complete dark bands across its neck and chest and pale legs in all seasons. A
bright red eye ring is visible during the breeding season. Being a ground
nester, the orange-brown rump is obvious as the bird tries to lure intruders
from its nest or chicks with a “broken wing” distraction display. Historically
called the Chattering or Noisy Plover, the “killdeer” call is distinct.

The two pictures at the top of the post, the one on the left I got online and the one on the right my mom took one day when she took a walk and the bird walked with her. These two below were also taken on a walk with the bird.





Coincidence that this cute little bird appeared and began taunting us around the same exact time my brother passed away? Maybe. Coincidence that my brother loved to hunt..."killdeer"? Maybe.


Even so, we like to think that maybe it is Tony flying around the house watching over us and letting us know he is OK now, flying and free from his pain and suffering.