Birders

I took the kids on an outing once when they were fairly young - my son might have been 5(?) and his sister a bit older.

Someone in the group spotted a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher heading to a nest then realized there was a very young cowbird in the nest. Gnatcatchers a really small birds and the cowbird was stuffed in the tiny nest.

My son was INCENSED. He wanted me to climb out there and get that bird out of the nest. The nest is like 40' off the ground and hanging over a rock-lined creek - impractical and impossible.

In addition to seeing this firsthand, I also learned that cowbirds know where they lay their eggs and will check on the nest to see if "their" hatchlings are doing well. If you take the egg out of the nest, they'll destroy the entire nest and anything else in it.