A Beltane Bird Nestbox Tragedy

Well yesterday's blip was a nice unexpected happy one ... today is an unexpected tragic one ...

I've stuck up quite a few bird nestboxes around our place and a few are in use. I was out in the garden this morning and noticed a sparrow at the entrance to this box. I had my camera so I stealthily stalked as close as I could get thinking it was either feeding young through the hole or, had seen me and was staying still to pretend it wasn't there ...

... it was only when I'd taken this shot that I realised somnething was up - the feet weren't gripping the wood, the bird was dead! I got a ladder and climbed up and found to my amazement that its beak was firmly stuck right into the wood at the entrance hole. I dreaded opening the lid of the box and finding stone cold eggs or chicks, but fortunately when I did move her away and check, the nest was empty. Her mate is hanging around in the tree just now.

To be honest, I feel a bit guilty for having put the box up in the first place now, but I guess this was just a freak accident - I've never seen anything like it before, so its my choice for my Beltane blip.