The one in the middle used to fill its space…

I’ve mentioned the pest birds at our property more than once in this blog. Today I was musing on them again, as I watched a whole flock of them descend upon our brick fire pit.

Yes, our fire pit.

It was the bricks they were after.

Whether for the grit or the nutrients, I don’t know, but I’m inclined to think the latter. The clay for the bricks came from some other location, so it’s bound to contain nutrients our property doesn’t.

As it turns out, this is a worldwide issue with sparrows and finches—they love bricks and mortar. It’s not a particular problem for us—the fire pit isn’t exactly an essential structure. The only bricks that really matter on our property are the ones in the chimney, and the birds don’t seem to like those.

In fact, they’re quite selective about the bricks they eat. Perhaps they go for the softest ones, or perhaps there are subtle differences in the nutrient levels in different bricks. The birds aren’t telling, and as far as I can tell, no one has ever felt the need to study the issue in detail.

Regardless, they’ve foolishly chosen to focus on a brick in the centre of the fire pit. One of these days, they’re going to break through it, and the bricks on top are going to fall on their heads.

A very slow form of pest control?