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Parents who feared thieves had targeted their child’s grave have had their concerns quelled by the discovery of an elaborately crafted bird’s nest.
Mary-Ellen* and her partner, Damian*, buried their son, Owen William*, at Eaglehawk Remembrance Park after he was delivered stillborn on June 11 this year.
When a flamingo ornament the pair placed on Owen’s headstone disappeared, they worried it had been taken by thoughtless looters.
But Mary-Ellen was comforted to recognise the object in pictures of a bird’s nest shared on the Bendigo Advertiser website last Monday.
Strong winds blew the nest out of a tree inside the Eaglehawk cemetery two weeks ago, revealing a treasure trove of metallic items inside.
Christmas decorations, artificial flowers and butterfly-shaped ornaments were also built into the structure.
Mary-Ellen said her family was relieved to discover the theft was the work of birds, not humans.
“I kind of felt like it was a sign from heaven,” she said.
The item, bought from a department store for just $2, might be small, but its meaning is priceless to Mary-Ellen and her family.
“It's not a big deal. They don't mean much to anything else,” she said.
“But for us it’s parenting.”
She implored people to respect graves inside the cemetery, saying she was upset to have found footprints on Owen’s headstone in the months since he was laid to rest.
Remembrance Parks Central Victoria spokeswoman Joanne Trickey described the flamingo’s discovery as “heartening”, believing even more missing items could have been secreted into nests above the cemetery.
“We have some instances where theft does occur, but I think there’s a lot that can be attributed to by wind and by nature,” she said.
“This has been a nice way to show that.”
Calling it “a work of art”, Ms Trickey said the bird’s nest would go on display at the remembrance park and she would return the flamingo to Owen’s grave site.
Mary Ellen said she and her partner were faring better in recent weeks and had both returned to their jobs.
She thanked Bendigo Health for their support during the ordeal, as well as city businesses that donated their services to the families of stillborn babies.
*surnames withheld