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Babies in the nest!

Mrs. Titmouse has been seen sneaking into this lovely birdhouse town home for a while. But I couldn’t tell if she was just going to dinner and going back to sit on her eggs, or if there were babies in there. I tried to peer in there when she was gone, but it’s quite dark in there and the babies are a long way down since it’s a two-story!
Then yesterday when she flew to the nest, I heard the magical, musical “chiro, chirp, chirp” of babies when she landed on the doorstep. This morning I perched in the woods to try to get a picture of her going in the nest. She was onto me though. She landed up in the tree above me and cackled at me – fussing loudly about my intrusion.
But I stood very still and waiting until she felt more at ease, and sure enough, she ventured down. She perched on the hook first, before she slipped into the nest to bring breakfast tacos (ok, that may be a stretch!) to her babies.

It has to be a good day after that, doesn’t it?

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-09-14T17:25:23-05:00April 13th, 2011|baby birds, bird house, Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring|0 Comments

Bye bye birdies…

For several weeks now, we’ve had baby cliff swallows in this nest high above our front door under the eaves. At first we could only see the edge of their beaks, and couldn’t tell how many were up there as they would come to the edge and then go back.
But they soon grew and began jockeying for position in the ever-shrinking nest. Five abreast, pushing up, up, and up to the edge of nest – they waited for mom and dad to bring breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And then they learned how to turn around on the edge of the nest and leave me with presents that required pretty much daily clean-up of the front porch.

Then one afternoon last week, I watched the mama (or dad) fly all around the nest, chirping intently and landing all around the nest — clinging to the side of the walls and landing on the hanging light fixture.

I’m certain she was saying, “Come on out, you can do it, just flap your wings, come on now!” They kept opening their beaks for food, but mama wasn’t bringing them food, she was giving them a lesson.
And sure enough, the next day, one lone little swallow ventured out to the lamp. He sat there, looking very alone and a little forlorn, with all his siblings across the way, safely cocooned in the nest.
But soon he was joined by another sibling. And for the last 3-4 days, they’ve all be flying around and around our house – soaring in the blue sky, chirping happily to one another — 5 not-so-little babies and two proud parents.

What a sight it is to see and their song is full of joy. I feel blessed to have been able to be a part of it.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:14-05:00June 29th, 2010|baby birds, Blog, cliff swallows, nest, Sharing Nature's Garden, swallows|0 Comments

Come on over to critter country again!

I could have filmed a nature documentary here today.

First, my three friendly new deer visitors came looking for a late lunch and I gave them some water. This spring we have a Mama doe and two yearling bucks visiting regularly.

I went in the garage to get another saucer for some corn. Just as I was reaching for a tray, a Carolina wren flew out of the shelf, not more than a few inches from my hand!

I screamed (not uncommon for me here in critter-land), and realized she had just flown out of a nest right above my hand.

The wrens have been in and out of the garage lately, so I’ve been keeping it 1/2 closed, thinking I had deterred them before they started a nest.

HA!

(Remember, I am NOT in charge!)

There it was — a sweet little nest inside a blue and white pot, with 7 tiny speckled eggs in it.

I waited a while and checked again, and found the Mama burrowed deep down in the nest, covering her eggs and guarding them with her life.
It you look carefully, you can see her head at the bottom. I was trying not to disturb her too much, but I did get a better shot on my second try.
She’s really giving me the evil eye here!

I high-tailed it out of there, but not before putting a saucer with birdseed and water close by her when she has to be in the garage and can’t get out.

I’m going to leave the doors open when I am home, opened the windows for air, and will leave the doors cracked when I can, trying to make sure she is IN and not OUT, when the doors have to be closed for a long time.

I thought about slowly moving it outside the garage, a few feet at a time, but there are two very predatory cats next door, so I couldn’t get them to a safe enough height.
Here are our little deer friends. This little buck is quite plucky – he gets really close to me and once even acted like he was coming to me. He’s clearly young!

This is their Mama, who’s always with them and keeping an eye out while they much. They have eaten on a few of my smaller or newly blooming plants, normally left alone. I think they are really hungry and too young to have a very sophisticated palate yet. Oh, heck, who knows why!

Oh, yes, and while I was taking pictures of the birds and moved on to the deer, a Texas horny toad lizard shot out between my feet!

I should be charging rent! Or filming for some reality show!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:42:31-05:00June 8th, 2010|baby birds, Blog, bucks, deer, doe, eggs, Sharing Nature's Garden, wrens|0 Comments

Those birds need to earn their keep…

The nerve!

My little birds — Titmice, Cardinals, Finches, Wrens, Sparrows and many more, are slackers.

I dutifully put out bird seed for them before the big snowfall, so they would have food to eat and keep them warm.

And they can’t even respond by shoveling the snow off their front porch!

Guess it was just too cold for outside chores on Tuesday.

Or maybe, they just knew that by yesterday, the sun would be back and the snow would be gone anyway.

But they were very happy for the birdseed and it was fun to watch them flit about with their feathers all puffed up to keep them warm.

Miss Phoebe Hellebore was quite happy with the cold weather and the snow, she just opened right up to welcome it into her garden. Isn’t she pretty? But her 3 other Hellebore friends are still holding out on me.
This lovely bunny, given to me several years ago by my BFF, didn’t seem bothered by the snow and cold either.
These little guys, however, were up to their eyeballs in it — literally! They will be happy to be back in the sunshine soon.
Love the abstract art that the snow makes when it lands on plants in the garden.
My daughter and her friend tried valiantly to make a snowman, but it kept falling apart and their little fingers got cold before they could get the job done. Afterwards, I rewarded their hard work inside with Girl Scout cookies and hot chocolate with marshmallows.

And one final long shot of the snow covering the front yard in the “Blizzard of 2010!” Loved having it here, and today — so glad it’s gone and our sun is back — 63F for the high today with a little wind. I can live with that!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:42:35-05:00February 25th, 2010|baby birds, Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, snow|0 Comments

Meet the wrens!

I was out feeding the birds this morning when I heard the familiar “cheep cheep cheep” of baby birds.

I was delighted to find that Mr. and Mrs. Wren had made a nest and a little family in the gourd I bought a few months ago.

I thought it was very colorful and a welcoming home, and apparently they did, too!

Mrs. fussed mightily at me when I tried to get close and see the babies inside, but they were too far back to get a glimpse of them, much less a photo, so I left them in peace.

Cute, isn’t it?