Neighbors

While watching robin baby #2 who's hunkered down in the bushes (well hidden) I heard the click call of Papa-to-be Cardinal. He was above my head on a branch. Out of the bushes flew Mama-to-be Cardinal. I know there's a nest close to the hunkering baby robin. Mr. Cardinal had a mouth full of worms. He fed his mate. There is nothing more loving and tender. After her meal she groomed her feathers and within five minutes she was back hidden in her nest. She's obviously an experienced mother, knows to take very short breaks. Obviously the cardinals and robins co-exist in peace, because Papa Robin flies into same bushes to feed baby #2 without being attacked by the cardinal and the robins' (now vacated) nest is right across the path from the cardinal nest. There were no territorial problems.

Baby robin pictures tomorrow. All is fine.

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Three-dimensionally wonderful

Big foot. Big po-po. Totally adorable.

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Misty day

It's been drizzling on and off all day, but that didn't stop my search for life in the garden. Fledgling #2 is perched in the bushes well hidden, very low light. Fledgling #1 is up on a tree branch. Papa brought the baby a hunk of bread which he had a hard time getting down. There's another robin nest in the back garden, too high to see what's going on, but I saw a parent fly in with food. And in the midst of all this I met a sweet oven bird. Not bad for a wet day.

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Fingers crossed

With luck our new fledglings will develop into beautiful new "teenagers" like this Riverside Park youngster. This youngster is now independent, but still wears his juvenile spots and slight yellow marking on craw.

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Graduation Day

The robins have FLEDGED!!! Day 14, out into the world. One is perched on the tree above the bushes. The other is hidden in the bushes in no light. ( hand-held, 1/2 second exposure), and Daddy is taking a bath. He's going to be busy for the next thirty days. It's his job to feed the new fledglings while Mama sets up the next nest.

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Birding

Birding takes practice. It's not an easy hobby if a person is juiced on caffeine or adrenalin. It takes patience- an ability to notice small details, an ability to stand still. A lot of birding involves waiting. I find huge joy in seeing a bird for the first time and being able to figure out what the bird is. This month I saw and recognized my first chestnut-sided warbler. I probably saw this bird before, but this time I knew what was in my face. It's the small details and bird behavior that helps in recognition and it happens in seconds.

On Monday I saw a tour guide with a group of inner city teenagers on a nature walk. They were far too noisy to have allowed birds to be seen close. The guide was saying, "That was a .....". "This is a tulip tree. The orioles love tulip trees". "That singing you're hearing is a ...". As I passed this group I heard one of the laggard kids ask, "Can't we see a cow or somethin'?" Yes, a cow they would have noticed, but not the small creatures, not yet fine-tuned birders, more attuned to texting and video games, big blare and flashing lights, not the gentle signs of nature.

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Cloudy day

It was all grey today, dreary. Mama Hawk flew out of the nest for a break. The kids turned the space into their own trampoline. I've seen wing flapping, but I'd never before seen young hawks jump up and down. It was a hoot. A video camera would have done better justice to the antics.

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