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–Aesop
Peeking into the cedar tree near the front doorway, she saw the little secret blending in with the greenery, the little sweet secret we were listening to each morning as we sipped our coffee nearby. For nearly two weeks now, my hubby has been making daily mental notations on the eggs hidden in the nest deep within the center of our tree, also observing behavior patterns of mother Robin as she hovered nearby gathering the daily fare of nourishment for regular and timely feedings within the her nesting den.
During the past few days, little peeping noises have been evident as signs the little birdies are growing and becoming larger day by day, almost demanding more from their mother who runs frantically about the front yard in search of scrumptious goodies for her young. We decided to share this sweetness of nature with our young daughter yesterday, after a bit of apprehension and fear overtook her beforehand for approaching the tree. Soon, she realized how silly it was to fear such beautiful creations, dependant on their mother alone for their very survival.
Alas, the photo shows only two of the four birdlings, perhaps the others are tucked underneath, who knows? They appear large for the size of nest they lay in, and it was quite a surprise to see none were in their nest this morning, likely mother Robin took them away to train them to fly and become independent from her. A sudden glimpse of a baby robin near the front window caught our attention; obviously they are still nearby somewhere.
Within a few steps from this nesting bird home, another resident bird, our morning dove friend is yet again going to lay a few eggs soon. She was in another tree at the back of the property and has now decided to move to the front of the house for this round. Morning doves seem to prefer low-lying trees, and are incredibly loyal to their nesting instincts. It’s a rare moment when the nest isn’t occupied by the dove, another bird mate visiting frequently with nourishment for the mother bird. Occasionally she will fly away if we troddle too closely, however today, she allowed me to snap a photo of her.
One of the many morning doves around our home.
She is hiding in this little tree.
Whenver I observe a bird nest or have thought of birdlings, I can’t help but reminisce about all the tender moments, snuggling close to little ones while reading the family favorite book titled; “Are you my mother? by P.D. Eastman”. Everyone must have a copy of this book to read to youngsters, so while on the go this summer checking out garage sales and thrift stores, be sure to find yourself this “keeper”.
As we love our “birding” moments, we realize this is
Birds
Look at the bird
Up in the treetop,
Building its nest
With no time to stop.
Hatching its eggs
So smooth and so round,
Then feeding its babies
Worms from the ground.
Look at the bird
With beak for a mouth.
When it gets cold,
The bird will fly south.
When it gets warm,
The bird will return.
Let's watch how the birds live,
And see what we learn.
With our new flowerbed in the backyard, and all its newly arranged bushes for attracting birds, butterflies and other assorted lovely creatures. The rabbits meandering about nightly were eating my hostas, and that wasn’t what sort of attraction we were after!
Some of our bird feeders stationed in the new garden area.
We’ve washed and sorted the bird feeders, gathered the shepherd’s crooks for hanging everything on after spending time removing the packing tap from our move here last year.
Finally, we have a true bird feeding station with plenty of daily visitors making rounds and chatting over their meals. One addition has been an oriole liquid feeder, and the lovely Baltimore Orioles are stunning to catch there. Our hummingbird feeder and two other smaller wooden ones the children made aren’t up yet, but over time this station will be a popular hangout, also away from the back porch where we’ve removed the feeder there with all the bird poop dropping on it.
To date, we’ve noticed these birds visiting our feeders;
- Baltimore Oriole
- Blue winged Oriole
- Northern Cardinal
- Blue Jay
- Black capped chickadee
- Brown Thrusher
- Townsend’s Warbler
- Hermit Warbler
- Yellow throated Warbler
- Woodpecker
- Robin
- Morning Dove
- Black throated gray warbler
- Rock Wren
- Green tailed Towhee
- Spotted tailed Towhee
- Blue Grosbeak
- Cassin’s Finch
- Golden Crowned Sparrow
- Western Tanager
- Black capped Vireo
- Black capped chickadee
- Hummingbirds, several varieties
- White winged dove
- Kingbird
- Eurasian Blackbird
- Black billed magpies (pests!!!)
- Barn swallow (ick – they prefer bugs, thank goodness! But, tried to make a nest in the barn!)
Overhead frequently…
- Eagle – Lovely, come and get the mice! Girls put the rabbits away first.
- Assorted hawks – pick one, there are several here.
- Turkey vultures – HUGE - wingspans, ugly as all get out!
