SmugMug
Home | Login | Help |
 
|View Cart
Patti Neale (zoisrus)  > Nature > Nesting Birds
This gallery follows some of the birds that nest in our yard. The first story is of the second wren nest, and is full of drama. Be sure to follow the pictures sequentially and read all captions.
The April Cardinal nest follows.
Gallery pages:  1  2  3  >  
< Prev 1 of 38 Next >
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 1 - Carolina wrens build a nest each year, in a shelf box on the other side of the garage. We keep all the dog grooming supplies here, and the nests are always tucked between the brushes and various coat sprays, just below eye level. There are 5 eggs in this nest, one laid about a week ahead of all the others. 

The first chick hatched today. Head is about the size of a pencil eraser. It's obvious that Borzoi hair is used extensively for building material.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 2 - Stilll just one chick out of the five eggs. Mother wren is furious at my intrusion, but stays put much better with the chick than she did with just the eggs. We saw the same protection increase with the cardinal mother.

The nest is ball shaped with a small opening on the the side.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 9 - I was out of town from June 4-8, and during that time, the other 4 eggs hatched, 4 to 5 days after the first chick was born. The older chick is the one with the pink mouth. All the others have yellow mouths. Different sex perhaps? Or is something fishy here? Bill shape is slighly different, too.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 9 - the older chick - a tiny dinosaur
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 9 - The older chick is very much larger than his nestmates at this point. We worried first that he would dominate the food from the parents, and started feeding all the chicks with little strips of canned dog food from forcepts. The older chick took to Alpo quite readily, and the younger chicks followed suit.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 9 - the younger chicks.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 10 - The nest opening gets larger and the sides of the nest deteriorate as the chicks get bigger and move around. This storage area for dog grooming supplies gets a nest virtually every year. The older chick is sitting at the front of the nest.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 10 - The eyes are open on all the chicks now. The younger chicks startle easily, but the older one is quite bold. The older chick really looks different now with his gray feathers. Hmmmm....
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 10 - begging for Alpo.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 11 - Well, it happened while we were at lunch. We came home and the older chick was missing. It took about 20 minutes to find him, listening carefully for his call to the parents.

He was sitting about 2 feet from the ground on a ligustrum trunk. Very hard to see against the bark.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 11 - Of course, he was HUNGRY. So I brought him Alpo on the forceps and he ate greedily.  This was the first time we'd seen his whole body (the nest was too small) and it became obvious that he did not look like a wren at all.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 11 - The parent wrens were calling nearby and fluttering in the shrubbery. The chick oldest chick sits on my finger. This is NOT a Carolina wren. The wrens have raised someone else's chick!

With the camera in the other hand, equipped with the 100 mm lens used for most of the bird photos, I could not get far enough away to capture the whole chick.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 11 - I returned the chick to the tree, and put a pen around it to protect him from the dogs. He soon tries to fly and get through the bars. The parents (?)  call encouragement.  Within the hour he disappears into the trees. We do not see him again, but feel optimistic about his success.

We determine that the chick is really a brown-headed cowbird, a parasitic species who lay eggs in the nests of other birds and let the foster parents unwittingly raise the kids.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 12 - The REAL wren chicks without the leadership of their bogus brother, are very nervous and won't take food very easily, rather cower in the bottom of the nest when I come by.

I leave a line of Alpo strips along the front edge of the shelf. By late afternoon, the parents come and use the food to feed the chicks, and I assume, themselves and the cowbird chick.

This is the last picture I have of all the wren chicks. Late that evening.....
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 12 - At about 10 PM, I went to check on the wrens. As I approached the box in the dim light, I saw something light-colored where I should have seen only dark. I yelled for Chris, who brought flashlights, and saw this yellow rat snake on the shelf, and in the nest. There was only one chick in the nest, and it was very still and wet.

The snake, seeing us, slid behind the nest, went up behind the shelf, and wedged behind the bottles on the upper shelf. As much as I like snakes, I wasn't feeling too charitable towards this one. We removed the bottles and I grabbed the snake and brought it into the office. It is pictured here on my desk.

Notice how fat it is on the center section, with three baby birds in its stomach.
June 1 - Carolina wrens build a nest each year, in a shelf box on the other side of the garage. We keep all the dog grooming supplies here, and the nests are always tucked between the brushes and various coat sprays, just below eye level. There are 5 eggs in this nest, one laid about a week ahead of all the others.

The first chick hatched today. Head is about the size of a pencil eraser. It's obvious that Borzoi hair is used extensively for building material.
Patti Neale (zoisrus) > June 1 - Carolina wrens build a nest each year, in a shelf box on the other side of the garage. We keep all the dog grooming supplies here, and the nests are always tucked between the brushes and various coat sprays, just below eye level. There are 5 eggs in this nest, one laid about a week ahead of all the others. 

The first chick hatched today. Head is about the size of a pencil eraser. It's obvious that Borzoi hair is used extensively for building material.
June 1 - Carolina wrens build a nest each year, in a shelf box on the other side of the garage. We keep all the dog grooming supplies here, and the nests are always tucked between the brushes and various coat sprays, just below eye level. There are 5 eggs in this nest, one laid about a week ahead of all the others.

The first chick hatched today. Head is about the size of a pencil eraser. It's obvious that Borzoi hair is used extensively for building material.
Camera: Canon (Canon Eos 50d) |
more details: exif |
original size: 2400px x 3187px |
Current: 339px x 450px |
Other sizes: S • Medium • L |
Share photo: links, forums, blogs |
Gallery pages:  1  2  3  >  
< Prev 1 of 38 Next >

Comments

| hide gallery comments |

New comment: Requires approval

Name: Email: Link:
Connect  Connect with Facebook


Comment on: | Rating: stars
To foil spammers, enter this code: copy this text in this box: Code unreadable?



News | Browse | Keywords | Communities | Forum | Wiki | ClubSmug | Prints & Gifts | Shopping Cart | Login
Terms | Privacy | About Us | Contact SmugMug | Blogs | API | Affiliates | © 2009 SmugMug, Inc.
Show FeedsAvailable Feeds | What are feeds?
Gallery Photos:
Atom FeedAtom | RSS FeedRSS