Yesterday afternoon, a pair of robin fledglings tumbled out of a nearby tree. They hopped through a rabbit’s crawl-space under the fence, then spent several hours exploring our back yard…
bird watching
Failed Nests
The yard’s nests are having a tough year. In April, I discovered a robin’s nest in the wax myrtle. A few days later, a heap of feathers hinted that hawks had claimed another victim. Broken eggs soon joined the feathers.
Now the recent dove’s nest is also empty. I don’t know what happened, only that the nest held two eggs one day, none the next.
Both losses tempt me toward sadness, but how dare I claim sadness? Failed nests are blissfully minor tragedies. Wouldn’t it be a joyous day, if the only news worth reporting involved bird nests?
Wings in the Yard
We bought this speedwell because it was advertised to attract butterflies. I haven’t seen any butterflies on it, but it draws a lot of wasps.
The wasps chase everything away from the speedwell’s bed, but Blue Dasher dragonflies patrol all the other beds.
And, as predicted, Halloween Pennants have begun to arrive.
The bird feeders get less traffic than the flower beds, but not by much. Doves are our most frequent diners. And the hungriest. This one ate so much it could barely fly.
Doves are the most numerous birds in the yard, but the blue jay fledglings are the loudest.
However, their cries cannot compete with the Blue Angels, who are in town for a weekend airshow. The show’s flight path takes them right over our yard…
Blue Jay Fledglings
The blue jay fledglings are beginning to spend some time in the open. I wonder if it’s due to growing confidence, or if it’s more a matter of growing hunger. It seems to be a lot of work, keeping them fed…
Birds and Dragonflies
The blue jay babies are fledged, but they haven’t started foraging on their own. They continue to rely on their parents for food. (More about the blue jays here, here, and here.) While the adults flit back and forth, the babies explore the densest parts of our wax myrtle (where I can’t get a picture of them), exercising their voices and wings. There are at least three fledglings, possibly four, though it sounds like there might be a dozen when they shriek in unison.
During occasional blue jay lulls, when the parents forage in other yards (or simply take a break from their raucous brood), doves and sparrows share a turn at the feeder.
The doves gulp seed in greedy excess, then settle on nearby perches to preen and stretch as they digest their meals.
Along with birds, the yard is filling with dragonflies. Eastern Pondhawks have joined last week’s Blue Dashers.
I’ve also seen two or three species I can’t identify, like this golden beauty. (My best guess is a female Needham’s Skimmer. Can anyone confirm or correct that ID?)
Today was hot and humid, just right for June. I mowed through the heat, then sat on the deck to enjoy a fitful breeze stirred by approaching storms. I was tempted, for a moment, to call the yard “mine”. But a burst of blue jay racket reminded me that it isn’t mine at all.
Rae Spencer 