Mum and Dad birds have been busy over the last week and a constant to-ing and fro-ing, to satisfy the hungry young that they have brought into the world, is being carried out with great intensity! The Bluebirds and the House Wren have been particularly busy in our backyard, and the Wren has still been very vocal as well. It’s amazing how much noise such a small bird can make. The Bluebird on the other hand makes very little noise, and it’s amazing how swiftly they appear and disappear, when coming to their nesting box. You have to keep a sharp eye out for them, otherwise they will have been and gone before you can flit an eyelid. But that doesn’t mean that they cannot be seen, for they will perch for quite a long time when not involved in feeding duties, and they are very photogenic whenever they do decide to perch for a while.
Other birds are obviously doing the same kind of thing with their youngsters too. Chickadees and the Downy and the Hairy Woodpeckers are regular visitors, with their offspring tagging along with them, picking up the tricks of feeding from our various feeders.
I’m not sure if there was a lesson being taught to anyone in particular, but a Grackle picked up a peanut and then commenced to soak it in the bird bath, presumably to soften it, although with a peanut he probably wasn’t having too much success! Smart of him to think of it though!
I watched another bird – a Robin, go to the birdbath to take a drink, but then it obviously thought about taking a bath. It was in quite a quandary, and I thought that it might have been conscious of me watching from the garage door. However, it got disturbed by something else and the bathing thought was gone, along with him! At 30 odd degrees Celsius, he probably needed a quick splash to cool down – ah well, next time!
I hope that you are getting some good sightings of your own birds and are also managing to keep cool too!
Stay safe and well.
Cheers,
John Baldwin
