Rockabye Baby

Early yesterday morning, as the sun emerged from the clouds over the horizon, the four note song of the Carolina Chickadee drifted through our window. The little birds looked as if they were doing their morning calisthenics, hopping from branch to branch. Only later did I wonder if their activity was a birth announcement.

They are nesting in a birdhouse located in the old dogwood tree near the front of our house. 

There is a quick glance out the door...

...before they take flight.

My first hint that the nestlings had hatched was when I saw the diaper disposal.

 Carolina Chickadees are very neat.

Both parents feed the nestlings, and several minutes elapses between each feeding, so, like a bank robber timing the alarms, I calculated that I could get a look before the parents returned. As soon as one of the parents flew away, I set up a ladder, opened the hinged roof, and took a quick snapshot. In and out in 60 seconds.

At this point, the most predominant feature of the nestlings is their mouths, and considering how tightly the birds are packed in the nest and how quickly they get fed, it's good that the parents have big targets. The nestling's unopened eyes are only bumps on their heads and a few tiny feathers indicate their wings. Their are at least eight of them, and possibly one or two more.

Today we noticed that the branch that supports the birdhouse is rotten, and since rain and high winds are forecasted for tomorrow, we trussed the birdhouse up to a sturdier branch, while one of the parents looked patiently on.

We hope they sleep well as the wind rocks their cradle. We'll sleep better knowing that they're secure.

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday

and Saturday's Critters

Owl Attack

Carolina chickadees frequent our feeders, and queue up on the branches above it, waiting their turn.

On the window ledge over our kitchen sink is a sweet little figurine of two black-capped chickadees on a branch. A good friend gave it to me some time ago, and it makes me think of her and smile when I see it.

One morning last week, Don was in the kitchen before light. He'd turned on the light over the sink, put on a pot of coffee, and was looking through some notes, when he heard scratching sounds from the direction of the sink. When he went over to see was it was, he was amazed to see a screech owl trying to attack the chickadee figurine.

The owl's eyes were intently focused on the little figurine, and he flew towards it with his claws outstretched, until they hit the window and slid down the glass. The little birds must have looked like an easy mark, and the owl couldn't understand what was going wrong, because he did this repeatedly until Don's movement scared him away.

This was probably an isolated incident, but we've decided not to take any chances. Now those 2 little helpless buddies get put in a safe place at night, and only back on their perch on the ledge after the night crew has gone home.



Textures by Kim Klassen