Friday, June 26, 2009

Babies!!!!!!

Every year, at about this time of year, since I started birding. I have been having a conversation. I enjoy the conversation almost as much as the spring birds. The first one was with myself ...or perhaps another birder- I don't remember. It tends to go like this...

“So Ang, I have been seeing this amazing bird!”

Me: “Really! What does it look like?”

“Well, it’s got all of these black spots on its chest and it has red sides (sometimes a red belly too)”

Me: “O.K. What size is it? Is it the size of a finch or a Robin?”

“It’s the size of a Robin!”

The person describing the bird gives such great descriptions. Describing the bird itself but also telling me how it behaved, and when it tends to visit. Indicating just how much time they spent watching the bird. I love hearing their stories and I am always excited to tell them that they have noticed a fledged American Robin.

My last home gave me a deep appreciation of the American Robin (since for years it was one of the few birds that visited my yard). One winter we had the "Crazed Guard Robin" who chased away any bird who went near the flowering cherry trees frozen berries. He sat in constant watch over that tree until every berry was consumed. Then there was the summer we enjoyed "our pet Robin" who would follow us around the yard while we pulled weeds. The kids and I trained him by placing worms out for him to eat.

And in early summer I love to watch the fledged Robins. Clumsily following their parent Robin and poking at the ground. Then suddenly loosing their fledged Robin composure as they erupt into full on baby robin. The parent Robin must have found food. The baby Robins wings start fluttering, it makes an incredible amount of noise, and holds its beak wide open..its now in full beg mode. All parents know what this means, give them the toy or there will be hell to pay in front of all the people at Walmart.

Well anyways, this year at my new home I still have enjoyed the fledged Robins but I have noticed a few other fledged birds. Tell me about the baby birds have you seen?

Labels:

5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 27, 2009 at 12:42 PM

    i loved that cRaZy robin :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. LisaJune 27, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    I am so excited to hear about your new yard birds. We had a new bird today, actually two, in the bliss of courtship! I think they were willow flycathers, but I very likely could be wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beth CottamJune 28, 2009 at 8:42 PM

    When we first got married we lived in that house in Murray. There I saw a pair of starlings, mate (copulate), build a nest, feed, and then saw the fledglings hoping around following the parents and begging. It was fun to see the whole process even if it was just starlings.

    I haven't got to see any baby birds at my house at all this spring. But I did see a momma squirrel teaching a baby squirrel to eat my bird seed. I was sorely conflicted.

    ReplyDelete
  4. tinkJune 29, 2009 at 11:32 PM

    We have had a nest in our front tree for at least 6 years. It blew down in a storm last year, to our disappointment. So this year I haven't seen any baby birds, though we have heard them. I love my robins too. I've already told you about the ones who dive bomb our "stupid" dog; and the one who chewed out the stubborn string that was tied to the fence; and then there is the Daddy robin who I like to think has come back several years who sits in our patio lounge chair and won't even move when we come out because it's his chair....Birds are a blessing and a joy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ErnJune 30, 2009 at 8:16 AM

    I always hear the baby mockingbirds every spring, even if they stay hidden.

    At my new/temporary home, I saw fledgling Say's Phoebe's this year, which was a great surprise. I hadn't expected any good birds in the relatively new development.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...