Lakeside

I spent last week in beautiful Lakeside, Ohio on Lake Erie. 

Purple Martins were in abundance.

And there were plenty of babies!!!

Martin dinnertime.

There were plenty of other birds to watch.

And other critters as well!

Day 10 Baby Blues

Three shy babies!  Their eyes are not quite fully open. 



In my front driveway this morning, I stumbled across two tiny dead baby birds.  It appears that the Mockingbird nest in the holly tree next to the driveway was disturbed, and the babies were scattered.  Mama Mockingbird had a worm in her mouth and was looking all around.  Nature is harsh!

Alabama Birds

Birdwatching at my parent's house in Alabama is such a joy!

The Canadian Geese are always present.

Robins and bluebirds too...hanging out on a wire!

Cardinals...

A hummingbird who was so close I could almost reach out and touch it!

Finally, I was really excited to get a photo of a new bird...a brown thrush!

Back at home, the baby bluebirds seem to be doing well!

I See Three

Three baby birds!  Looks like one egg left unhatched.

Daddy Daycare

Daddy Bluebird is taking good care of his babies by bringing them food. 

The babies seem to be doing well!  It still looks like only two.

Meanwhile, two mockingbirds scuffled before a storm arrived.

Waiting Again

I checked the bluebird nest a few days ago, and all four eggs were intact.  Mama bluebird was on the nest this morning.

Dad stops by periodically to feed the female or check on progress. 

The Robin was back on the nest in the front yard, and the resident Mockingbird is hanging out in a holly bush nearby.  This Mockingbird struck a patriotic pose on the end of our flag pole!

I've noticed a few more hummingbirds, but nothing like the numbers of past years.

And, we wait.

Four and Holding

Dad making sure all is well in the nest.

...Four!

One Egg, Two Egg, Three Egg...

Nest Highrise

I was hoping to come home from work to find a bluebird egg in the nest, but what i found was a nest highrise! 

I've never seen a nest so high!  This supports my theory that these bluebirds may be a bit clueless.  To best protect eggs from predation, the nest shouldn't be too close to the nestbox hole.  I was tempted to pull a third of the sticks out but decided not to interfere.

A few other pics for the day:

Mama Bluebird



Rooftop Party

I'm calling him "Flame"

Pet Bluebird

I thought the nest was almost complete, but the female bluebird worked diligently on it all morning.

She had a lot of trouble trying to stuff all this in the nestbox hole!

 Drama erupted when this group showed up and got too close to the nestbox.

  

The male bluebird kept a close eye on the sparrow in the plum tree.

A bit later, it got a little too close (sorry for lots of empty space in the video).

After I went inside the house, I looked out the back door, and the male was sitting on the patio chair looking in!  I guess he wanted me to know what it felt like to be gawked at since I gawk at him all the time.

A few hours later, the female joined him.  As soon as I stood up to open the blinds, they flew away.

But he came back later to say hi!  Could I have a pet bluebird, please?