He is fluttering his wings for food. Many young birds do that but actual wing-waving? It may not be exclusive to the adult bluebirds but I haven't seen any other birds do it. I had a couple of cute shots of that fledgling but I couldn't get them to load last night. Now I am on a different computer so I will try a couple I took early this morning. The view is to the East and the sun was low and bright, and I still had the ISO set high so the highlights on these are pretty near blown out. Sorry.
Well, it still won't load more than one. A real pain.
Another try
I guess I will have to type a message with no attachment in between posts with pictures attached.
Next.
Well, this is getting old. I have some other things to do. I will try one more then I will give it a rest.
The whole load.
And I did catch the fledgling as he left, despite the bright sun.
And to finish this off, here are the adults. Mama, looking tired, as she probably is.
And Step Dad. I guess he's tired too.
Here's a better shot of Step Dad
And equal time for Mama.
wonderful Dave! Thank You. that fledgling liiked like it had a gullet full of MW's as it flew off. I love that feeding series and how Mama turns her head sideways to fit the entire wad of mealies in
I guess "Take small bites and chew your food before swallowing or you'll choke," was a bunch of hooey.
OP, your comment really made me smile. I don't think they read any of the books
I think the adults, especially the Step Dad, just want to get it over with. This afternoon all five fledglings were at the top of a gum tree in the common area just beyond our fence. Fortunately for me and my camera, the top of the tree is dead. He was trying to feed just one and all the others descended on him. It was a riot! Finally he bailed out and they were chasing him from branch to branch. The bright sky and the distance ( about 100 feet) made it hard to get quality shots, but you can see the action.
In this first shot Step Dad shows up with a mouthful of mealies.
He finally escapes, with the fledges in hot pursuit.
In this shot there are three on top of him and a fourth about to pile on.
Mama fares no better. She arrives and is an immediate target.
Notice the one fledgling on the right seems almost disinterested.
Oops!
Upside down!
But it has to help their flying skills
Nice Shot's 2dcousinDave! I like how the one hung on. lol
Late this afternoon one was brave enough to come right up to the feeder.
Didn't do him much good as the adults kept flying up to the tree where the other four were waiting.
He finally sees one that had been dropped.
ONE, when the others are getting mouthfulls!
This message was edited Jul 7, 2009 12:59 AM
Then he sees Mama on a nearby branch and he flies to her, bumping her off her perch.
Sorry for the lack of quality here. It was getting late and I should have set the ISO higher so I could get a faster shutter.
Oh my, this thread has me absolutely breathless, 2dcousinDave! What an AWESOME piece of work, both the photography and the babysitting! What a GR8 piece of work.
You speak of Stepdad. And then I saw mention of Dad's death and an earlier thread.
Can someone direct me to the earlier thread so I can read the full story?
Pretty please???
Thx so much, 2dcousinDave, so much!
Linda
Gladly, Linda.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/995280/
Here is Mama feeding the fledge that came down to the deck.
Oh, cool, 2dcousinDave! It's past my workday bedtime, so I'll skip over there tomorrow. You might consider updating the first post in this thread with the earlier thread addie. That way, well, you know . . . .
Such a neat thread! Awesome!
Linda
oh Dave that's so funny. Yup, time for them to move on down and start feeding themselves!
Wonderful pics Dave! Those fledges are so precious!
Thanks Pele. I know you're dying to remind me , but for the benefit of those with dial up, I'd better tie a knot in this one and start a new thread. I can only imagine how long it must take to upload all these images using dial up.
-30-
All you parents out there can relate to mamma can't you? Great pictures Dave. I'm glad we can make each other smile. Looking forward to the new thread.
