Well--I don't think I will be sticking my nose too close to the nest...
NOT supposed to do that....But--I will be gardening close-by. They'll have
to get used to me....
G.
Mid-Atlantic Bird Watching - Spring 2014, Cont'd
Gita, how exciting!
Weird............................
Peeked today after I got home from work----eggs are GONE! Empty nest!
Did Mrs. cardinal decide it was not a suitable location?
Not enough protection from the rain?
I HAVE NOT even been near it since the other day!
What's going on? Boooo...Hooo.... G.
could have been a predator, snake, or even other birds. So sorry!!!!
I don't have a snake.......not to my knowledge....wish i did...
Besides--who would want to crawl u[p thorny stems?
Birds can toss out their eggs--can they not--and start over???
It will be interesting to see what happens next....Just lost my "Grandma" status.....:o(
G.
Oh no! I wonder what happened. Raccoons?
I saw a very pretty black bird today. I thought it was just a crow, but it was smaller, not shiny, and the wings were a lighter color, almost dark gray, and there was some (gray?) striping on the wings as well. It was hopping around on the lawn, probably looking for bugs to eat.
Can anyone ID these LBB's. They flew in all at one time a nice size flock of maybe 20 or so. Had a great time in the bird bath.
Nice pics Holly :)
Holly--
They have really cute, round faces and heads. To me--the most distinctive
feature. I looked through my little Audubon Pocket Guide--but there was no bird
that looked similar.
Perhaps they are a brood of Young-uns" Still with fluffy baby feathers?
G.
Gita, I thought they looked like young birds, too. I asked for an ID on the Bird Watching forum and they said House Sparrows.
They sure are cute and look like they're having lots of fun!
I removed the soaked Robin's nest from my Rose bush a few days ago
it was, most definitely, abandoned. Soaking wet too. maybe that is the reason.
I was amazed about how well it was made! Some very fine and rigid, thin, dried
vines of some sort. Very stiff--so this was the underneath structure.
Then--it has a layer of whole, dried leaves forming the "cup" of the nest-to-be.
Then the usual dried grass and bits of this and that.
I put it on a foil tray lined with paper towels. Will take it to "nature Kid"--August--
next time I go there.
--The bird nest when it had a egg ib it
--Here is the bottom of the nest--all layered with dried leaves
--And there it is looking from the top.
Good construction job--if I say so! G.
yes, very well made! I'm sure the kids will love it! :-)
Robin
cute pics Holly!
speaking of small flocks of birds, came upon this one early Sat morn on my route.
well, these flew in as part of a church youth group fund raiser, people pay to sponser one of the flock flown in and then home owner pays to have them fly on to another location...
This message was edited Jun 17, 2014 12:04 AM
LOL that's quite the flock, Coleup! :-)
That is cute Coleup. They do that here too as a fund raiser. You have to pay to have them removed and you can pay to have someone else flocked. I think it is a cute idea.
I have a new denizen--again--who has set up housekeeping in my BIG pot
in the WS Bed.
The other day--I was watering the pot--like always--just stuck the hose in it and
let the water run....and this Carolina Wren dashed out of the pot.
I thought--OK! It must have just been in there....
Tonight--i was watering it again--and the Wren ran out to my big Azalea bush and
was fussing loudly (at me?)...That is when I realized there must be a nest in there...
I tried to peek in among the many flowers growing in there, but all i saw was a
pile of dead grass in, kind of, a bunch. Weird!
Decided to Google a C. Wren's nest--and seems that is how they build them.
Into anything--containers--old boots--anywhere....
NOT the greatest place to build a nest!!! I need to attend to this pot!
OH MY!!! What do I do now???? I will have to water this pot with a trickle.
Don't want to soak the nest....and the babies when they hatch.
From my Google results--the eggs are smaller in Diam. than a quarter.
Here are a few pictures (from Google) of some nests that they build.
Just like I saw in the pot--a heap of dried grass and stuff. Opening not seen.
The last picture is of my pot sitting on top of a BIG black pot.
Many things in there will be growing bigger and bigger...the canna--
the Dragon Wing begonias--
The nest is somewhere to the left of the bunch of the blue flowers. Heliatropes.
edited to say--
that is a 16" pot with a flared out lip from Aldis. Gladiolas coming up all around.
This message was edited Jun 17, 2014 8:04 PM
Sounds like the little Carolina wren needs to find a better spot for her nest, unfortunately. Wow, Gita, you are having quite the birds nest year! Love your big pot garden area--so pretty.
Well, Cat--How do I tell the Wren to move on?????
I don't want oto just grab the "nest" out of the flower pot and toss it.
What if there are eggs already in there??
G.
I had one build a nest in one of the window boxes. I just watered from the other side. How big is your pot Gita, do you think you could position your water wand so you don't disturb her?
LOL Gita no of course not! :-) I was thinking more like what happened with your other nest-- she herself may decide to build another nest elsewhere.
Holly---the pot is 16" diam. --it is big--and stuffed to the gills with flowers...
Should be pretty nice when everything grows out...
I will have to put the hose on the back side of the pot anf just trickle the water in it.,
I hope the Mother Wren built it slightly elevated...--like lots is small sticks at the bottom.
One could say--I have a very bird-friendly garden. Feed them all winter....have 3 lg,
bird baths...a big patio roof so they can, safely, feed...lots of flowers and shrubs to hide in--
what else can a bird ask??
G.
I saw my first hummingbird today! Yay! It was hovering over the honeysuckle which is surprisingly still in bloom.
oh, that's wonderful, SSG! Tell it to send its friends and family up my way! :-)
Anyone know what kind of bird this little guy is? It comes to our suet feeder occasionally.
a wren; I think a house wren. Or Carolina wren, look em up, I forget which has the bolder eyestripe
The one who has (still??) it's nest in my BIG pot is a Carolina Wren..I am sure.
This one holds his/her tail straight up. Don't know if it is still in there...
May be sitting on eggs....
I am being very careful with watering that pot..small trickle on the opposite side.
The one in the pictures above does not hold it's tail up...unless it is on the move for seeds....?
G.
I was thinking some kind of wren also... Gita, that's wonderful that you and the wren have been coexisting peacefully! :-) That will be fun to watch baby birds.
Cat--
I doubt if I will ever get to see the baby birds....the nest is so buries in this
flower pot that i cannot even see it.
Mama is still there---I went to remove a spent bloom clump from the Heliatrope
at the top of the pot--and she darted out to a nearby shrub.
We will not "co-exist"--except to the level that i will be very careful with
watering the pot....
I almost wish she was not there. i want to deal with my flowering pots as needed...
can't--b/c the nest is here....
G
Well, if it house wrens, they are nest predators. Nature isn't all 'warm and fuzzy'
http://www.sialis.org/wrens.htm
I think Seq has a Carolina, but I'm not totally sure
GREAT product name!!!!!!!!
http://www.peckishbirdfood.com/
a hahaha!
Sally that's interesting about house wrens! I didn't know they were nest predators.
Sweet, thanks guys. I'll have to check closer for the white spots on the tail when I see it next.
I saw another hummingbird this morning!
I was staring at the beebalm, a little bit annoyed that there was not a single bee on it, while the lavender was absolutely covered in bees. Just when I was thinking that it was taking up way too much valuable real estate, a hummingbird flew over and started feasting! Yay! The beebalm stays!
:)
Beebalm is good stuff, don't get rid of that. Lavender are like bee candy.
Yay! Lucky monarda! :-)
VA_Wild_Roses, should we get a new thread soon?
Seq, I get mad at my plants sometimes, as if that helps motivates them to perform better. LOL
I was staring at that monarda and threatening them -- you'd better stop flopping over after every rainfall or you're getting edited out!
SSG, you are a monarda taskmaster--LOL! :-)