OK, so birds

[thollandpe]

Yesterday while in my kitchen I glanced out at the deck and noticed several large shadows moving across the deck surface, then I heard the rustling of feathers, and finally some noises coming from the roof surface itself. I went out and saw at least four turkey vultures perched on the roof and several others swooping around and landing on some of the larger trees. I yelled at them and they all flew away, but it was pretty cool. This isn't the first time they've visited, so I wasn't totally surprised, but it's still a bit strange to see a "flock" of such large birds up close and personal, especially ones with a bit of a nefarious reputation.

It's a good thing they don't go after pets, because my cats enjoy going out there and Nyx, my 20 yr old, is barely over 5 pounds and could potentially be a target.

(picture is not from my encounter)

Mab, they hunt by scent. Something dead is nearby, don’t worry about the living. Seriously, they will travel hundreds of miles on a good whiff.

[echappist]

That’s a young Carolina Wren. See the yellow lining on the mouth? That’s called a “grin” line. In the low light of a nest, it gives the adult a target outline. Shove the bug between the lines. That one is fledged recently, so learning process in full effect. Probably can fly ok without good directional controls, but if you put it outside where you found or rescued it, the parents may find it and continue to feed it. Birds can’t smell or otherwise sense any evidence of your handling of the fledgling. They won’t abandon it. The only risk is that they might not recognize it. But it is hard for a human to feed baby birds enough or the right foods, so whenever you find a baby bird, it is always best to put in the center of the nearest bush and step away. The parents will take it from there, or the fledgling will make it on its own. Or not.

Your dog was just retrieving a very small grouse. Good dog.

Out of curiosity, what features differentiates that wren fledgling from a house sparrow fledgling? From the angle of the photo, it looked like it could be either (to my untrained eyes).

[dashDustin]

Here’s another angle:

2276D4A3-85BF-468D-BB68-504E7DDDEF3F.jpeg

Fun fact: Ornithology is tattooed on my right forearm.

As played by Charlie Parker, 1951 Birdland Broadcasts.

[Mabouya]

Here’s another angle:

I'm not terribly optimistic, but I sure hope this story has a happy ending...

[dashDustin]

I'm not terribly optimistic, but I sure hope this story has a happy ending...

Woke up this morning, early, got dressed and we checked in on him.



Not a happy camper! But alive. And chirping away. So we were moving him from the bed of the truck to the front beds and he hopped onto my arm, then up to my shoulder. Then he took off. Deeper into the garage, unfortunately, but flew a little bit, nonetheless.

Wifey picked up, trying not to cry, and we put him back into his little box, and set him next to the flowerbeds. He hopped out, still chirping away, and hopped off under the bushes.



I think he's gonna be alright.

[echappist]

Yep, @j44ke is indeed right. That’s a wren fledgling. The marking behind the eyes is one indicator.

Birds should have really good hearing, so perhaps the parents will hear the chirping? Unless your dog went way out to snatch the fledgling, chances are, the parents were also in your yard at the time. Anyone’s guess if they may return today, but one could hope.

Thanks for the updates.

[davids]

I hope that guy has a nice, long life.

Last summer this little one flew into my glass slider and stunned herself:

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I kept her company on the patio for a while.
I was worried she was done for, but she flew off a little while later.

[davids]

And did someone mention turkeys?

20190204_071644.jpg

That's our next door neighbors' patio, and an edge of the massive woods (nearly a half acre!) behind our houses.

[dashDustin]

Yep, @j44ke is indeed right. That’s a wren fledgling. The marking behind the eyes is one indicator.

Birds should have really good hearing, so perhaps the parents will hear the chirping? Unless your dog went way out to snatch the fledgling, chances are, the parents were also in your yard at the time. Anyone’s guess if they may return today, but one could hope.

Thanks for the updates.

So at my office, we have a little Swallow nesting spot. I've been observing them for...man, 3 years now? From nest building, egg laying, hatching, feeding, their first flaps of their wings. The adults become super agitated when the young ones are approached (ie when I step out the door). I just assumed all birds would respond similarly, which is why I was surprised that there was no activity while I was initially standing there holding Peep (yeah, we named him). When we set him outside this morning, there was a lot more activity. Feeding time, I suppose. So yeah, hopefully he's reunited.

[echappist]

So at my office, we have a little Swallow nesting spot. I've been observing them for...man, 3 years now? From nest building, egg laying, hatching, feeding, their first flaps of their wings. The adults become super agitated when the young ones are approached (ie when I step out the door). I just assumed all birds would respond similarly, which is why I was surprised that there was no activity while I was initially standing there holding Peep (yeah, we named him). When we set him outside this morning, there was a lot more activity. Feeding time, I suppose. So yeah, hopefully he's reunited.

As a bird watcher of sorts, I've been trying to get even a quarter-decent photo of a swallow, but they just move so fast that I could never get a proper glance. Having them right outside your office window is quite neat, as that may be the only time when an adult swallow isn't moving so fast.

And did someone mention turkeys?

20190204_071644.jpg

That's our next door neighbors' patio, and an edge of the massive woods (nearly a half acre!) behind our houses.

The most surprising thing is how well they fly, even the recently fledged turkeys. A few quick flaps, and even the fledglings can jump from ground level and onto the height of an electric wire.

[Tom]

We had a pair coming around and hanging on our front steps where it was warm. It was pretty funny when they went over to our neighbor's house and starting pecking their glass patio door with Brisket, the big old bull terrier Lab cross sitting there just on the other side going "Huh?"

[echappist]

In non-robin related news, there's a ruby crowned kinglet wandering about. I should have had my camera on me, but I didn't. Alas, no pictures, but perhaps he'll come back again?

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And something has occurred in the robin's nest. There was one egg on Tuesday and two on Wednesday (see photo below). I was going to do an update on Thursday, when I thought there would have been three eggs, but instead, there was only one egg. No idea if the robin laid an egg earlier that day only to have two taken, or if she didn't lay an egg at on on Thursday. But despite of the missing egg(s), the robin was still on the nest most of Thursday. There is still one egg in the nest today (Friday), but I have yet to see the robin today. Normally, the robin incubates the egg(s) well into the early afternoon and rarely leaves to eat (and this was the case Thursday as well), but that wasn't the case today.

No idea what has happened, and I did not notice any evidence that an egg(s) was evicted from the nest. I'm also under the impression that whatever predators that may have discovered the nest would clear it, as opposed to leaving one in the nest, but here we are.

Also, is it just me or do these eggs appear to be on the smaller side. They don't appear that much larger than the finch eggs I saw last week.

[j44ke]

Adult wrens are noisy all the time, so the increased volume when they have fledged birds wobbling around is probably not noticeable. And they don't really dive-bomb predators. Depending on the annual weather and food supplies, wrens can have 2-3 broods in a summer. So one or two getting misplaced may not register with them too much either.

Birds that are particularly adept at flying do often use dive-bombing as a protection technique because well, they are good at flying so they can get away before the predator catches them.

Tree swallows showed up this morning and spent almost all day trying to get into the vacant bluebird box. The bluebirds were having none of it, and they defended the empty box and strongly as they defend the box with their nestlings in it. But I think the tree swallows are going to win eventually.

edit: BTW best treatment for a bird that bonks itself on a window is to put it in a paper bag. Reduces external stimuli and allows them to better get their equilibrium. Concussion treatment essentially. Which is probably what they have. When you hear the bird rustling around in the bag, pecking to get out, open the bag and let them go.

[Paul Jacobs]

My wife found a blackbird's nest in her rhubarb patch. It seems vulnerable to ground level predators but blackbirds (Turdus merula) typically nest low down.

[Moke]

Love this time of the year. We have ospreys on the nest down by the river, the robins have fledged, the owl on the trail is back in her hole, but my favorites are the starlings. I know they are loud, dirty and a pesky sort of birds. They live in my neighbors (needs to take better care of his house) eaves and have just fledged their babies. They are so funny to watch as a family unit. The babies squawk feed me feed me, then shake all over when the parents bring them a scrap of food. Goofy annual Spring ritual in our back yard. When the sun hits them they are so pretty.

[echappist]

My wife found a blackbird's nest in her rhubarb patch. It seems vulnerable to ground level predators but blackbirds (Turdus merula) typically nest low down.

Nice rhubarb patch.

Also learned something new today, that true blackbirds (as opposed to the red-winged blackbirds we have in North America) is in the thrush family.

[Doug Fattic]

Several years ago in my frame shop building I heard little chirping sounds and saw that some how a wren had gotten inside. I left the door wide open so he/she could find their way out. Curiously this happened several more times. One day to my great surprise and astonishment I followed the little noises to the shelving where I store my framebuilding supplies. Up about eye level was a nest with little ones. I couldn't believe it because it wasn't obvious to me how the parents could have gotten inside. I discovered a hole in the box I had surrounded the motor that ran my exhaust fan for my spray booth. Both parents were busy flying in and out to feed their babies. I was extremely worried that the tiny and complicated escape route could be navigated by the babies. It was also an awkward time to have birds in the shop because I had a framebuilding class with 2 students going on. Fortunately my students were considerate of the situation and all the babies survived and found their way outside. In the 1st picture you can see the wide open mouth of the hatchling. In the 2nd one the baby had left the nest (so I guess you couldn't still call her a nestling) but hung around to admire my lugs. The 3rd picture is the baby wren on the backside of my spray booth right by the hole above my electric motor that will be her escape route to the outside world. It is a mystery to me how she could find that hole without instructions from her parents. I left the nest there for a year in case they came back but apparently they weren't interested in a career in building frames.

[echappist]

Looks like wrens to me?

[Mabouya]

Very cool, Doug - and a happy ending.

In a related matter, I think it's about time for me to put the hummingbird feeder out...

[htwoopup]

Very cool, Doug - and a happy ending.

In a related matter, I think it's about time for me to put the hummingbird feeder out...

This, and Dustin’s and Doug’s stories above cause me to post this.

The hummingbird was trapped in our Tempo (temporary garage structure big in Canada). My wife cradled it in her hands and brought it through the house out to the feeder and nursed it until it flew away. Of course, she was talking to me in English and the bird in French as it was clearly a Quebecois hummingbird to her.

I think word got around in the hummingbird community because that summer we had more hummingbirds after the incident than we ever had before or since.

IMG_3344 by Jon Mandel, on Flickr