Friday Fledgling Blogging

 

Waiting for Mom 

The baby birds in the nest next to my kitchen door are getting ready to fledge. I've been watching their mom, a patient and thrifty song thrush, deliver grubs and worms to the nest, quickly depositing her bounty in a yawning mouth and flying off again. She flies low, diving almost to the ground, before lifting into the bush where her nest is carefully hidden. From everyone but me—I finally got a photo, waiting until she'd left her babies tucked snug in their cocoon.

I worry about predators. There are blackbirds, magpies, and jays in the garden, who enjoy snatching the peanuts we leave on the bird table. So I've cut down on the peanuts, hoping they'll find another grazing ground for now. It's a calculated risk: they may find the fledglings more enticing than the missing peanuts. 

But so far, the dog and I haven't had to chase away any "bad birds" like we did in Albuquerque, where we guarded a nest of swallow chicks from the jays, summer after summer. 

My fledgling is coming home tomorrow. Daughter Number Two arrives home for summer vacation. I was heartbroken when I left her at Heathrow back in August. But I've adjusted, discovered a life that doesn't involve being at the beck and call of a teenager. My own whims seemed foreign at first, indulgent and unnecessary. But I've quickly learned the value of my own schedule, my own desires.

In one of life's gentle ironies, I recall another bird nest, with baby birds who took their maiden voyage on the same morning Daughter Number Two set off for her last day of kindergarten. A pair of sparrows had nested in the porch lamp, and when I returned from the bus stop, depositing my youngest for her last kindergarten bus trip, I noticed the babies flying off. Symbolic, I thought sadly, as the school bus braked in the next block.

My baby is flying home—her plane takes off any minute now.

Comments

[Serge]

Meanwhile, here at the foot of Albuquerque's Sandias, our backyard is the gathering place for the area's volatiles, what with my regularly resupplying our feeder. Alas, no birds seem to be nesting within our rather large backyard. That may be because of our three killer canines.

[KathyF]

Serge, they had a writer reading a piece on Radio 4 the other day, about how since she'd become a full-time stay at home writer, she'd become fascinated by the animal life outside--squirrel battles, etc. She fantasized that she could communicate with squirrels, and learned how much they really hated her.

Has Sue gotten to this point yet?

[Katharine]

The next thing you know, one of your fledglings will have a baby or two of her own. Let me tell you, grandbabies are a blast! And it can be a joy to see former fledglings become very good at parenting.

[Julie]

Great photo!

[Serge]

The squirrels never come too close to our house, thanks to our canines, who have been known to kill a few of the rodents. The latetr probably hate Sue, but that's OK because she hates them back.

[Expat Mum]

Great photo, and have fun with your baby!

[KathyR]

Awww.

But the cynic in me compels me to ask: So, you forget the part where they peck the shit out of you while they're still in the nest?

[KathyF]

KathyR, not only do you not forget, but they don't stop after they leave the nest. This week we've had two wee-hour phone calls from one former fledgling, needing more grubs.

[Serge]

Was she trying to worm her way back into the nest's life?

[Diane]

What a great photo! We haven't had any "close-up" nests in a year or two. A couple of years ago, wrens built a nest on our back door wall (in a plant basket), and before that, cardinals built a nest in a shrub right outside our bay window. That was a wonderful view! We have nesting bottles on our front columns and they always have nests built in them, but I never manage to see the babies.

[KathyF]

Diane, the babies are even bigger today. I think they're going to fly off any minute now. I've been gardening, and every time I dig up a worm or slug I take it over there and lay it near the nest. Not that that mom (and dad) need my help!