It's spring and a young bird's fancy turns to nest making and babies. We have plenty of birds around here. And lots of nests. Last year I put up my first wren house and had a wonderful little family move in. This year I bought a second house and a young male wren is already making his nest.
Here he is going inside with some twigs on the left and here he is sitting on top at the right. I must say I have so much admiration for animal photographers. I remember being at the National Zoo and seeing photographers camped out around the panda exhibit waiting to get 'The' shot. Waiting for these birds to go in and out when they are so darn quick was quite the challenge, so this is the best I could do.
I especially like how he has hung a wreath of twigs at the front door. Or maybe, it was at the direction of Mrs. Wren sitting in the tree overseeing construction. Check her out in the upper left corner.
And wrens aren't the only residents. Early last month I saw robins building a nest in the River's Birch.
Try as I may, I was never able to get a picture of them sitting in the nest. Imagine my surprise when I looked out this morning and saw what appears to be a young robin sitting back there in the spruce tree.
Is it really possible we have robins already hatched and flying around in early May? Another robin family has decided to make their nest on a fence pole in the side yard. I usually discourage this as the squirrels and raccoons love nothing better than to destroy the eggs, but this must have been pre-fab construction cause it went up seemingly overnight.
This was another test of my photo ability trying to hide behind a table and using a telephoto lens. You are able to see the new Hardiplank siding on the house which I must say looks really good. I just hope these robins survive. They are sheltered from the elements, but not the critters.
I love having the birds in the yard. They are much preferable to the four-legged critters. I am hoping the hawks decide to spend more time here hunting as this one did a few years ago.
I'm with you, I admire the patience of wildlife photographers, I just get anxious and take the shot.
ReplyDeleteIf I was getting paid to shoot, I'd have more patience.
DeleteThat is a magnificent hawk! How fun with all the bird activity you get. We had pigeons trying to build a nest in one of our ledges. Not fond of pigeons so I was glad it didn't vwork out and they moved on.
ReplyDeleteBetty
I love the hawks. Pigeons we do not have and glad of it. We have Canadian geese which I do not like. Too messy.
DeleteI love birds, as you might expect given the blogger ID. I see lots of blue jays in my yard, and the occcasional cardinal. I hear doves in the woods behind the house.
ReplyDeleteWe have all of those birds, but it is usually robin's that nest here. Last year was the first wren family. The saddest tale is of the duck's whose nest was destroyed by raccoons.
DeleteAlways enjoy birds! We usually have quite a variety here, what with being out in the country right next to a federal preserve.
ReplyDeleteThe coffee is always on in Caneyhead
I am surrounded by nesting gulls. That's all, apart from a few pidgeons. I live high up in a loft and soon I'll see gull's chicks emerging from between chimney pots all around me.
ReplyDeleteClick to visit Keith's Ramblings!
Wildlife photographers must have extreme patience, and in some cases, bravery, depending on their subject matter. I love your shots and it feels like spring when you see them build their nests. Your hawk picture is excellent!
ReplyDeleteYour bird photos are amazing, especially the one of the hawk. There seems to be a lot of activity and baby birds in my neck of the wood as well. There was a mother dove and her baby in one of my evergreens just this past week and I got a photo without disturbing them. I will put it into my next post!
ReplyDeleteIt is a pain waiting to take pictures. Matt could do it, I was certainly too impatient. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteI love hawks! Around our parts, they are pretty hinky and it's hard to get a good shot. They taunt me.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures! We have some stupid doves who always want to build a nest on the light fixture just next to our front door. Finally, we had to put something on top to discourage them. Why they'd want to nest where people are always walking by is beyond me. That hawk is magnificent!
ReplyDeleteI have had robins try to do exactly the same thing by my front door. The robin's nest is already deserted. I saw crows on the fence and I think they got the eggs.
DeleteI love the idea of a prefab bird's nest - it's the way of the future. We live under a cookery and the young are in the process of leaving the nest, so we're regularly herding them off the road as they hop around. Love your bird boxes, very sweet.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I found some robin egg shells in the drive. Seems somebody got into a nest. Yesterday we were watching the smaller birds try to scare the hawks away from their nests. Quite the air show.
DeleteHaving bird nests in the garden makes me happy. We have one bird house with a chickadee nest and I just set up a second bird house.
ReplyDelete