I reflect on this time last year and remember chasing birds non-stop, and finding baby eggs in nests, and hobbling together with duck tape a destroyed wren's bird house that was not supposed to be there in the first place (decorative bird houses are NOT good ideas for yard ornaments, fyi).
Today, our garage door was replaced and is so quiet, but I was not quiet the day it decided to go kaput (right before band concerts). Luckily we walked that day to the school and as I talked on the phone to my husband whining about a broken garage door, I heard...peep, peep, peep, squeak. That was days ago. A baby cardinal.
As the golden hour approached tonight, I decided today to go in search of the little fella hoping upon hope that it was not dead or destroyed (so far I've witnessed one dead Robin chick). Sure enough, he was there. Quiet like his parents taught him to be, and still, just swaying on a tiny branch right above his nest. You can catch a slight glimmer in his eye. Oh, all manual focus for this one, which was a heck of a time with my bad sight (live view for these things does not work without a tripod, unfortunately). So I got lucky.
All day, I listened to and saw birds. I heard baby Carolina wrens in the neighbors back yard squawk like mad when parents arrived with live bugs (they are sooooo good at getting bugs!), I heard chickadees either with newbies or arguing a bunch. A couple of Robins are still working on some nest I think to the side of the house (in the neighbors), lots of house finches are flitting. Mr. and Mrs. Towhees (there are lots of couples) do there signature wooooTwee song. And swallows EVERYWHERE--what I would give to get one of those in flight!
And on the way to soccer practice tonight, I saw a bird go in a hole and come out with something in its mouth on a cement pylon that holds the traffic signal equipment at the intersection. I got the girls to see it just in time, and then I announced that the bird was most likely carrying a "fecal sac" out of the hole as it didn't go in with anything in its mouth. "Oh gross, Mooooom!/Mrs. O'Hare!"
I can't help my love affair with birds. And Everybody Poops folks. :)
See:
http://365project.org/darylo/didn-t-make-cut/2013-06-11
