365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, June 23, 2023
Almost Time
Day 253: Any day now, the little ones will fly the coop, and the House of Chirp will have served its purpose through another season. The parents are still delivering food directly to wide gapes, not yet trying to tempt the youngsters from the safety of the nest. This year's parents have been more protective than in years past, apparently seeing me as a threat, dive-bombing me so close that I have been struck by a wing in passing, and cursing swallow swear-words from the telephone line any time I'm in the yard. I applaud their diligence, however it might inconvenience me if I need something from the garage. In the twenty-plus years the House of Chirp has been used, only one chick failed to thrive. That's a pretty good record. So while we're on the subject of nestlings, let me say it: there is nothing...absolutely nothing!...cuter than baby birds.
Labels:
fledgling,
House of Chirp,
Tachycineta bicolor,
Tree Swallow
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