It's A Big, Big World

Day 244: There's been lots of activity at the doorway of the House of Chirp over the last few days, both parents flying in with tasty bugs to lure the kids up from the nest cup for their first look at the big, big world. And once the youngsters have seen Mom flying, their curiosity draws them to peek out time and again, siblings jostling for the prime position. "Where does she go? How does Dad catch bugs? Oh, it's a long way down!" The parents perch on the power line, calling to the kids. "Come on, you can do it!" It won't be long now before this brood takes wing. The little ones' gapes are still yellow, their head feathers dark grey. The gape colouration will change over the next two weeks, although the parents will still feed them on the wing for a while. Their feathers will grow stronger and take on the iridescent sheen of purple and green as melanin is activated, although much of what we humans perceive as feather "colour" is actually due to the microscopic structures within the feathers themselves, and not to the pigment. Within a month, the kids will look just like their parents, but a practiced eye may be able to pick out youngsters by their behaviour. After all, kids will be kids, even little birds.

There Is Absolutely Nothing...

Day 239: My friends have heard the phrase countless times, but I'm going to say it again: There is nothing...absolutely nothing!...cuter than baby birds. I had gone out to make another delivery of black-oil seed to the Porch Parrots and as I stepped slowly down the sidewalk, this little mosquito darted out from under the Hellebore with a parent right behind. The yellow gape told me he was barely fledged. The white tailfeather said, "I'm a Dark-eyed Junco." The streaks might have fooled me but for the presence of Mama and that glint of white. We engaged in social niceties for a few minutes even as the Parrots were getting testy (their young are now coming to the feeders with them) and then I shuffled cautiously forward. The little guy flew up, landed in the driveway where he was almost perfectly camouflaged against the rocks. I went back in the house via the kitchen and came out through the front door for the photo op. Then I wanted to be sure Freckles didn't head out toward the road, so I edged around until he flew to safety, first to the raspberries where he'd last seen mom and then into the protection of the contorted filbert. I'm sure mom was already in the thicket of trunks presently hidden by a full complement of leaves. Baby birds! Little Grosbeaks doing tremble-wingies, begging to be fed, a chorus of little bitty peeps and cheeps deep in the House of Chirp, and now a baby Junco. My life is so rich!