Taking up residence in the garden, because of all the work that needs to be done, has many rewards, not the least of them being bird watching. Many of the young have hatched. All these immature but almost adult sized birds running around the yard begging for the food their parents are still providing. They flap their wings and make cute little calls to the parent, and if the other young spot a parent headed for one of their siblings, they run as fast as they can to see if they can snatch the snack away. I know I saw a Mockingbird parent providing lessons to an adolescent on how to catch his own prey, and that the pupil was sure that if mom or dad would just catch one more worm for him now, he would be able to learn for the next time.
The hummingbirds have arrive. I turned on a mister that I have in the garden, to watch a lovely little Ruby Throat fly in to get sprayed, and to dip his beak into a pool of water being held in a leaf. He would leave the mist, sit on a branch, flap his wings, and then dart back into the shower.
The bug population is under immense pressure right now, as all of these young are being fed the high protein diet that their parents give them at this stage in life. That is the best part of attracting so many birds to the garden, the help they give to keeping bugs under control.
Love this! picture and description are both terrific. You've got a nicer crowd than I have, tho, and I'm envious. I've got mostly young grackles who think they own the vegetable garden and make a racket the whole time I'm out there.
ReplyDelete