Tree Swallow Babies!!

Well this morning I took a look at the two other boxes around our property - and found Tree Swallows nesting in BOTH! This is especially exciting as I had thought we only had House Sparrows. In fact, I DID see House Sparrow eggs a while back. The Tree Swallows must have thrown them out.

Here is Mama Tree Swallow peeking out at me from her box:







And here are the pure-white eggs (there are currently three) nestled within a lofty collection of duck and goose feathers:







The oversize feathers are a tell-tale sign of a Tree Swallow nest. Here are the two babies that have hatched in the other box (I'll call it Box B):







Well it looks like life is still moving right along! I will enjoy watching these aerial acrobats raise their families this summer.

:D

Empty Nest & Indian Pipe

Good news! This morning I left some mealworms in the Bluebirds' cup, and when Daddy came by, he stuffed 3 in his tiny beak and headed off to the forest - NOT the nest! So I went to check the box and, sure enough, all 5 babies were gone from the nest. Hopefully they're all doing well out there, and they'll grow up into strong and healthy Bluebirds.

On another note, I finally got to photograph some Indian Pipe wildflowers at Ashland Nature Center. Aren't they cool?



Indian Pipe is a plant (not a fungus) that contains no chlorophyll, so it's ghostly white instead of green. It gets its energy from decaying plant matter by way of help from a fungus. It's always found in shady, damp areas and usually near rotting logs. It's also called "corpse plant," which is sort of creepy because the first time I discovered it, it was growing just outside the cemetary by my house.

Have a happy Saturday!

12 Days Old!

Here are the babies again, 12 days old on Sunday. I may not get to photograph them again. I don't want to risk a premature fledge!

Here is the Daddy Bluebird, just after dive-bombing me and getting ready to do so again. :D

And here are the yummy mealworms I leave out for Mom and Dad. They usually just eat them, but they may be taking some to their babies by now.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more!

Big Babies

You know, I really think the Eastern Bluebird is becoming a more agressive species. Daddy dive-bombed me as I was getting the picture below:




Aren't they cute?! These babies are 10 days old today. They are already getting their pin-feathers. Pretty soon they'll be ready to fledge (and I'll have to be more careful about getting photos)!

Tune in next time for the latest in April's naturosities.