New babies, new book

When I wrote last, I told you about the bluebird babies in our nest box #2.  Then I was away for almost a week.  This is the photo I took of the babies just before I left:

June 14th

As soon as I got home, I checked the box and it was empty.  The male and female bluebirds are still hanging around our yard, in fact they have been checking out a different house, but I have not seen the juveniles.  I'm hoping for the best, but usually the parents feed the young for about 3 weeks after they leave the nest, so I'm afraid something might have happened to them.  But we can hope they made it and are around somewhere.  Perhaps the parents will have a second brood.

Bluebirds on June 21st checking out Box #1

And there are other babies close by!  House wrens are busy feeding their brood in a nest box under our big hemlock tree.  

Both the male and female wrens feed the babies (at least after the first few days... in the beginning for about 3 days after they hatch, the father brings food to the mother and she gives it to the babies).  It's impossible to tell the parents apart from their appearance, but if you see it sing, then you'll know it's the male.

Singing a little song for the babies!

They are making many, many trips to bring food to their young ones.

Pausing for a little break before delivering baby food.

That's quite a mouthful... and after checking me out, in to the babies it goes.

Besides taking food in, the adults have the job of bringing out the fecal sacs.  Keeping the nest clean is important, too.

Every time a parent brings food, loud chirping erupts from the box!  So cute.  I hope I'm around to see them leave their home.  The chicks are supposed to stay in the nest for about 3 weeks.  Of course, I don't know what day they hatched, so it will be a lucky guess to be watching when they are ready to fly.  Like many birds, after they leave the nest, they'll be fed and taught to catch their own meals by their parents until they are ready to go it alone.  So maybe I'll see them in our little woods, or maybe the parents will take them to a safer spot up in the big woods.  

Being away meant I missed the bluebirds fledging, but I came home to more baby birds and while I was away I bought myself a great souvenir-- a new bird book.  

 It's a kids book, but I couldn't resist buying it for myself.  It's full of beautiful photos and lots of great information.   For instance, here's the spread about House Wrens:

The author is Adele Porter and it's published by Adventure Publications.  Whether you are interested in learning more about birds yourself, or getting a child interested in birds, I would highly recommend it.  

Baby Bluebird Cuisine

There are small, hungry babies in our yard, and so there are also busy parents.  And, there are fewer and fewer bugs! 

If you are squeamish about seeing the insides of a caterpillar-- I'll warn you now, you may not want to continue reading!

On June 6th, I started noticing our bluebirds taking food to their house.

From winged insects to caterpillars, they've been keeping the food coming since then.

Mr. Bluebird doesn't seem to mind me watching, though he does keep his eye on me.  The mother is much more shy, and if I'm outside, I rarely see her taking food to the babies.  So I'm careful not to bother them for any length of time.

Luckily, I can also see them without bothering them at all, by watching from our bedroom window.  This morning I happened to look out and see Mr. Bluebird with a dragonfly to feed the youngsters.

It would have been interesting to see that get eaten!  I have no idea if each baby would get a piece or if one baby got to eat the whole thing.  I've taken a quick peek inside the box, and it looks like there are three babies.  This is them on the 8th:

The bluebirds have been making good use of our garden and lawn to catch their meals.  They also frequently use the tops of the fence posts to do food prep.  Next is a series of photos showing Mr. Bluebird doing just that.  (Now would be the place to stop looking if you have an easily upset stomach!)

 

Two Crying Ducklings

This is a tale of two ducklings.  Both crying, but for different reasons!

Early one morning, I set out to visit one of my favorite places - a place where there is a sort-of comfortable stump to sit on with a good view of the swamp.  I don't think I've ever found a completely comfortable stump but this one isn't bad and besides that, it's the view that really counts.  I had barely settled in when I heard a cry.  A poor little mallard duckling had lost her mama.

In just a few moments, the crying baby was happy to be reunited with her.

Soon they were swimming off together with the rest of the family.

Meanwhile, I sat quietly... waiting to see what might happen next.  I didn't have long to wait before I spied another family.  At first they were a long ways off, but they were headed my direction.

Mama wood duck was crossing the open water with her large brood of ducklings, but she was keeping them close - all without making a sound.

Once they reached the edge of the swamp, where they were more concealed in the vegetation, they all began to eat.

While they were busy eating, they continued getting closer and closer to me.

Mama kept close watch over her children, while she also took time now and then to eat something.

What a busy mother... with 10 ducklings!

At one point in their journey along the edge of the swamp, they had to crossed over a log.  It was funny to see the babies follow right along doing what their mother was doing.

Eventually all 10 were on the other side.

What a good mother!

They were really close to me now -- I'd say about 20 feet away.  It actually became hard to photograph them because of the low vegetation between them and me.  I slowly stood up, but they still didn't notice me.  They were mostly concentrating on breakfast, I guess, and not expecting anyone to be there.

The early morning sun was now hitting the water and making all the algae sparkle.  I like this photo even though it's not the best of the ducks, because it has a rather dreamy look.  It was a little dreamy to have this close up encounter with this wood duck family!  I knew it was going to end at some point, but I was enjoying every moment.

Finally the end did come.... when one of the little ducklings noticed me and set off an alarm!

I was amazed at how quickly they all disappeared!

I looked at my watch and saw I had been privileged to watch this beautiful family for almost 20 minutes!  What a blessing!  I hope you've enjoyed seeing them, too.

Mostly Show and a little Tell -- Wildflowers and some Wildlife, too!

I was trying to do a series on "What's Blooming Here".  What happened was after my early May post and my mid-May post -- the vegetable garden needed to be planted, the lawn needed mowing, the annual flowers needed to be planted, the lawn needed mowing, it was time to much, and... the lawn needed mowing again.  You get the picture.  Through it all, I was taking pictures, so now I have a lot to show you.  But I also need to hoe the vegetable garden, so I'm not going to do a lot of "telling", mainly "showing".

First thing to show is something I mentioned in my mid-May post.  Here are the white trilliums fading to a soft pink.

Now on to more flowers.  Here are the May-apples.  You have to look under the leaves for the pretty waxy flowers.

I think they are gorgeous close-up and I love how this one caught some of the raindrops in its lower petal.

Also blooming in the woods in late-May/early June are several other white flowers.  At only a few inches tall each, they might be easy to overlook as well.  

Canada Mayflower

Easy to overlook, except there is usually a lot of it!

Then there is Starflower: very dainty and unobtrusive.

Sometimes also occurring in large numbers.

This photo was taken on the backside of the swamp from the kayak.

Here's another small white-flowered plant that is not as common.  It's a member of the dogwood family and it's called Bunchberry.  In the next photo, it's just starting to bloom.  There's a bit of Canada Mayflower and Starflower growing alongside.

Here's a little better look at the Bunchberry flowers in full bloom.  You can really see they are like miniature dogwood flowers and leaves.

Next we have another woodland flower - Marsh Violet.

I've shown other violets in the previous 'what's blooming' posts but this one is later blooming and requires quite a trek for me to see.  It's worth it to hike all the way around the swamp to find the glade where they grow.  The photo really doesn't show how lovely it is.

That whole wet area is full of them in bloom.  They've been there for years.  I hope the fact that the closest hemlock tree has tipped over will not affect them.  The tree even had a large rock next to it.... why did it blow over?  Here's a close-up of the violets so you can see how thick they are.

Also from the back of the swamp, I could see these Blue Flag - common name for Iris versicolor. 

Another member of the Iris family is blooming now, too.  It grows in dry meadows.  It's called Blue-eyed Grass.  It's not a 'grass' though its' leaves do look like it.

Summery wildflowers are taking the place of spring ones.  Everywhere something is blooming - you don't have to hike to see lots of them.  Along the roads you can see Dame's Rocket in pretty shades of light to dark purplish-pink.

Also there are hot pink Ragged Robin.  I'm seen them some places (while driving) that are quite pink with them, though the nearby ones I photographed were not as noticeable, but still pretty.

Buttercups are everywhere.

In wetter places they tend to be more abundant, but they can pretty much grow anywhere, much like the dandelions they are 'replacing'. 

Buttercups with a Red-winged Blackbird... wonder if he likes butter?

There are some other fairly common yellow flowers blooming that you might not notice because of all the other things to catch your eye.  They are Golden Alexanders.  Each individual flower looks somewhat like a yellow Queen Anne's Lace.

They grow along our roadside ditch and make a bright spot in the shade.

There is a lot of Honeysuckle blooming now, too, in colors of white, yellow, and pink.  I think the pink is my favorite, maybe because it doesn't seem as common.  The two colors make a pretty combination in the next scene. 

Pink Honeysuckle and Golden Alexanders

That photo was taken at the edge of our road, and so was the next.  

Yes, it's turtle egg-laying time.  The painted turtles are coming out of the water to find a place to lay their eggs.  Many times, like by our swamp, this involves crossing a road.  So, please, keep an eye out for them!  Thank you!