Ready to Fly !

This photo was taken about a hour before fledging.

Sharing Mealworms

Five days old

Carolina wren babies five days old. These little guys had their mouths open every time we got near the nest.

Sweet wren babies

These are two day old Carolina wren babies.

Wren afros

We have two pairs of Carolina wrens that nest on anything we put out for them. We had three broods this year. The parents are so used to us, they barely care if we are near the nest.

Filled with wonder

We saw this little guy at the Wacissa River. It was really fascinated with us and everything else. When a boat would go by and make waves in the water, the baby would move it’s head in a wave rhythm with the water.

Four peas in a pod.

Four Eastern Phoebes grew up on a light fixture in my barn. Although they made the biggest, and we kept dogging mom and dad from feeding them it was lot of fun.

More dad, Please!!

We have two baby Pileated Woodpeckers. It was been a hoot watching these two. I had no idea they could be comical.

Whatcha doing down there?

A Fine Catch

This eaglet’s nest was built many years ago during the off season over a small campground along the Susquehanna River. The adults have successfully fledged 2-3 eaglets per year for many years despite the return of the humans each spring.

A Mother’s Love

This nest was built many years ago during the off season over a small campground along the Susquehanna River. The adults have successfully fledged 2-3 eaglets per year for many years despite the return of the humans each spring. This photo was taken the first day the eaglets popped their heads up high enough to be seen.

Finishing Touches

For the past several years, Carolina Chickadees have nested in our bluebird house. This one was gathering nesting materials to put the finishing touches on the nest, which already had eggs in it.

Cutest Babies in Their Parents’ Eyes

Great Egret babies looking cute in their downy feathers

Spring Fireworks

Great Egret displaying its beautiful breeding plumage to attract a mate at the Smith Oaks Rookery at High Island, Texas

Cozy Couple

Pair of Laughing Gulls nestled among the spring flowers at a shorebird nesting area in Rockport, Texas

Funny Phoebe Babies

Every year a pair of Phoebes build a nest on one of our front porch support posts. We love to monitor the progress of the nest, see if there are four or five eggs, then watch all the hard work of Mom and Dad feeding their young. They keep us entertained! It is bittersweet to watch them fledge.

New hummingbird nestlings snuggled up together.

New hummingbird nestlings snuggled up together in one of several humming bird nest in our yard this season.

Mother hummingbird incubating eggs.

One of several nests in the back yard again this year being tended to by mom.

Baby hummingbird fledglings.

One of several active hummingbird nests in our back yard.

taking a break…

bluebird parents watching a nuthatch

grasshopper – it’s what’s for dinner

female eastern bluebird bringing a grasshopper to the nest as male bluebird keeps a lookout

juvenile bluebird “supervising” the nest rebuild

Patience….

This nestbox was on a trail I monitored. I noticed the youngster just starting to peek out the entrance as the parents landed on top with a meal.

What a team!

I was in a nearby state park when I saw male and female Blue-gray Gnatcatchers repeatedly fly into this tree. Here, the male is giving nesting material to the female.

Dinner’s here!

This was photographed in a state park, which has several outdoor shelters. Barn swallows always build a dozen or more nests in each shelter, so this was a matter of picking the shelter with the most active parents.

Home sweet home….to ashthroated flycatchers with love

Ash-throated flycatchers nested in the first year that the Eco-Education Program in Richmond, CA, a hands-on nature education program to low income students built, installed and decorated nest boxes in near by parks. The the program started in 1999, and this year decided to expand their programs to add nest boxes to near by parks, and seven of the 12 boxes were used this first year. Program is lead by Anthony Decicco from the Golden Gate Audubon Chapter.

Mother kestrel feeding her four babies

A female kestrel (who we named Kessie) feeds her four baby kestrels. Via a webcam installed in the nest box, we watched them eat mice, small lizards and snakes, and grasshoppers. All four (three males and a female) survived and successfully fledged within a month of hatching and come back periodically to harass the other local birds. More pictures of the kestrels, and silly commentary, are @tkestrels on Twitter.

Female kestrel eating an eggshell

A female kestrel (who we named Kessie) eats an eggshell from one of her hatchlings while sitting on them and incubating the rest of the eggs. We watched her eat this shell and others via a webcam installed in the nesting box. We had never heard about Kestrels eating their eggshells so this was surprising to see. More pictures of the kestrels are @tkestrels on Twitter.

Hatching & feeding time

A female kestrel (who we named Kessie) feeds her first hatchling while the second hatchling emerges from the egg. They look so fragile at first but they were grown, fledged, and gone within a month. We were able to watch the hatching process for all four eggs via the webcam installed in the nest box.

Incubating together

A male and female kestrel (who we named Trel & Kessie) incubate their four eggs. This picture was taken in early May 2016 via a webcam installed in the nesting box.

Open wide

Kestrel chicks watching bee

All the kestrel chicks returned for a family reunion on top of their nest box. Here the five are watching a bee.

White-Breasted Nuthatch feeding time.

great horned owlet with parent

This photo was taken about 1 block from the nest in April of this year.

Eastern Bluebird Baby

Lunch and a bath

Mockingbird Nest

I got to photograph a nearby farm & in one of their small trees was this darling mockingbird nest.

Airborne 1st Flight

After waiting days for these baby Bluebirds to fledge, I was so excited to actually see and photograph this little little one come flying out of the house. There was no hesitation at all, it just came flying right out of the hole in the house way up high into a nearby tree. Although I will truly miss these beautiful birds, which happen to be the New York State bird, I am happy that they all fledged successfully before the heatwave we had here. This was an amazing experience for me that I will never forget and I am hoping they will come back again in years to come.

Mockingbird Babies

These precious babies were a week old here. The family had a nest in a small tree right by our house. I had the privilege of photographing them once a day.

Feed Me!

Beautiful Eggs

Lunch has arrived

Crowded Nest

Just starting out

Blue Jay bomber

This poor young Bald Eagle was being harrased by pair of Blue Jays.

An Extra Set of Wings

This eaglet’s nest was built many years ago during the off season over a small campground along the Susquehanna River. The adults have successfully fledged 2-3 eaglets per year for many years despite the return of the humans each spring. This eaglet learned how pesky Blue Jays can be on the very 1st day fledging from the nest tree nearby. This Blue Jay continued his assault, squawking and repeatedly bopping the eaglet on the head and back until the eaglet realized his only escape was back into the nest tree!

Spreading wings!

This is a juvie Bald Eagle wingersizing in the nest. He has not started branching yet, but getting ready.

Patriotic Young Bald Eagle

This eaglet’s nest was built many years ago during the off season over a small campground along the Susquehanna River. The adults have successfully fledged 2-3 eaglets per year for many years despite the return of the humans each spring. This year, on the very 1st day fledging from the nest tree nearby, this eaglet made it clear s/he understood their destiny as our national bird!

Dad feeding the little ones.

This is an Eastern Bluebird feeding the little ones. This is the first time I have seen a Bluebird nesting naturally in a tree, and not in a bird house. Being an architect I loved the fact that the fungus acts as a roof over the entry.

13 Wood ducklings on a log with mom.

This is actually a family of 16 ducklings, 3 were camera shy. When I first noticed this family, they had recently hatched and I couldn’t believe how many she had. They disappeared for some time, having apparently moved to another part of the pond. This photo was the first time I saw them since they were so young and she still had all 16.

mother has dinner

Mother Robin feeding her two young in the nest at our front door.

Interspecies Interaction

A house wren dive-bombs the sparrow raiding its nest – somewhat ironic, given that the wren has appropriated a nestbox intended for a bluebird family.

Me first!

Three young eastern kingbirds just out of the nest are ready for on-the-fly delivery of their next meal.

Baby Robins

I came across the nest while out birdwatching they had just hatched not to long ago.

Little Mockingbird fledgling

White-eyed Vireo nest

When I first saw this beautifully constructed nest, it had three small eggs in it. When they hatched, I noticed that one of the chicks was considerably larger than the other two. This made me wonder if the larger one was an intruder. A few days later, as I was checking on the nest, I saw that the two smaller chicks were gone! I still have no idea what happened to them. About a week later, I took this photo of the lonesome White Eyed Vireo fledgling preparing for her first flight.

Time to leave the nest

I was shooting bird images at Middle Creek Wildlife Management area in Pennsylvania on a spring morning. I had been watching this nest for a few weeks, and got lucky on this morning. Both adults would call and call to the little ones trying to get them to jump. After a short time they were all in the water.

The Helper

I observed this, juvenile, Eastern Bluebird, from the previous brood, helping feed it’s younger siblings for 6 days, prior to their fledging. The first time, I witnessed this I thought, perhaps, it was a one time event, since the mealworms happened to be close by, but then saw the juvenile fly to the ground, where he plucked a spider from the grass, taking it back to feed the nestlings, inside the box. After this brood fledged, I continued to see the helper come to a mealworm feeder,I put out in the evenings, and take worms up to a large Oak Tree, where this pair, always led their young for safe keeping the first week, so he, definitely, was a good helper! I knew this behavior occurred, but I have only witnessed it once in 10 years of monitoring.

White Eastern Bluebird Eggs

I was, obviously, surprised to find this female laying white eggs. I knew it occurred a small percentage of time, but I’ve only seen it once in the nests I have monitored the past 10 years, and may never see it again. From what I have read, once a female lays white eggs, she always lays white eggs, which was another reason this clutch surprised me. It was the second clutch, and the first clutch consisted of the normal blue color eggs. There was no behavior to indicate that the females were different. I was already, looking forward to what the third clutch would reveal, but, unfortunately, as these eggs started to hatch, the female must have been killed by a predator, on one of her first runs in search of food, for the nestlings. The male was present, but the female disappeared. A sad ending to such an exciting start.

Bluebird Safety 101

A family of Raccoons would have loved to have had an early breakfast, feasting on the three 2 week old bluebirds in the nest box, attached to the top of the baffled pole. The raccoon is pictured standing on his hind legs, reaching up, to the bottom of the stove pipe predator guard, which WORKS! I was fortunate to witness these three bluebirds, successfully, fledge the following day, but that would not have happened if I had not secured this nest box, properly, on a free standing pole, with one of the best (if not the best) predator guards to protect them from snakes, coons and cats.

PLEASE everyone Safety 101…Seat belts save lives for humans. Predator guards save lives for birds!!

The plans to make this easy and inexpensive stove pipe baffle is on the Nestwatch website, but I will make it easy for you to get to, right now.
http://nestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/guardsto.pdf

Robin working for dinner

I was watching birds visit my feeders and saw this Robin looking for a meal so I picked up the camera. Good thing I did because the next second the Robin saw its prey and dove quickly to the ground and immediately pulled up this worm. I was lucky my camera was out and I was able to snap a couple pics quickly. I love the way this shows the leverage the Robin uses with its legs.

Osprey Nest

Osprey Feeding Time

Hoobaby Spreading Wings

Hoobaby spent several days rocking back and forth spreading her wings and circling her neck round and round. Wish I could submit videos:). This photo was taken a day before she finally flew a bit. I was so proud of her because I knew what it took for her to get her nerve up after watching her struggle looking down:). She also spread her wings like this after a rain. She is not a fan of the rain at all. Thus, the owl house I just finished building. I do hope she will use it. I even wrote a Bible verse for her inside her house thanking her for making me be still. I never sit and relax. I spent countless hours mesmerized by this sweet Hoobaby:). No doubt, God sent her to me to enjoy and watch while being still. His glory is amazing!

Bon Appetit for Hoobaby

Mama Hoodini flying in with supper for Hoobaby. Mama had a certain tree she would land in to survey the area before flying with food to the nest and then later to the Hoobaby when outside the nest.

Hoobaby and I bonded:)

Hoobaby and I spent many hours looking at each other when I was home with bronchitis for 4 wks. I was so thankful to have had the opportunity to just watch her and learn. Hoobaby would hide or eventually fly when anyone else came outside. However, Hoobaby would just look at me no matter what I did on the deck. She even turned around and looked at me every time she did something new. It seemed as though she was making sure I saw her. Wish we could submit videos! I am in love with this Hoobaby!

Peekaboo with Hoobaby and Mama Hoodini

I will never forget this wonderful morning when I finally realized why the Owls had been flying in and out of a knothole in a tree right off our deck. I didn’t even know what kind they were. I got bronchitis that week and spent 4 glorious weeks watching Hoobaby grow and learn to fly. I also got many videos of Mama bringing food to Hoobaby. I read everything I could find on barred owls. I have photographed them for hours, and I have just completed a house for them that I hope to soon have hung for them:)

Tight Fit

I saw a mourning dove gathering materials in my back yard and discovered it was building a nest in a nook above my front porch. The loose nest survived two thunderstorms with high winds. This picture was taken during the first week of nesting.

Fast Food Delivery

Working a golf tournament with several bird houses scattered throughout the fescue, I thought I saw a head poking out of one of the boxes. I grabbed my camera and zoomed in and while trying to focus on the little one, something flew into and out of the lens view very quickly. I just automatically clicked the shutter when it flew into the view of the lens but had no idea what it was till I played back the photo!

Nest watch of Common Iora

Nest of Common Iora in Rajshahi University campus is very common.

Nest watch of Asian Paradise Flycatcher

In Rajshahi University campus Asian Paradise Flycatcher is very common. They build nest every year and Bird watchers come here to see this bird.

Nest watch of Black-crown Night Heron

In Rajshahi University campus a heronry is created since 2009. Each year thousand of nest build here of which Black-crown Night Heron is dominant.

Nest of Little Greb

In 2015 a pair of Little Greb build a nest in a pond and laid 5 five eggs. The eggs are hatched successfully. It was the first time to trace nest of Little Greb in this campus, though the Grebs are found since 2010 during their breeding season. However, the Little Grebs are common in this region.

Overwhelmed Mom

Children can be so demanding, and this Bluebird Mom’s expression, seemed to say it all!

Eastern bluebird fledglings from 2nd brood

Two of the eastern bluebird siblings from the second brood this Spring watching mama build her third nest.

1st brood fledglings eating daily treat.

Eastern bluebird first fledglings,with papa on guard, eating daily wax worm treats.

Eastern bluebird about to fledge

This was the first Eastern Bluebird baby of the second brood this spring to fledge. Moments before flight!

Puffed up Papa

This papa eastern bluebird was all puffed up for about 10 minutes when a pair of cardinals got too close to this protective daddy’s 2nd brood this spring. He’s trying to look big and bad, but too cute is more like it!

The Lookout

We discovered this nest on our front porch when mom and dad house finch were chirping nervously nearby as we rocked in our rocking chairs. I checked on them one nice warm spring afternoon and caught the bunch in a pile of warm snuggles. While brothers and sisters snoozed, this one watchful chick looked at me with a face I often see when my 5 year olds wake up and beg for 5 more minutes of sleep.

Breakfast Time

Catchin’ a Ride

We were camping in the Boundary Water Canoe Area when mom led these little guys out of the forest and into the water. There was quite a fight to ride on mom’s back!

Snoozin’ Baby Blues

Waiting for the next meal.

Newborns!

These chicks hatched a few hours before I took the photo, and look completely helpless. At the same time, hard to believe they were tucked into their tiny eggs!

Safe & Secure

Four eggs in a robin nest that was safe from predators; the nest was completely hidden inside the dense holly bush.

A mother’s love

In the heat of summer and with the sounds of an approaching storm the mother bird is dedicated to her clutch.

Ducklings on a Log

Osprey Couple on Nest

Poised

The thrush parents built this nest under a perfect canopy of tangled vines.

Bright-Eyed Nestling

I found this nest after noticing Mrs. Hummer fly to the exact same spot in a tree several times. She already had two eggs in the nest and we were thrilled to watch the young hummingbirds hatch, grow, and leave the nest.

Nazca Booby with Hatchling and Egg

Nazca Boobies lay 2 eggs. In this photo, the first hatchling lays tucked underneath the parent beside the second egg.

Baltimore Oriole on Her Nest

We watched as the baltimore oriole flew back and forth adding to her nest before settling down on the eggs.

Can’t we share?

Hummingbirds sharing the feeder

What about me up here?

Tree swallow babies being fed

Newly Hatched Robins

A robin built her nest under the eaves of our cottage deck. This is a quick peak at the three newly hatched babies through the slats of the deck.

I’m hungry Mommy!

Carolina chickadee

A Quick Peak at Robin Eggs

A robin built her nest under the eaves of our cottage deck. This is a quick peak at the three beautiful blue eggs through the slats of the deck.