07.13.07
Eye Candy Friday
Not really eye candy but perhaps Bird Friday would be a better name.
The babies have hatched and if you go out two of the 3 entrances to the garage you are welcomed by chirping babies and zooming mom’s and dads.
This year’s batch of parents are very good. So far we’ve not had any fall outs (birdies falling out of their nest boxes) or invaders (neighbor’s cat climbing up the wall to snatch a parent as they fly home).
First the Swallows.
These birds have returned to our house for the past 9 years. Some how they find these nesting boxes every year. We’ve only missed one hatching season when the above mentioned neighbor cat clawed it’s way up the wall ( a 12 foot wall mind you) and snatched a mom or dad as they flew home with a snack. The babies died…it was very sad. What could we do, we were inside watching it happen and how do you nurse baby birds? The other parent flew around chirping for their mate. Very, very sad. Damn cat!
The swallows method is to fly fast and zoom into the nesting box without stopping. Their sheer speed scares away other birds and our cat and my kids.
The only way to get a picture of them is to catch them as the leave.
The other residents are Chickadees (I think). They are more cautious. They sit on the garden rose trellis with their snack in their beak, watching and chirping as though testing the waters for predators. They they swoop into the box and feed the babies. But before they go in, one last check of the area then in they go.
I think they have the better of the two homes because they have the Digital Cable Antenna above them. I’m sure by now the dad has pirated cable into the house.