Among Friends

[Bird mama]

@Puddles  I hope the baby bird is doing okay.  I went out to put some more fresh seed when I got home from work and the bird house seemed quiet to me.  Having hand raised hatchlings I know they have quiet times.  The babies outside in the bird house though are usually screaming.  I was tempted to take the flashlight and peer into the bird house to see if all was well.

The parents do come by and go into the bird house so I am trying so hard to NOT interfere. 

[possummink]

Horse Reacts Hilariously to Toy Stuffed Pony!!!

[possummink]

Bernie,   I do remember you posting about a sparrow who was singing a lot on your patio.   I guess his showboating paid off and I'm glad for him not being alone.   It's good that they have a little family now.  I hope they are successful raising their little ones.    Can your birds see the birdhouse from your windows and hear the other birds.  Wonder if Presto or Poppi recognize Sparrow calls and songs. 

[luvsbulldogs]

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@possummink wrote:

Horse Reacts Hilariously to Toy Stuffed Pony!!!

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@possummink    OH how funny!!!

[possummink]

[Bird mama]

@possummink

The birdhouse is on what I would call the first floor or first level of the house.  Poppi and Presto are on the second floor of my house so they can't see the bird house.  It's been so hot and humid the windows have not been opened so they haven't been getting in on too much of the outdoor bird gossip.  I can tell you that when Presto was a baby, I brought her into the main room where Poppi and his sister Peewee hung out.  When Presto screeched, Peewee looked interested and Poppi flew across the hall as soon as his wings could carry him, rofl.

It rained buckets last night, 3 times in a row.  The gutter along the garage (bird house is attached under the soffit) was shooting water towards the patio because it was clogged.  I waited for the rain to let up, ran outside with a step stool and unclogged the gutter - I didn't hear any chirping.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.  Some sparrows take to parenthood easily and others struggle.  I try to make sure my sparrow parents don't have to work hard for anything. Food and fresh water is plentiful.

[Bird mama]

@possummink  That horse kicking the stuffed pony is funny :-)

[Bird mama]

Sadly, I'm 99% sure the lone baby bird in the birdhouse didn't make it.  

I think the female mother was young and inexperienced and that song and dance male sparrow's involvement with the baby was hit and miss.

Mom and Dad didn't linger around the house like doting parents.  They'd hang out with the friends in the small tree in my neighbor's yard and would periodically stop in and visit the bird house.  Maybe they knew something I didn't 

It was significantly more windy and colder when I left work tonight and I figured if I was going to need to kick on the heat in my own house it was now or never to check the birdhouse.  There was a lone mourning dove near the patio patiently waiting for dinner so I put out more food and refreshed the water.  The female sparrow came from the yard next door to go into the birdhouse and then flew back to the tree.  When she didn't stay, I got a sick feeling (I was watching from the kitchen window).

I have a dimmable flashlight and got on a ladder and peeped into the house.  Most baby sparrows around 5 or 6 days old will chirp back when I chirp or at least bob their heads when I peep in.  I came back into the house, found my dental mirror (yea I have one) and went back out to see if I could get a look at the area behind the half-wall of nesting material.

I saw no baby (angle wasn't that great), heard no baby.

To their credit, sparrows do a great job with a bird house.  They insulate the walls with feathers and nestling materials they find in the yard.  There is a platform of nesting material immediately inside the bird house opening and then there is a dip or hollow behind it where the babies rest (so they don't fall out).

I know it's the circle of life.  I still feel sad.

[mousiegirl]

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@Bird mama wrote:

Sadly, I'm 99% sure the lone baby bird in the birdhouse didn't make it.  

I think the female mother was young and inexperienced and that song and dance male sparrow's involvement with the baby was hit and miss.

Mom and Dad didn't linger around the house like doting parents.  They'd hang out with the friends in the small tree in my neighbor's yard and would periodically stop in and visit the bird house.  Maybe they knew something I didn't 

It was significantly more windy and colder when I left work tonight and I figured if I was going to need to kick on the heat in my own house it was now or never to check the birdhouse.  There was a lone mourning dove near the patio patiently waiting for dinner so I put out more food and refreshed the water.  The female sparrow came from the yard next door to go into the birdhouse and then flew back to the tree.  When she didn't stay, I got a sick feeling (I was watching from the kitchen window).

I have a dimmable flashlight and got on a ladder and peeped into the house.  Most baby sparrows around 5 or 6 days old will chirp back when I chirp or at least bob their heads when I peep in.  I came back into the house, found my dental mirror (yea I have one) and went back out to see if I could get a look at the area behind the half-wall of nesting material.

I saw no baby (angle wasn't that great), heard no baby.

To their credit, sparrows do a great job with a bird house.  They insulate the walls with feathers and nestling materials they find in the yard.  There is a platform of nesting material immediately inside the bird house opening and then there is a dip or hollow behind it where the babies rest (so they don't fall out).

I know it's the circle of life.  I still feel sad.

@Bird mama  Do you think another bird got it?  I had to chase the scrub jays away from the Mourning Dove's nests, had to get on a ladder and rescue the remaining baby one evening.  I put it in a picnic basket with the nesting material in front of my grow lights, to keep it warm, then took it to Wildlife Rescue in the morning.  It is sad.

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[Bird mama]

@mousiegirl  This late in the season, I really don't think another bird got it.  The grackles moved on, I'm not seeing cowbirds and it's been a long time since I saw a BlueJay.

I hate the birdhouse I bought and only bought it because it looked alot like the former birdhouse.  The former birdhouse was cool because the roof had a hinge in the middle and one side of the roof could be lifted so that a person could spy on a baby (lol) or clean it.  I never fuss any of the bird houses that I put up.  There is usually a couple that will stake it out all year long.

The birdhouse I have now is one way in and one way out - through the opening for the bird.  

The way the birds 'feather' the house makes it really hard to see deep into the house.