Among Friends

[Bird mama]

@Dazlin  I've never put a feeder out for hummingbirds so I have no experience.  

[Bird mama]

@mousiegirl  Glad that your eye surgery went well and that you survived the drive with your husband.  

[Bird mama]

We're going through a cool period this weekend @viva923  and then it's gonna ramp up into the upper 80's next week.  I don't like excessively hot weather.

[Bird mama]

The bird of the day is the Brown B00by.

Current conservation status is least concern; population trend is decreasing.

The Brown b00by's head and upper body (back) are covered in dark brown to black plumage, with the remainder (belly) being a contrasting white. The bare part colors vary geographically, but not seasonally. The species also displays sexual dimorphism of the bare part colors, the males having a blue orbital ring, as opposed to the yellow orbital ring of the female. Unlike other species of sulid the juvenile plumage already resembles that of the adult. They are gray-brown with darkening on the head, upper surfaces of the wings, and tail, while the lower breast and underpart plumages are heavily flecked brown on white. The beaks of Brown b00bies are quite sharp and contain many jagged edges. They have fairly short wings resulting in a fast flap rate, but long, tapered tails.

Brown b00bies breed on islands and coasts in the pantropical areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They frequent the breeding grounds of the islands in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. After the nesting season Brown b00bies winter at sea over a wider area.

Brown b00bies are diurnal gregarious birds. They feed during the day alone or gather in flocks, or in mixed-species flocks with other seabirds or other species of booby. They forage at low heights over inshore waters. Flocks plunge-dive to take small fish, especially when these are driven near the surface by their predators. Along with plunge-diving, some fledglings and some adults practice kleptoparasitism, where they steal prey from other seabirds. Although Brown b00bies are powerful and agile fliers, they are particularly clumsy in takeoffs and landings; they use strong winds and high perches to assist their takeoffs. These birds are typically silent but may occasionally produce sounds similar to grunting or quacking.

Brown b00bies have a carnivorous (piscivorous, molluscivorous) diet. They mainly eat small fish (such as flying fish, mullet, halfbeaks, anchovies, goatfish, crowned squirrelfish, and Indian mackerel), squid or shrimp which gather near the surface; they may also catch leaping fish while skimming the surface.

Brown b00bies are monogamous and form pairs that may remain together over several seasons. They perform elaborate greeting rituals, and are also spectacular divers, plunging into the ocean at high speed. Brown b00bies nest in large colonies and each pair defends a small nesting territory. Females lay 2 chalky blue eggs on the ground in a mound of broken shells and vegetation; pairs usually raise just one chick because the second one to hatch is unable to compete for food with its older sibling, or even ejected from the nest by it. The incubation period lasts about 42-45 days. The chick fledges 85-103 days after hatching and may remain dependent on its parents for up to 1 year.

Nesting

Baby 

Parent and Baby

[cowboy sam]

Not much going oh here as i have been home resting  but hope to go for a walk later if neighbor calls me...if not i will go for a 4 block walk by myself.

[Snicks1]

Beautiful day here, so of course I was outside, was going to try to not aggravate my already sore finger, but I think I failed at that, lol. Hopefully, I didn't do too much damage to it. It's been a quiet day here, which isn't a bad thing, ha ha. Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

[Bird mama]

June's Nest is ready

https://community.qvc.com/t5/Among-Friends/June-2025-Baby-Season-at-the-Bird-s-Nest/m-p/8855061#M744...