In the crush and press of everyday life, don’t forget our BirdCams.
Over at EagleCam, the chicks have grown rapidly and are now too big to fit under the parents. Here is mom a few minutes ago, looking mussed and hassled by her brood:
And the Allen’s hummingbird chicks in California have grown at an astounding rate, barely fitting into the nest. Just yesterday they were naked little blobs; now they look locked and loaded. Will they fledge before they can no longer squeeze into their tiny home?
The growth curves are just astonishing.
Has anyone calculated the energy requirements for that rate of growth? It’s no wonder the parents look harassed.
I have new-found respect for my mother’s struggles to keep food on the table for three boys.
Ditto’s my own single mother’s efforts on behalf of four boys.
the last eagle post i remember they were in the eggs still. Oo
really incredible.
The hummingbird nestlings are amazing. They change visibly every day. They look so much more alert today.
Bird (and webcam) news from the UK this week – the 26-year old osprey, “Lady”, has returned to Scotland from Africa for the 21st time. http://blogs.swt.org.uk/osprey/
Whichever eagle is on the nest right now has a terrible case of bed hair.
It was raining on the eagles yesterday. Mom is probably wet. She uses her wings as an umbrella to cover the little ones. Really great stuff; especially with the knowledgeable commentary. Babies are all grey now, growing up fast.
Somewhat off-topic, but aren’t you being out-done by PZ in the kitty cat stakes with his saguaro picture?
daveau beat me to it. The bedraggled look is due to the dreary rain we’ve been having lately.
We all really needed it, but I’m ready for some sun. (at least I have a house with a roof!)
Did you just change that hummer pic while I was commenting? That’s freaky, I could have sworn that’s a newer pic…
Yes I did! I went back and saw the babies awake and alert, and took another screenshot.
Thank goodness, I thought I was going nuts.
Right now they look as if they are about to push each other out of the nest. They are very active.
How soon will they fledge, I hope my daughter and I can catch ’em.
I also have three small children and I look like mama eagle on a good day
There is a little brown bird (LBB) sitting on a nest that is built between the boards of my shade structure. Yesterday, when I was in the shade structure practicing and I discovered the LBB and the nest, I thought I’d scared her off with my kicks and punches. Today, when I was out weeding, I thought I might have scared the LBB off again, but I’ve just looked, and there the bird is, in the nest on the eggs.
It’s completely marvelous when the world presents you with an opportunity to observe like this.
Any idea what kind of bird it is?
At my feeder, I see all manner of little brown birds, most of which are finches or sparrows. Sometimes, I see a Cooper’s Hawk or a road runner perched on the wall by the feeder (as if the feeder was a lunch buffet). I think it must be a finch of some sort, although it is a bit large to be a finch.
Must be fascinating to be in roadrunner country!
It’s one of those things.
You first start watching and there’s no variation that you can see.
You watch a while longer, and it seems as though all of life’s cycle appears before you.
I like watching the bandiness of the roadrunners, but they inevitably start sampling from the birds at my feeder, and I find this upsetting.
Well, there is that. I’m afraid that I pretty much thrill at seeing Cooper’s Hawks, even if they’re picking off the poor feeder occupant now and then. Predation is necessary and something of a privilege to actually witness. But maybe the roadrunners are too successful? One doesn’t want to feel too complicit!