Springtime, The Busy Season

Springtime can be such a fun time for backyard birders. There is so much commotion with the singing and mating rituals, nest-building, and of course the feeding of hungry nestlings. It is still early enough that some birds are still seen carrying nesting material, but far enough into the season that busy parents can be easily spotted gathering up food for their babies.

This afternoon my boyfriend's younger brother texted him with a picture of a northern mockingbird, so instead of eating the dinner my boyfriend had just prepared for me, I grabbed my camera and drove over to his family's house two miles away. The corner they live on has a couple pairs of mockingbirds in the vicinity, and as soon as I rounded the corner I spotted one of them perched on a fire hydrant with a big, juicy insect.

Mimus polylglottos

It was pretty obvious which couple the hydrant belonged to, as both the male and female frequently perched on and around it.

I believe the nest they were tending to was directly across the street from the hydrant.

My boyfriend's brother came out after a little bit (I was hanging out in their front yard by myself before he joined me) and pointed out a nest in the tree I was standing under, but there wasn't any action while I was observing.

They also have a chickadee box that has a loud little family inside. I barely got a photo of one of the parents poking their head out.

We have a chickadee family in the nest box at my mom's, too. What I found to be really neat was that the birds moved in within a week or two of putting the box up.

I love the sound of baby chickadees because they are just higher-pitched versions of the already squeaky adults. I am looking forward to watching the fledglings this year - they were very entertaining last year. They haven't popped out yet, though, so I have to wait a little more.

The bushtits have also nested in my moms backyard. I noticed a couple hanging around the branches of the fig tree that are closest to our Cordyline and sure enough they were working on a nest.

It was difficult to get a photo because of the placement, but I was able to see them working on it with my binoculars just fine. They were nearing completion when I took these photos, and it was super cute to watch the male go inside and poke around the bottom.

You can see the different materials used in construction, like moss, spiderwebs, lichen, and even tissue

I am looking forward to watching these families grow and hope to discover some new ones in the comings weeks. That's all for now, and thank you always @melinda010100 for creating this community for bird-lovers!