bluebirds - brood 2, day 16

The young bluebirds fledged out of their nest today. We watched for hours as the adults fed them sparingly in the morning, then teased them with worms to encourage fledging. Inside, the three young flapped their wings, took turns perching at the opening, and called out for more food. The adults' response was most often a worm waved in front of the box (or offered but pulled back) to beckon the youngsters out.

raspberries

The new row of raspberry brambles we put in last year are bearing fruit -- delicious red, black, and golden raspberries. The three are a wonderful mix of real intense berry flavor, but even better with a few of the little wild blackberries we find tucked in between the buckthorn and honeysuckle along the old fence row in the wild woods.

hostas in bloom

The shady front corner is finally established with astilbes and hostas.
In past years I tried a few other plants here but they did not like the situation.
This Spring the astilbes and hostas came up vigorously and seem very happy together.
The "Krossa Regal" Hostas have become huge vase-shaped beauties with blooms on stems nearly as tall as I am.

bluebirds - winged lunch

The bluebird hatchlings are nearly as big as their parents, and showing off their feathers. The adults are now bringing larger and more interesting items for meals. Especially interesting on delivery are the delicious orthopterans, like this grasshopper, still kicking.

Speedwell

Butterflies love the dwarf Speedwell,
Veronica x. Giles van Hees.
It is happily situated near the rhubarbs and bee balm.
The flower spikes are only 5 or 6 inches tall, and blooming enthusiastically this summer.

bluebirds - brood 2, day 7

Feeding time is ever amazing in the bluebird nest box. We were watching while the female was in the box with 4 hatchlings; the male brought a long worm to the entrance. The worm resisted the handoff, and the female bluebird had trouble grasping it. She left the box and the male brought the worm back in to feed his youngsters. It took him a few tries, but he did succeed. This would be a challenge for any marksman: stuff a writhing worm into the gape of a wobbly-headed baby bird. These parents are doing a good job -- all 4 hatchlings seem to be thriving.

summer sumac

There is sumac growing outside my window that turns to burnished red and gold shades in the autumn. These shrubs seem to be leftovers from before the residential lots were here. Based on the property plat, they are growing along what was the old farm fence row. And, like sumac do, they strive each season to expand their position. I have enjoyed their brilliant autumn colors for a few years, but this summer is the first time I paid attention to them as they bloomed.
Another treat for us, compliments of our wild woods!

bluebirds - brood 2 hatched

The four bluebird eggs have become helpless little hatchlings. I watched today as the female brought some food, then the male brought in a many-legged item to feed them. She tried to convey it to the young but between their helpless writhing and the bug's wiggling legs, I'm not sure where it went. She did remove a "diaper bag", and he went back out to find something more suitable to feed those hungry beaks gaping in the nest.

blooming on the edge

Coreopsis and scabiosa bloom happily together at the edge of the veggie garden.

wren - second brood in snag box

In the wild woods we placed two PVC-tube nest boxes that simulate the tree snags which birds use for nesting sites. We packed sawdust in the tubes to make them seem like a decaying tree snag. Both have been totally excavated; earlier this season we watched a pair of black-capped chickadees remove all the sawdust from one tube before they built their nest inside. The other tube is excavated and has accumulated some nesting material but no active nest thus far. The tube that was the site of the successful chickadee nest is now the nest of a house wren. She laid her first egg today!

nest watching

This year, with video cams in several positions, we are able to verify much more bird nesting activity. We've watched as a pair of bluebirds fledged a brood of 5, chickadees fledged a brood of 6, and house wrens fledged a brood of 6. Last week we fed a stray baby robin several freshly-dig earthworms, then watched him sit in the maple tree the entire next day begging for more. Over the last several days we've watched as the bluebirds laid a new clutch of 4 eggs in their nestbox. The material in the snag box (formerly used by the chickadees) has been rearranged each day, and this morning one little wren egg is visible at the bottom of this deep cozy hideaway. I am still hoping to spot the nests of the cardinals, goldfinches, and hummingbirds that inhabit the wild woods.