JACKPOT!

Sylvia and Lloyd have hit the Jackpot and are very lucky to be nesting and raising the future leaders of the bird world in my backyard! They have finally discovered the giant mealworms I put out for them. They seem to be able to RELAX! a bit in between feedings. The babies seem pretty happy and I haven't heard any complaints yet....
I don't know, call me crazy, but I would think a mealworm would be a little easier to swallow and digest than a squirming, multi-limbed, winged, big-eyed, sharp little feet-having, big ole' crunchy beetle! Wouldn't you think? I have never personally eaten either, but it might be like the difference between a Godiva chocolate truffle and a sprig of broccoli. Hmmm.....You be the judge!

Ok, Major Love Here.....

Whoa, these parents have a lot of love for these kids! Not only do the parents take the poopy out, but sometimes they eat it!!!! Eeeewwww! I am learning so much! They wait and watch for it and sometimes are too busy to fly out with it, so they just eat it. Nice. It seems pretty instantaneous after they shove a big moth or cricket down their throats. Got to make room! I always thought of bird doo as being runny, but it comes out in a big bubble, like a smei-dry glob of Elmer's glue. I guess it keeps the parents satisfied until they can eat themselves. Kind of like a Snickers bar. But different. Yeah, not so much, I guess. Maybe in a bird world.

Well, I guess it could be worse.....

They Really Love Their Kids.....

Greetings and an update from observing the nest activities....
I realized, my guess was correct about the bathroom procedure. I was wondering how they keep the nest clean and sure enough, these little guys poop out a poopy that is as big as their head and mom seems to know it's coming and grabs it in her beak and flies out with it. I don't know where she puts it, but I guess it is good fertilizer, right? I think they have found the food supply I put out for them. Here is another picture of Lloyd on his favorite place to perch and another baby picture.....

And a reminder that comments are welcome and encouraged! Thanks!!

Little Aliens

I think I am starting to understand what folks mean when they say: "They are growing so fast!" These little buggars are growing fast. As of this afternoon, one of them has opened his eyes. The little late bloomer runty one seems to have caught up to his siblings. There are already pronounced quills on some of their wings and they are chirping and moving around quite a bit. I still have to review all of the recorded discs from the days when they hatched, but here are some things I have learned so far:

• Mama and Papa eat the empty egg shells.
• Mama and Papa like to shove big, honkin', non-regurgitated bugs down their throats, such as crickets, moths and unidentified flying things.
• The babies have a built-in people sensor that triggers them to close their mouths when they hear human voices.
• Somehow they know when a bird other than their parents is on the house.

It's pretty amazing that when something lands on the house and they hear the sound, they all stick their heads straight up with their mouths open. When they hear that bird call or sing, they close their mouths. Mama still sits on them at night to keep them warm. Last night was cooler than it has been and she stayed on them most of the night. I also saw her eat some egg shell this afternoon, so I guess she is still finding some as the babies move around.

I had a request for a name for one of them, but I think I have the rest covered. Of course it's too early to tell if they are make or femal, but since they were bald and their dark, feathered eyeballs look like bushy eyebrows, I am going to name one Abe, one Hamish, one Shmeigal (after the dude from LOTR) one Don (after Don King) because now they all have little fuzzy afros, and one Himey (the request). Abe is in honor of the guy from "Barney Miller", Shmeigal is because they kind of look like Gollum from LOTR and Hamish just came to mind for no apparent reason.

For the first time I am seeing their entire nodies today. One of them who is quite assertive is climbing on top and he is fairly bald except for a line of fuzz down his back. I put out some big fatty mealworms and a couple of night crawlers in my feeder. I had to buy them at a gun/tackle shop. Lovely. But they are the biggest darn mealworms I have ever seen. I just hope mom and pops find them and enjoy. It doesn't seem that there is a shortage for crispy critters, but I thhought I would help them out and try to make their lives easier.

Mom just came back with something and it looked like she was trying to spread the wealth among them. She does appear to be regurgitating now. She also scooched down on them, as if she was trying to get them warm and set for a nap. I guess she's a little beat. She just took out some extra eggshell . I think she was trying to get underneath them to clean up the rest of the mess, unless it was doody. Hard to say. She carried it out, though, so my thinking is it was a big turd. Nice. At least she's tidy. Imagine having to carry your baby's turds away in your mouth? Time for some research!!

I decided to take a picture of the TV with the camera so I could post. Hope you all can make it out!

Missed the Hatching!

Hi fellow bird lovers. I have been gone for a week, so sorry for the absence of updates. Unfortunately, I missed the hatching avtivities! But, happy to report that all five hatched! I will check in later and provide an update!

How to not Sound Silly in the Company of Ornithologists

Alright folks, I have certainly made my share of birding fauk beaks, but I want to get this straight once and for all. I am listening to Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion that he did out of Charlottesville and he made a major bird mistake. He referred to the black, white and gray geese that are the nemesis of every golf course groundskeeper as "Canadian Geese". Sorry Gar, but you sound like a doofus saying this because they are CANADA Geese. They are not from Canada, thus they are not Canadian, like Jim Carrey or Diana Krall or Shania Twain or any number of professional figure skaters. Some might even be born in....well, somewhere other than Canada, like Michigan, or Nebraska.
And on a similar note, let's try to call those five point, bumpy Echinoderms that live in salt water that people like to collect and let dry out until they break and crumble into little pieces.....Seastars. They are not fish and scientists shudder when they hear this. I get a little squirm, not quite a shudder because there are more important things to shudder about, and I am not a scientist, but I have a blog and can rant or get on a soap box about nature stuff because.....well, because I can. Seriously, folks, I am just trying to help you. I have logged countless hours educating the public in various capacities for nature museums and nature, conservation and ecology programs, so I get this stuff first line from my nature nerd friends and cohorts. They know what they're talking about people. So, if you you are the type of person that is concerned with spelling things correctly, manners, or just useless trivia that is above all else, accurate, then now you know. Here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's page on the Canada Goose: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Canada_Goose_dtl.html
I was also recently asked about our friends the Mute Swan, who, incidentally are not endemic to this country but are imported. They are also fairly destructive when it comes to endemic grasses and plants and food sources for other birds. So keep them in Europe where they look better anyway, floating in a misty pond in front of an old English castle in front of an old, english garden in an old, English village straight out of a fairy tale. But, that's another blog entry. This person asked me what a group of swans is called. You don't often see these guys together with others, but you do see Trumpeters and Tundra together in groups. These groups can be referred to as a flock, bevy, bank, eyrar, drift, game, herd, swonder, team or wedge and share these terms with some other bird types.
Just a little FYI. I am going to cross reference my source on this to make sure it's accurate, but they sound right to me. Here is a link to a page on the Mute Swan. They also, according to Cornell, do not mate for life. It's a romantic notion, but not really realistic for species support. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Mute_Swan_dtl.html
Happy Birding and Happy Bunny Trail on this Easter Holiday!
The common sea star, Asterias forbesi: (c/o the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, http://www.chesapeakebay.net/seastar.htm)

Just Sittin' and Waitin' and Hopin' and Dreamin'

Man, would I love to know what is going through Sylvia's mind! Sometimes when I catch her sitting on the nest, I imagine her inner dialogue:
(Cut to the dream sequence and dreamy music sound)

"Wonder where that good-for-nuthin' lazy Lloyd is? Off chasin' a little tail, I'm sure, while I'm stuck on this freakin' nest.......Ooh, is that a bug? Oh, no, just some dirt. How did dirt get in here? Maybe I should head out and get my own cricket...guess I could rotate the eggs again for the fortieth time today.....Ooh, that egg is poking me and driving me crazy....I should definitely try for six next time, more balanced that way, three on one side and three on the other.....what is Lloyd doing??...ooh sounds like a fly-by up there....those darn cowbirds are back....what was that? A hawk? oh I hope not...nope just a Mockingbird trying to fake us all out....why doesn't he get his own song instead of copying everyone else's? Man I could really go for a grub right now.. or a mealworm, yeah, mmmm, nice and crunchy, yet soft in the middle....they go down so easy.....time for a little cat nap, uh, bad choice of words, a bird nap.....yeah, nap....."

Every now and then she looks up and stares into the camera for a while. I can see a little reflective dot in her eye and I am not sure if it's light from the moon or if the camera gives off some ambient light. Anyway, countdown is on and I am still looking for any grub/mealworm sources......

Five is the Magic Number!

It appears the Sylvia is egged out and stopping at five eggs for this first clutch. They seem to be doing well, although Lloyd is spending a lot of his time chasing off Brown-Headed Cowbirds. I am taking grub or mealworm contributions. If anyone knows where I could order some live ones, let me know. I only came across a few very small grubs in my garden. My neighbor donated some huge ones and they scarfed those right up.

On a side note, it appears that some Tree Swallows might be moving into my recycled plastic house that I relocated across the street! Finally those houses will be used! They have a snazzy little latch that flips back to allow the side of the box to flip up and then there is a lexan wall behind it for nest monitoring. the box came from bestnest.com and it is great and will last forever!

The Fab Four!

Just like clockwork, Sylvia produced egg #4. Hopefully, we will have a succesful brood. Tonight is supposed to get down to 35F, so hopefully she will be able to keep them nice and warm. In a few minutes I am headed out to the garden to find some grubs that I came across yesterday. The ones I put out on the buffet have been scarfed up, so I am hoping that Lloyd has been taking advantage of the free food. Anything I can do to make it easier for them......

Today will be warm followed by two chilly nights and days in the low 60's. Keep your fingers crossed that the cooler temperatures won't have a detrimental impact on our little nursery!

And Then There Were Three......

Three eggs and counting.....I'm almost certain there will be one-two more. Today Lloyd was fending off some Brown-headed Cowbirds who were at my neighbor's feeder and too close to the nestbox for comfort. He was kicking birdie tail and taking names! Oh and last night, Sylvia was in the nestbox sitting on her eggs. I was watching her until about 10:30 when I went to bed, so it looks like my initial assumption that she didn't nest-sit at night was wrong. It was very sweet to see her in there trying to chill. She would doze off and her little head would kind of fall forward. Then every now and then she would jerk awake and stare at the camera or at the hole. I'll be looking for egg #4 tomorrow.....

Two, Two, Two Eggs in One (Nest)!

That's right, folks, the egg you know and love has doubled! I missed the event, but I think I pretty much know how it goes....As of 10am, when I first turned on the cam, there was another egg. I didn't think there would be much going on this morning because once again we are having strong winds, but, I guess the egg must go on and come out when it's knocking on the bluebird backdoor!
I discovered that Eastern Bluebirds do not incubate at night, at least maybe not until all of the eggs are laid. I suspect she may get to some serious incubating once they have all arrived. Lloyd seems to be slacking a bit in the "feeding-your-hungry, tired, overworked, nest-building, egg-laying wife duties", but I am thinking he might get a bit more serious once the eggs are all there. Then it will be down to some serious child-rearing business.
We're working on some software issues to edit the discs into just a few and get some stills on the site. In the meantime, stay tuned. If history repeats itself, Sylvia should be laying 2-3 more eggs and then it's 10-17 days until they hatch, putting us on schedule for an April 17th or 18th delivery date. Tres exciting, non? Maybe for us bird nerds out here it's eggciting!
Happy Spring and Happy Birding!

Oh, and here is a preview of what the babies will look like. These were taken two years ago, I believe. They are some of Sylvia and Lloyd's previous offspring. Notice the Goldfinch hanging out with them!

Houston, We Have Egg!

Well, finally! Sylvia laid her first egg this morning. It did not look like she was having fun, to say the least. I was literally watching her squeeze it out. It would be cool to have a camera below the nest so I could see the actual egg shoot out. She turned on her head a couple of times like she was looking between her legs to see if she had success. It was pretty funny to see her turn upside down with her tail straight up in the air. Hopefully I will be able to post some footage or at least pictures soon. So she was huffing and puffing and breathing pretty hard. Just like a human. I even think I heard her yell at Lloyd: "You did this to me!!"
So a few minutes ago, Lloyd brought her a post-delivery snack. I put out some grubs but I think they expired in the cold weather last night. It doesn't appear that any have been eaten. Speaking of the cold, a pretty dramatic front came through last night bringing with it very high winds and cooler temperatures, but thankfully they are not worse for wear. Attached is a picture of Sylvia sitting on one of the bird feeders. I placed the pan of grubs on the railing, but I don't know if they have figured that out yet.

Mating Colors

I noticed last week that the male American Goldfinches already have their full mating color. Here is a picture of a female and a male perched on a feeder hook.

Under the Weather

I have been a bit under the weather but promise to post soon. Sylvia and Lloyd are perfectionists and have not quite finished their nest. so far, no eggs, but I am thinking any day now......
I will be back to post next week and hopefully more often.....