Tuesday, June 17, 2008

New Life In North Fork - Continued

The other day I heard the loudest commotion in front of my store. Two sparrows up in the redbud tree were chirping excitedly back and forth, obviously announcing something very special was happening.

Knowing how skiddish these tiny birds can be, I practically walked on my tip toes with my camera to check out what all the excitement was about.

As reported in previous postings, the returning sparrows had been building a nest just under the old shake overhang in front of my store. I have been looking daily to see if any new life was appearing, but for weeks it has been rather quiet.

But not today, Dad sparrow was obviously very proud, announcing to the world about the special new life that had just occurred.




Mom sparrow was settled in the safety of the red bud tree, she was excited to, and there was a non-stop excited dialog of chirping going on between the two parents.



As I quietly observed nature unfolding right in front of me, Dad sparrow would occasionally fly off, disappear for a few minutes, and then return with exotic bird yummies in his beak. Obviously, new sparrow babies had just hatched just hours ago, and were impatient and very hungry waiting for Dad.




And, if you look very closely in the nest under the old weather shake shingle, you can see a tiny smiling beak and two birdie eyes. I believe I saw at least three tiny brothers or sisters later.



Hi Mom & Dad, what's for dinner?









© Copyright 2008 North Fork News

3 comments:

Farmer Jen said...

Nice photos! I loved the one of the Dad bird with the insect in his mouth.

Are you sure those are sparrows? They look a lot like chickadees to me.

Thank you for posting. I appreciate it.

Hardware Bob said...

Sparrows, chickadees, they all look the same to me.

And, you may be absolutely right regarding the species.

Personally, I liked the rather difficult to see, baby birdie smiling with wide open eyes, and eager to start the process all over again.

Thanks for the compliments on the photos. It did take several sessions before I could actually get a shot of the babies, Dad and Mom had this unique chirping code.

Every time I would sneak out to get a photo, everything would somehow go quiet. Nature is really something.

@JeanAnnVK said...

adorable! I haven't seen any babies this spring, except for the twin squirrels who live in the giant oak tree outside my window...they chase each other like mad! Sadly, they love digging in my containers...