Baby Day on the Bayou!

Today must have been officially declared "Baby Day" here on the Bayou! Being as it was so hot..too hot to work..I retreated to my "birdwatching" chair. Hubby decided to join me in the difficult task of sitting and watching the birds come to the feeders and birdbath. I guess he figured since I was working so hard, he would help me! I was glad to have his company because it made me feel less guilty about whiling away the hours staring at birds. He was the first to notice that it must have been Baby Day..the day that a lot of the little hatchlings took flight for the first time.

A baby Blue Jay was sitting in the fork of a large oak for the longest time. We had tired of looking at him after about fifteen minutes and as many pictures. It was then that we noticed he had moved. Where had the little tyke moved? We were a bit wary, since Ms. Put was on the prowl and baby birds always make easy targets for tired, old cats. I could hear the soft chirps of the little one but could not locate him. It was then that Hubby pointed to a small bush right near my feet. I had pulled a second chair in front of me to use as an ottoman and practically right against that was a crape myrtle bush. There in the bush, which was little more than a twig, sat the baby. I quickly swapped chairs so that I was within hand's reach of the itty bitty bird. I cooed softly at it..it responded. Not with a "happy to meet you" look but with a scared-stiff, deer-in-the-headlights look. It let out a panicked screech. The leering looks of the parent birds caused me to back off a bit. Still with arm's reach, I snapped picture after picture. The little guy was in no hurry to leave so I figured he must not have been too frightened. After about another fifteen minutes, he hopped to the ground and headed for the birdbath. It was there that the parent birds were calling softly to him. Once there, he hopped up on one of the benches and proceeded to flap his wings as if he wanted to fly. And fly he did! Not far but at least far enough that it made me feel confident that he would be ok. From there he headed to the oak tree near the marsh..Mom and Dad bird hovered around him until he made a painfully slow ascent high enough in the tree to be safe.

At the same time this saga was unfolding, the Red-bellied Woodpeckers brought their young one to the feeder. The little one was perched on one of the nearby oaks and evidently told to stay there! The parent birds would fly to the feeders, pick out a seed, fly back to the tree, shell out the seed and finally feed the hungry squirt! The tot would flap its wings and make all sorts of racket each time Mom or Dad would land on the tree. Eventually, they stopped visiting the feeders and started looking along the ridges in the tree bark for bugs. They would chirp for the little one to search, too. Finally, I think it was getting the idea! Bugs! This little tyke was one happy camper!

I did notice that the Titmice were busy introducing three of their brood to the feeders and one Redwinged Blackbird had two of her chicks out of the nest. Baby Day! Maybe with the temperature hovering near 103 today, the nest was just too hot!