By Kathleen Carr
NOTE: This blog article isn’t quite done yet. Check back to learn about our double-decker chickadee-bluebird nest and see photos and videos of some of our baby birds.
Before diving into the baby bird topic, I have to share an observation of a Brown Thrasher behavior I’ve never seen before. Click the image below to watch the video on my YouTube channel.
Snake! Brown Thrashers display at and harass a snake
On May 25, 2022, I saw our Brown Thrasher pair doing an elaborate raised wing display in the back flower bed and immediately started recording video. (Camcorder is mounted on a tripod in the kitchen window, always ready to record.) When I opened it in iMovie to process it for uploading, I was shocked to discover that the cause of the display was a snake gliding across the flower bed! Click Watch for it about 20 seconds into the video, towards the bottom of the frame, as the head of the snake comes into view and it moves to the left, all the while being harassed by the two thrashers.
——————
Since mid-February our front and back yards and feeders have been busy with breeding birds. Since mid-April, when our nest of five Carolina Chickadees fledged from our bluebird nest box, baby birds have been seen and heard everywhere! This is the first year I’ve kept track of the baby birds in our backyard nursery and I was surprise at how many species we’re seeing! At last count, we’ve seen 11 species of baby or immature birds, and I’m certain other birds that I’m seeing and hearing are breeding nearby.
Yard babies:
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Cardinal
Pine Warbler
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Summer Tanager
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Possible nearby breeders:
Brown Thrasher
Fish Crow
Great Crested Flycatcher
Mourning Dove
Northern Parula
Red-shouldered Hawk
Yellow-throated Vireo
