Sunday, June 28, 2009

Cute Birdorables

Here are some more pictures of the baby birds in my yard. The little chickadee chicks are growing so fast. This picture is from last night. I'm a little concerned about the chick on the left--it appears to be a day or two behind the other ones. Even though this is a pretty poor picture, you can see that its wing and tail feathers are not as fully developed as the other 3 chicks. It's still alive but I don't think it will be strong enough to leave the nest box when the other 3 do. I wonder if the parents will still feed it in the nest box if the other 3 chicks leave earlier?

Chickadees are the sweetest little baby birds. This one sat so quietly in my hand--no loud chirping like baby robins. This little one didn't even poop on me when I picked it up.

I got these pictures of the tree swallow babies the other day when I was mowing lawn. This is the nest box that had 6 babies in it. I can't even imagine how crowded it is now that they're all about ready to fledge. The parents are coming non-stop with food for all these hungry beaks. This little one was almost up to the entrance, waiting for another food delivery.

A little bit higher now. I wonder how many of its siblings it was standing on top of to get into the entrance like this.

And here comes mom......just in time with another insect to fill that patiently waiting little beak!

Here are the 5 little baby bluebirds. Sorry about the blurriness of this picture too......I was trying to take the picture as fast as possible because I was being buzzed by two angry bluebird parents! (It was a good thing I was wearing a hat--I could actually feel the wind from their wings because they were flying that close to me!)
Isn't it amazing how bright the inside of their mouth is? Shows up really good--even inside the darkness of the nest box, so the parent birds know exactly where to stick the food! Nature is sure an amazing thing.




16 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You are oh so right. Absolutely birdorable.

Mama Pea said...

Gosh, Ruthie, so COOL to see all these little babies. What a nursery you're running! Hope that one little guy shapes up and makes it. Hard to see a less than healthy one but I guess that's nature's way.

Thanks for sharing.

Crafty Green Poet said...

so wonderful to see so many chicks...

Anonymous said...

In comparison the baby birds mouths are so much larger then their bodies, YES, they are adorable.

MOM

Heather said...

This gets an 11 on the cuteometer! Hope that "runt" Chickadee makes it okay.

Gaelyn said...

Very cool to see all these babies. Hope the late chickadee makes it.

Mary C said...

Love those photos, Ruthie. I sure hope all of the babies will successfully fledge. Thanks for sharing the update.

Jayne said...

Just look at all your beeebies Ruthie! I do hope that little chickadee does OK and can catch up a bit. :c)

troutbirder said...

A perfect 10 on the cuteness scale.

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Lisa.

Hi Mama Pea,
The chickadee's house is the one that's easiest to see inside without disturbing the babies, plus they are the cutest right now too!

Thanks Crafty Green Poet!

Hi Mom,
They're must be getting plenty of food shoved down those beaks too because they're growing so fast!

Thanks Heather, I hope so too!

Thanks Gaelyn. They're all still in the nest box because I heard them peeping this morning. The parents are starting to look pretty frazzled!

You're welcome Mary. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing them.

Hi Jayne,
I sure hope all of them make it. We need more chickadees around here!

You got that right Troutbirder!

Dawn Fine said...

Awee..How darling..Lucky you! All this baby birdie action.
the last photo of the open mouth..sooo cute.

Will you be joining us for the Birders who Blog.Tweet and Chirp outing August 15th..it should be an all day affair..but can stay as long as u like.Birdchick wants to do some boat ride and birding and other things planed as well.
Just go to my site http://dawnandjeffsblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/birders-who-blog-tweet-and-chirp-outing_21.html
and make a comment..then I will add u to the list.
hope to meet u there!

Heidi said...

That's so cool Ruthie! Thanks for updating the chicks! I can imagine ma and pa bluebird weren't thrilled. Their little ones look pretty young still :)

Dana and Daisy said...

Hi ruthie! You will enjoy seing some pics on a friends blog and maybe help her identify the babies in her nest.

Her address is: http://workingmomchronicles.blogspot.com/

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Dawn. Right now Aug. 15 is open on my calendar, so I'll plan on that get-together. I'm looking forward to meeting you and the other Minnesota bird/nature bloggers!

Hi Heidi,
If I remember correctly, those bluebird babies hatched on 6-19, so they were not quite a week old when I took this picture. They fledge in only about 14 days, so they grow up really fast. I probably won't be able to open the nest box anymore for fear they've gotten so big and will fall out.

Thanks for the link Dana, I'll check it out.

Marchelle said...

WOW!! Thanks for your comment on my bird post yesterday! You sure know your stuff!

I haven't looked at the nest since I took those pictures, so I'll have to take the fern down and see what's changed. I'm sure you know A LOT can change in a day or two when it comes to birds! And I'll definitely keep my eyes open for the speckled eggs next time!

Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! So precious!
Baby bluebird mouth looks like an empty walnut shell. Talk about being all mouth!!!

Bluebird parents are such fun to watch.