Baby Bird Bonanza!
by Julie Amato
The crow is sitting on the fence, peering into the yard. It jerks its head around, nervously inspecting the scene, responding exaggeratedly to any noise or movement around it. It is hunched over and looks uncomfortable, maybe even in pain. Is it sick or hurt? What’s going on?
And then I notice its pale eyes, and it clicks for me - I am observing a young American Crow, recently fledged, on what might be its first solo visit to our yard! Like kittens, baby crows have blue eyes that gradually darken, turning brown after a couple of months. The bird isn’t hurt, just new to the world and trying to figure it out, like a baby of any species. Welcome to our yard, little one.
An older American Crow (note the dark eye), a member of the family of crows that lives near us. The baby that I’ve been observing is likely part of this family.
Baby birds are everywhere right now, a joyful reminder that life continues, year after year, following the seasons. In the past month, I’ve seen babies (and their parents) of a variety of species in our yard - and happily, their numbers are growing each day.
Here are the families that have visited our yard recently:
One of the pair of California Scrub-Jays that has been diligently liquidating a coconut fiber planter in our yard, presumably to use as nest material.
Earlier this month, a pair of California Scrub-Jays made short shrift of a coconut fiber planter for one of our succulents. During one intense week, the birds visited the yard repeatedly, pulling fibers from the planter and picking stray ones off the ground. To maximize their carrying capacity, they would occasionally adjust their loads, then pick up more - always more - fibers before flying away, the strands forming a bristling, unkempt mustache. Were they gathering nesting material? I think so, and I hope I’ll see young scrub-jays in the yard soon.
An adult Northern Mockingbird in one of our backyard trees. It is likely one of a pair that is nesting in the area.
The Northern Mockingbirds that sang their hearts out in the early spring have been quieter this month, serenading the neighborhood less frequently. Two of them hang out on top of a utility pole, often together, usually quiet, and I think they’re a pair. Sometimes a crow lands nearby and the mockingbirds go crazy, springing into action, diving at full speed at the bird, and buzzing it until it leaves the area. Mockingbirds view crows as a possible threat to their nests and young - judging by what I saw, this pair’s nest must be very close by indeed.
A young Mourning Dove foraging in our yard. The feathers on its wings and back are mottled and rimmed with white.
In the early morning and late evening, we are visited by large numbers of Mourning Doves, foraging in the grass. The doves were the first to bring their young - did you know that baby doves are called “squabs”? - to visit us. The young birds can be identified by the patchwork of colors and pale tips of their feathers, and tend to be more brown than gray overall. One day, a number of them perched together in a tree, and when they lifted their wings to preen, I could see fluffy white down underneath.
An adult female White-breasted Nuthatch, one of a pair that visits our yard frequently. If you look closely, you can see her tongue. We are waiting for these nuthatches to bring their babies for a visit!
A male and female White-breasted Nuthatch - a likely pair, given how much they chat with each other - visit my suet and peanut feeders frequently. They are louder and more vocal than they were during the winter, and I hear their nasal honking calls often, as they broadcast their conversation to each other and the world. I hope their nest has been successful this year, and that they’ll bring their babies to our yard soon.
Yesterday, a pair of Chestnut-backed Chickadees showed up with one of their young, a bird that looked similar to them, but had large gape flanges - that colorful tissue at the base of the bill, characteristic of baby birds that seem to be all mouth and designed to say one thing only - “feed me, feed me, feed me!” - for the first few weeks of their lives. The parents visited our peanut feeder, talking continuously to each other, while their young one perched higher up in a tree, shivering its wings - a typical songbird begging gesture - and waiting to be fed.
A young Dark-eyed Junco, foraging on its own in our yard. Note the multicolored head, instead of the adults’ black hood, and the variable color and looseness throughout its feathers.
Pairs of Dark-eyed Juncos and California Towhees like to forage in our grass, searching for the seeds and nuts that I scatter there. The towhees stick close together and squeal at one another, a special call that they reserve for communicating with their mates. In recent weeks, I have seen baby juncos arrive and forage on their own - although their colors and patterns mark them as young, they must already be mostly independent, since I don’t see parents feeding them.
Young House Finches foraging in our yard. If you look closely, you can see the gape flanges on the bird in the foreground, a yellow tinge where the bill meets the face. Young males and females both bear a strong resemblance to adult females.
I put up a seed feeder about a week ago, and it was immediately discovered by the local House Finches, as numerous as they always are when offered sunflower seeds, a favorite food. Over the past few days, I’ve had an influx of adult males eating at the feeder, while their offspring hang out on tree branches and wires, waiting to be fed. The young finches must be almost about to go off on their own - I don’t see them beg much, even when their fathers show up with food, and some of them forage on their own.
Lesser Goldfinches were also quick to find the new seed feeder, and late some afternoons, we are treated to long and glorious songs from a particularly musical male. The birds arrive in our yard in small flocks, and I have difficulty picking out the young birds among them, although I bet they’re there.
Western Bluebird pair, for the first time ever in our yard, staging on the fence, scanning our grass for insects to eat and to feed to their young.
Western Bluebirds have always been tantalizingly elsewhere in our neighborhood - munching in other people’s berry trees in the winter, foraging in the medians of the school parking lot - all around but never actually here, in our yard.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I recently discovered an adult female bluebird perched on our fence, gazing intently at the grass. She hopped down, looked around briefly, then flew back to the fence and out of the yard. Her occasional forays into our yard became more frequent, until one day, I looked up to see an adult male bluebird, also perched on the fence and peering into the grass. Now the two birds come every day, sometimes together, usually in the late afternoon, and pluck insects out of our lawn! They must have a nest nearby.
An adult male Western Bluebird in our yard with an insect in his bill.
As I write the final lines of this piece, there is an adult House Finch in my field of view, feeding a begging youngster. The young one waits on an overhead wire, surprisingly patient, as its father searches for food. When the father returns, the baby flutters its wings and calls excitedly, trembling all over, eager to be fed.
Bearing witness to this cycle of life is one of the greatest joys of backyard birding. May you enjoy this nesting season, as I have so far! I can’t wait to see what the next month brings.
What birds have you seen in your yard or neighborhood lately? Write to us at backyardbirds@scvas.org and share your stories!
References:
Birds of the World: S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Handbook of Bird Biology, third edition: Irby J. Lovette and John W. Fitzpatrick, Editors. Published by John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Credits
Banner Photo: Northern Mockingbirds by Julie MacKinnon
All other photos by Julie Amato