New Life

Once I found all those warblers Saturday I reeeeeeally wanted to band Sunday. I left the house at 4:45 Am and within 2 blocks of the house the rain began to fall. The online radars showed no rain anywhere near us. Yet it rained and rained. I called off the troops and went back to bed. By 8 AM it was a beautiful blue but very windy.
Oh, well.

I eventually decided I still needed a Nature fix so I headed over to Mead Garden to see if there was any bird action there. Not much but there was a sudden appearance of a large family of Wood Ducks that caught the rapids in the creek. They were moving so fast that I couldn't get them all in frame before they were gone. There were at least 10 ducklings with Mom.



Up near the pond, the male whistled to stay in contact before joining them.



Out on the opposite side of the pond a Great Egret fished along the swollen creek. Note the light that is on the property across from Mead. That used to be all dry land.



I soon met up with fellow birder, Marcus, and we headed around Mead looking to migrants. As we got to 'warbler corner' I wondered if I was seeing young or adult Northern Cardinals darting into the branches. Marcus just said offhandedly that a nest was in the tree. This was no Cardinal nest I had ever seen. It was made mostly of Spanish Moss and was shaped like a circle. Interesting.



The Cardinals were chipping away but flying from trees to tree, seeming to be feeding. I almost wandered off when I spotted something just above me. A fledgling!



Mom was now hopping on the ground in front of me searching for food and then would eventually fly up to the young bird to feed it.



I could hear another young bird in the trees across from the nest but could not see it. I looked back at the nest because I had earlier noticed that some of its construction included plastic wrapping. I wanted a closer look and spotted something that was not visible just a couple minutes earlier. Another fledgling!!



Soon, Dad flew in with a bill full of mushed up bugs.



Junior asked...



...and received.



Once Dad flew off, Junior took a big stretch before settling in again.



Moments later, Mom flew in and delivered another snack. Three different babies had the parents very busy.



Circling around the pond we found a couple turtles drying on a log.



Above, the first warbler heard today was busy singing and feeding. This beautiful male Northern Parula was riding the limbs as the winds gusted over and over.



We found several Gray Catbirds, American Redstarts, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Black-and-White Warblers, and finally a few Black-throated Blue Warblers



So, I didn't get to band but I got some excellent Cardinal photos and some relaxed time with a friend. Not going to complain. Just better not rain next Sunday!