Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

Carolina Wren

Raising a Carolina Wren Family

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Raising a Carolina Wren Family, like all bird families, is a full-time job.  This is a big family -- six nestlings packed in a grass hut with an interior about the size of a baseball.  It took me days to count heads, but finally I saw all six beaks.  You'll understand the difficulty when you see the video -- there's a LOT of jostling going on!

As for the Chia Pet picture ... I finally have a camera in a location where I can mess with the focus as the nestlings grow.  This setting also has lots of natural light.  The combination yields (at least for now) an amazing image.  I won't be able to mess with the camera when these guys reach 12 days of age for fear of causing them to fledge prematurely.

Carolina Wren Nestlings Looking Like Chia Pets

Wren Nestlings Looking Like Chia Pets

Enjoy the video.  JUST BE WARNED:  I highly advise you view this footage when you are not eating ... unless juicy insects, in high-def, appeal to you.

 

When Nature Gives Me What I Want

I love it when I get what I want!  Momma Bluebird built her nest in the Garden House.  As you will see in the picture, it captures natural light much better than the other houses -- yielding color pictures for part of the day.  I'm pretty excited by the prospect of  sharing with you images of Bluebird eggs and nestlings in blue -- IF I continue to get what I want.

Momma Blue Chooses Garden House
Momma Blue Chooses Garden House

Caroline Wrens: Deep in the Floral Jungle

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Well, I found the May nesting site of the Carolina Wrens -- Deep in the Floral Jungle.  As I was watering the flowers in the pictured pot, Momma Wren shot out of the foliage.  Who knows how many times I have watered her nest this past week!  Inside the nest cup are six eggs.  I am VERY happy to report -- all six are Wren eggs.

Wren Nest May 2018
Wren Nest May 2018

I should have known the Wrens would nest close to the mealworm feeders.  In their current location, they are about half way between the two feeding stations on the second floor terrace.  Unlike Momma Finch, who flees every time I walk out on the terrace, Momma Wren in totally undaunted by my comings and my goings.  I did note, however, that turning on the hose now elicits a rapid exit from the nest.  No need to wonder why.

Wren Pot

Return of the Red-headed Woodpecker

Even more exciting (to me) than the discovery of the Wren nest, was the return of the Red-headed Woodpecker.  S/he has been absent from the property for two years -- a disappearance I link to having mounted an umbrella over the tray to stop the rain from soaking the bird seed.  I accepted that the umbrella scared him away.

Red-headed and Downy

I think the Red-headed Woodpecker's beauty ranks up there with the Flicker.  Although nowhere near as colorful as the Flicker, there's just something about the richness of the red/black/white of the Red-headed.  Even in the photos, he almost appears painted with the dense, unshaded colors of his feathers.

Red-headed - May 2018

Note in the photo with the suet log, a male Downy is also feeding.  Interesting to see these two woodpeckers side-by-side ... once again highlighting how tiny the Downy is.