I don’t think anyone lives on the bottom floor, but these are the first birds to occupy the birdhouse on my studio since I moved in.
And it’s lovely to have them here. This is the second hatching. Some of the babies (now birds) from the first, and the parents sit on the pasture fence. And I think they roost in the big maples that shade my studio. I somehow missed the babies when they were in the nest.
Guess I was too busy to get to work in the morning and didn’t see the wonder that was right in front of me.
I’m not even sure what kind of birds they are. I’ve never been very good at identifying birds, unless they’re really distinctive. And I’m even worse at identifying them by sound. But I’ll get my bird book out and put my glasses and see what I can discover.
What a lovely photo. I’m not wonderful on bird IDs either, but these are surely either Swifts or Swallows. They build under eaves. and these have lazily (or cleverly) cut out half the work by finding a supporting ledge also.
You have done a beautiful thing in rescuing Izzy–a cautionary tale against the former owners; animal lovers who don’t know how to look after their pets.
I wouldn’t be too hard in Izzy’s last owner. It seems she had some troubles of her own. I don’t know the whole story, but do know she was evicted from her home.
Almost surely phoebes (a charming and common bird in the flycatcher family) from your description and the photo. Look for them to wag their tails when they sit on a branch or wire or fence. Good insect control on your property!
They do wag their tails and we certainly have the insects to support them. Thanks for your input.
Yes, this is the time for a second brood of the season. Phoebes are early nesters. Often the re-used nest will be full of mites and other parasites and it’s not uncommon for the brood to fail. Also important is to not disturb the brood to photograph, etc. When they get fairly old (as when you see them piled high on the nest or perching on the edge of it) they are getting ready to fledge within a few days, and can fledge too soon (and be vulnerable to cats, crows, etc.) if startled. The chicks pictured are definitely almost to the stage where they’ll be climbing up and getting ready to fledge. But if they were successful there for the first brood, they may be back next year. We have a pair who’s nested on our front stoop light fixture for 5-6 years! You will want to remove this nest, and it’s so fun to watch them build w/ mud and moss.
Suzanne, the birds didn’t survive, I found two dead in the nest a few days ago. I noticed them because one was hanging out of the nest her leg caught on something in the nest. One was barely alive and Jon helped it move on. They were covered in mites, that may be what killed them as you say.