Four eggs hatched, but one hatchling perished. The remaining three grew up standing on the desiccated body of their sibling.
She--or one of her offspring--is back. For a couple of weeks, she and her mate flitted around the house. She would fly up under the eaves or try unsuccessfully to land on the conical top of the back-door porch light.
We went away for a few days, and on our return, there was the nest, in the exact same spot as in 2005, with one egg in it.
She didn't seem to sit on the egg much. (We wondered if she was just out hitting the bird bars.) Then there was another egg. Realistically, she must have to eat a lot of insects to get the nutrients for each egg, which is as big as her head.
Now there are four. She is on the nest more of the time--but right now, at dusk, she is gone.
I hear the male's two-note call in the oak brush, but there is nothing for him to do right now but eat. He will help to feed the young once they hatch.
Ornithologist George A. Clark, Jr., writing in the weighty Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior says, "Many Epidonax flycatchers use a nest only once." Reusing an old nest saves work, but old nests sometimes harbor parasites.
So by clearing away the old nest with the dead baby bird in it, did I encourage her to return--assuming it's the same bird?
1 comment:
Good bird posts, Chas.
Therefore consider yourself TAGGED with the dread TEN BIRD MEME!
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