Watch Me Grow

Dark-Eyed Junco eggs nestled in the perennial garden by our house!!  The female incubates the eggs for 12-13 days and the nestling period is approximately 10-13 days!!

All four babies were hatched successfully

and are growing very quickly!!

Mom and Dad are not too far away!!

These little babies fledged the nest the day after this photo was taken!!  We are fortunate to have them with us year round!!  They will soon be introduced to our backyard feeders.... They prefer millet over sunflower seeds.  Dark-Eyed Juncos also eat insects including flies, moths, butterflies, ants, wasps and beetles.

Our Tree Swallows are Back !!

Our tree swallows arrived a couple of weeks ago and there are lots of them....they are so amazing and fun to watch!!  They fly so fast and are darting everywhere....They perform awesome acrobatics while chasing after flying insects...

This male tree swallow is stretching.  He has been sitting on this branch for a few minutes keeping a close eye on his female.

We have a breeding pair nesting in the box again this year....When the female is producing her eggs, she needs extra calcium, so we offer some crushed egg shells for them to eat.  We raise laying chickens, so there are plenty of eggs!! And, our pekin ducks help out too....When the tree swallow prepares the nest, they are looking for soft bedding and one of the supplies they seek are freshly preened feathers.

Here is the very dedicated female looking quite comfortable and ready to lay her eggs!! If you want to read some interesting facts about the tree swallow or see some more images of them, stop by over here and check them out!!

Tree Swallows

The male and female look a lot alike except the female may be a little more greenish

We have been observing this pair of Tree Swallows since they arrived!! They are using the  birdhouse right beside our bedroom window !!  They didn't have too far to go to get their materials.  We watched them go back and forth to the chicken/duck houses gathering hay and feathers.  They also found time to play. They were dropping the feathers and re-catching them in flight!  The nest is complete now and courting begins!!

Mating Tree Swallows

 

We are going to have babies !!!!!!!!

Incubation: lasts 14 - 15 days.  It starts the day next to the last egg that is laid.  The female often sticks her head out of the hole and looks like a little orca.

(Like in this photo of her below)

She is so adorable.. I think she saw her reflection in my lens !! (click photos to enlarge <3)

I have learned that: adult Tree Swallows consume 2000 insects and feed 6000 insects to their young over a 45 day nesting period. That means that each nestbox family consumes more than 300,000 insects.  WOW!! That's a lot of flies and here in the back country,  I say ''welcome little feathered friends"

We expect the babies to hatch the week of the 24th.. Hopefully, we can capture some mealtime photos and share them with you!!

 Quote:::: It is almost as if they live to fly, rather than, as most birds, fly to live.
- Robert R. Cohen, Sialia, 1984

Our Rooster "Skittles"

 

This is our 26 week old barred rock rooster named ''Skittles''.  He just found his crowing voice a couple of weeks ago and it is hilarious when I say "Do it again Skittles" and he crows for me.. Skittles and his 10 hens free range during the day :-) In the background down in the pond are the Pekin ducks simply enjoying life.. Click here  http://shamik4.blogspot.ca/2012_07_01_archive.html to find out how they got here!!

Dark Eyed Juncos

We came across this nest a day ago of two brand new babies.. There is a 3rd egg in the nest but hasn't hatched as of today!! The nest is snuggled on the side of the bank and low to the ground.  We were within inches of stepping on the nest when mama flew out of the little tiny hole!!!! We were amazed of course and reassured them all that they were safe and in good hands but just hope now the nocturnal creatures don't find them!!