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!!

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!!