Oct 31 2008
“Feed Me!”
It’s hard to realize that this bluebird chick is barely a week out of the egg. They grow very fast. By the time they are 18 to 21 days old they are fully grown and are ready to leave the nest. Of course they will have juvenile plumage and their flight feathers will continue to develop. When they fledge naturally they are capable of flying and may land clumsily on a shrub or tree a short distance away. They soon master the art of graceful flight and follow their parents and learn the art of survival and to find food. They are pretty much independent after a couple weeks out of the nest but may stay with their parents until after the fall migration.
It doesn’t hurt to toss in an abstract photo once in a while. Although each of the objects shown here has its own unique shape they look pretty much alike, ovulate and nearly the same color. One might speculate they were behind glass at the candy counter or maybe a cluster of fruit beneath an olive tree. On closer examination when the photo was taken I noticed nearby where a deer had bedded down. The objects are the result of the deer’s morning constitutional. (Was this photo really necessary?)
Looking back in my files I came across this photo of a Mule Deer. She wandered about in the yard investigating everything in her path. Of course, she is a wild deer. When an event like this occurs we are careful to not make a sound so as not frighten these curious critters. This picture was taken through the kitchen window.
Killdeer, like most shore birds, do not build an elaborate nest. They usually scrape a shallow depression in a gravel bed somewhere along a stream bank, shoulder of a road, railroad bed, rock garden or maybe even a gravel surfaced roof top. Their eggs are generally gray with dark brownish spots which make them seem to disappear among the rocks and stones. When you come across a killdeer seemingly in distress feigning an injured wing you are probably close to its nest. Be careful where you set your foot. You may very well step on the nest. If you look closely you may find the nest which may contain up to four large eggs. Usually within a day or two after hatching the young are led away in search of food and safety. The young, too, are cryptically camouflaged but are a joy to watch when discovered.