It’s that time of year when invisible biorhythms tell the various bird species that they need to act — to find a mate, to take off for breeding grounds, to mate, to build a nest, to lay eggs, to raise their young. These things happen at different times for different species. Some birds are only now building nests (I saw both a Western Scrub Jay and a White-faced Ibis carrying nesting materials just last week) while others have already hatched their first broods.
Take a look at what I found in a coleus plant I got at the nursery last week and was potting this morning:
Who wants to take a guess at what bird laid this egg? I’ve seen House Sparrows in nests built in the rafters at the nursery, so I thought it had to be from them. But when I looked at House Sparrow eggs on Google Images, they’re speckled. Black Phoebe or House Finch are possibilities and are common around here, but if any of you have better guesses, please share.
Since it’s nesting and hatching season, I thought it might be fun to share some of the chick photos I’ve taken in recent years and days (the sleeping goslings above I photographed day before yesterday) and I invite you to share your own — nests, eggs, hatchlings, whatever suits your fancy. Please consider this an Open Thread.
They don’t come much cuter than baby hummingbirds. Except maybe Black-necked Stilts.
Have at it, frieends. What’s going on in your birding world?