The kids and I just had the treat of watching a fledgling chickadee on the ground near our swing set. We've been seeing chickadees flying in and out of one of the pipes that supports the swing set for the past month or so, and more recently have heard the babies chirping away in there. I guess they must have flown today, because there was just this little guy on the ground making all kinds of noise, and the parents singing to him from the trees. 
I wanted so badly to hold him in my hand, but I knew it was better not to unless he seemed to be in trouble or abandoned (which he obviously wasn't). But at least I was able to get close enough for a picture. Chickadees are my favorite birds, so what fun to see a baby one. :) When I parted the grass for a closer look, he tipped his head back and opened his beak wide--so cute! I didn't get a picture of that, though.
When Jim got home, I had him look in the nest to see if any of the other babies were still in there. They weren't, so we assume that the little guy will be fine to leave on the ground; it's obvious that his parents are looking after him and feeding him, so hopefully he will be OK and safe from predators overnight. And hopefully he'll figure out soon that he really can fly. :)
2 comments:
Too, too cute! What fun that the kids were able to observe him so closely. This has been quite the week for nature study!
Don't you just love birds? I could watch them all day. My parents have a feeder that is frequented by several pairs of cardinals, countless sparrows, robins, & doves. It's right outside their kitchen windows so we always tend to gravitate to sitting at the kitchen table to visit so that we can watch the birds :-)
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