These little musketeers flew the nest today for the first time. They are huddled against a retaining wall for the parking lot at my condo, with woods and brush high above where their nest apparently was. The parking lot and wall was not a hospitable place for the little ones, so I stayed with them at a distance for almost two hours, watching the parents tend to them and to warn any cars of their presence. No cars came along during that entire time, but it was a stressful time for the parents, the kids, and also myself, having to let nature take its course and hope for the best. More pics and story in the extended entry...
The pic below shows the musketeers huddled together against the wall with one of the parents at the top of the wall. It was very strange how they huddled. They had already hopped about 50 yards along the wall to this spot, then they stopped and huddled for around 20 minutes without moving. It's like the parents told them to be still because of danger, then the parents went down to them and they started hopping about again.
The pic below shows the general dilemna facing the parents. They had worked the kids down the parking lot from where the wall was very high, trying to get them to the low point you see here which was about 4 feet high. The little guys didn't have the strength and flying skills to get over the wall. I was hoping they could make it up over at the low spot. The drainage grate was also a danger if one fell into it. Also on the left you can see some landscaping. The parents investigated this area but for some reason rejected it and continued to encourage them to fly up the wall.
The pics below show one of the parents hanging on to the top of the wall at the low point encouraging them to fly up, and one of them attempting to scale the wall but making it only halfway before falling back.
At this point I had to give up my watch and it was getting dark. It was obvious they wouldn't be able to scale the wall and I was hoping the parents would find them a safe place on the other side of the pavement in a landscaped wooded area; not as safe as the brushy woods above the wall but better than the parking lot overnight. After about 20 minutes I went back out looking for them in the waning light and saw two oddities. A chipmunk was where the little birds were. I walked down the driveway looking for them but didn't see them anywhere. Then I looked back up the driveway and saw one of the parents along the wall. The parent hopped along the wall the full 50 yards or so alone back to where I first saw the family on the driveway, then flew up into the woods. Was the parent looking for her little ones? What was the chipmunk doing in the same spot on the pavement where I last saw the birds? I googled chipmunk diet and it is possible for chipmunks to eat young birds, though to dispatch of four of them doesn't seem possible with protective parents around, but I don't know. Maybe the presence of chipmunks is why the birds huddled and why the parents rejected the landscaped area. I'll go looking for them again in the morning.
Update: Sunday morning I've spotted one of the little ones and both the parents. I haven't seen the others but believe they are doing ok. The parents are working hard flying to and from a spot in the landscaped area, but I don't want to get too close causing them more stress.
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Comments (5)
That was a great narrative! I'll be watching for an update...
Posted by alice | May 4, 2008 5:08 PM
Well, that is an interesting story, and nice text+photo annotation. It's human nature to root for the little guys, but I guess you've got to figure that one way or another the drumbeat of nature goes on.
Posted by DSK | May 4, 2008 8:23 PM
Sounds like a plan ^j^
Posted by poopie | May 4, 2008 9:38 PM
The drumbeat of Nature does roll on for better or worse, but...with Man's intrusion into natural habitats, it never hurts to provide a little assistance. :)
Posted by Pam | May 5, 2008 2:49 PM
How precious! Great story and vigil. I'm rooting for the babies.
Posted by M. Neal | May 8, 2008 10:52 AM