Birds, birds, and more birds

We like birds around here. Anyone who knows us knows that we like birds. That may be partially because our lovely Ryan has allergies which prevent us from getting any furry pets. Or it may be that I grew up with birds and have always loved having birds as pets. We have our two cockatiels, who have been with us for such a long time. We’ve also gotten into parakeets, since they are so easy to take care of, and we now have three of those. But the birds outside must also know that we are bird lovers, because they’ve taken quite a liking to us.

In the spring, we discovered this pretty little nest right outside and close to the porch.

A sweet little mother robin laid her eggs there, and we enjoyed watching those 5 little babies grow up. But then they flew away and “left the nest”, never to return. I guess that’s why they call it “leaving the nest”, but still, I wish they’d just stay close, or just one of them would return to the nest.

This summer we’ve had some fun little swallows build a nest on our front porch.

I guess it’s as good a place as any for a nest, since it’s protected from the elements and we can’t really reach up there to bother them. They also like to “swing” on the cords that are coming out of Ryan’s office window and going up to the roof. I think it’s an antenae thing for the Rhapsody satelite radio or something like that.

These little birds have kept us entertained for a month or so, what with their swinging on the sprinkler lines and swooping around and scolding us whenever we step out the front door. But recently they’ve become even more interesting. There have been little tiny birds up there in the nest. Every day we’ve tried to catch a glimpse of them way up there, and you should hear their parents complain. In no time at all they’ve grown to be almost as big as their parents, and they scarcely fit in their nest.

(Sorry about the picture quality. These little birdies do NOT want to be bothered, nor do they want to be photographed, so many of their pictures are taken through the windows.)

Yesterday, those little birds looked like they were ready to jump off that nest. They don’t fit in anymore, after all. And this morning, when we returned from our fun neighborhood Pioneer Day breakfast, there were NO birdies in the nest. “Oh, no!” I thought, “They’ve grown up and flew away!” But I was pleasantly surprised when I saw both little birds swinging from the the cords, and the parents were swooping around keeping a watchful eye. But of course, when I went outside to take a picture, they flitted away. I’m hoping they’ll stay close by and keep us entertained for a little while longer, at least.