The day of the fledgelings

· Point Reyes

Right over the kitchen sink window, there is a gourd-shaped mud Cliff Swallow nest. The little beasties that live in the nest are voracious and work their parents to the bone, and cry day and night for more food. Seriously, at 10 pm, they are still crying, and last night when I got up at 4 am, they were also crying. Well, today was the day for their first flight, and the back deck was not safe because they weren't totally in control yet, so they couldn't zoom around our heads like the adults. They were quite skilled at flying and received a lot of encouragement from their parents. However, when they tried to return to the nest, it was almost impossible. It is a tiny hole in this mud thing right next to the eaves, which requires acrobatic skill to go very fast and pull up short. We ate lunch a little farther out in the yard and watched as they missed and hit the gutter more than once.

The gutter provided a nice resting place as they built up strength again. Meanwhile, the Scrub Jays are lurking around seeking trouble.

Long shadows of morning
Family of walking sticks resting.
Family of Cliff Swallows on their maiden flight
Cliff Swallow youth tuckered out from trying to make it back into the nest and crashing against the gutter
Fossilized toast with a shmear on it?
Subtle California sunset

Have a relaxing day of beauty and seeing patterns.

Sending oodles of love,

Tawnia

P.S. There is a fun article about Romeo and Juliet, a coyote pair in Central Park (gift article). Coyotes are living virtually everywhere in the US. We need to learn to live with them and appreciate their amazing resilience.

Bird List - 39 species of birds today

California Quail
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Osprey
Acorn Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Western Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Warbling Vireo
Steller's Jay
California Scrub-Jay
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Wrentit
Pygmy Nuthatch
Pacific Wren
Bewick's Wren
Western Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Wilson's Warbler