Great Crested Flycatcher

A Great Crested Flycatcher has been visiting the backyard lately.

It's been going in and out of our nesting box.  

Unfortunately, something climbed up an unclimbable pole and opened up the sides of the nesting box.  While fixing it, we found 4 little brown striped eggs.  (see here)  Hopefully the parents will come back and take care of them.

 

Drama in the birdhouse

The Carolina wrens have been flying in and out of their birdhouse with bugs.  Today, one of the babies took a stroll outside.

Mom and Dad kept watch.

They continued to feed the babies inside and out.

The others checked on the outside baby.

Finally he fell out and got caught in the netting covering our strawberry patch.  Jim rescued him.

He climbed up a ladder and tried to put the baby back.  ALL the babies fluttered out of the nest to the ground.

They fluttered away with Mom and Dad watching out for them.  

I think they'll be OK.

 

Birdhouses

Do birds really care what their house looks like?

I don't know about birds, but I would be proud to live in one of these.

 

Garden

I've been looking at neighborhood gardens.  This one has a veggie garden in the front yard.

Purple Martin apartments

These bird houses were very busy with Purple Martins flying in and out.

I think that each couple has their own home in the colony.

The birds swooped in, crawled into their home, and then zoomed back out.

Condo complex

We didn't see any residents, but I'll bet it's a busy place in the spring.

Elf house?

It was probably just a discarded bird house, but it made me think of the elves or fairies that probably come out in the forest when everyone else goes home.

Found in the woods at the Wilkerson Nature Preserve.

My Favorite bird house

This one is my favorite from the bird house competition at the Arboretum's Spring Festival.   It was in the 4-6 year old catagory with this written description...

More bird houses

These were other entries in the bird house contest at the JC Raulston Arboretum.  

Mid-Century Modern?  Looks a little like the Charles Eames house.

Mahogany, for the bird with high class taste.

For the bird on the go...

For the birds?

The Arboretum had a bird house competition during their spring festival.  Some of the bird houses looked usable, and some not so much.  Either way they were fun to look at.  Above is one called "Carolina Keys" 

What is more Carolinian than a light house?

This one has the pattern of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.