I love my community!

Yesterday I wrote about a bird’s nest and her speckled eggs, sheltering on a client’s patio.  I didn’t have a photo of Mama Bird, but knew she was ‘brown.’  Not much to go on, was it?  After a futile Google search, I asked for help identifying the eggs.

My friend Sheila forwarded the photos to Larry Jordan of The Birders Report to see if he could help. Larry quickly identified the probable bird as a Dark-eyed Junco.

Mama Bird, aka D.J.

“You’re still here with that camera, I see. Don’t you have better things to do?”

Dark-eyed Junco nest

When I passed by the Pittosporum this afternoon, once again Mama Bird flew the nest. She kept her eye on me while I loaded the car, then posed for several photos. (Actually, I’m pretty sure she was just humoring me till I cleared out of there.)  My photos aren’t as sharp as the one on Larry’s site, but all the signs are there:  dark eyes, light brown feathers, orange beak.

I’m filled with joy knowing D.J. is still there and that she hasn’t been scared off from her nest. Mamas of all stripes are pretty fierce when it comes to protecting their young.  I’m happy to report she’s no exception.

One last detail that makes me smile whenever I look at this photo: a sweet, aging Black Labrador Retriever lives in the home.  It looks as though she’s made her own contribution to the lining of this nest.

Resources:

If you’re as fascinated with nests as I am, this site is for you.  Larry has an extensive photo library of bird eggs and nests with guidelines for identifying (without ever disturbing) the mama-bird and her clutch.