The annual ritual . . .

I've installed bird houses all over the place, front yard and back. Every Spring and Summer the Wrens establish nests. Ya' think they'd use the nice water and weather resistant houses? Oh hell no. They set up here:


Which means I have to set up here. It's not as simple as it seems 'cause Mom & Dad are kinda suspicious of anything new so I start with the gear back about eight feet and move it into position over a couple of days. Otherwise the kids get really hungry.


Here's a look at what the camera sees. I have an RC controller to trip the shutter from the comfort of my air conditioned dining room instead of the 101f out on the deck.


This is the first picture I got about two days after the chicks hatched. Didn't get any pics of the eggs 'cause the nest is like a tea cup and I couldn't get an angle to see the tiny eggs, they're about the size of the fingernail on my little finger. This was taken on July 15.


Later the same day their eyes begin to open. I didn't shoot much of Mom & Dad at this point 'cause like I said they're kinda suspicious and the kids get real hungry when Mom & Dad spend too much time inspecting the equipment.


Did I mention hungry? This is the default mode for baby birds. There are four of them and they keep the Mommy and Daddy birds real busy coming and going every fifteen minutes or so.


I got bold enough to catch Mom (or Dad?) at the nest but the area is so tight space wise that pictures of adult bird's butts is about all I could get.


I did mention hungry, right? This was taken on the July 17. They're growing at a phenomenal rate.


I shot this on July 21. A few minutes after I shot this he left the nest and flew ten feet or so to the shrubs lining the deck. Mom & Dad lured him out by sitting on the handrail and chirping, thrilling and withholding food. Within fifteen minutes two of his siblings joined him.


The parents lead him across the yard to the fence between me and my neighbor. The little guys could only muster about two feet of altitude so it was a hop, skip and fly trip over the sixty feet or so.


The adults lead the chicks along the ground by hopping across the top of the six foot privacy fence chirping encouragement.


Eventually the first three siblings all gathered on the ground below Mom & Dad until Mom dropped to the ground and peeked under the fence guiding them into the yard next door.


The neighbor hasn't been in his back yard in the forty odd years I've lived here. We refer to it as "The Jungle" as it has never seen a lawn mower. It's a great place to hide fledglings. When the owls move out of their nests in March that's the place they go. You remember the owls, right?


But that's a different story. So you're probably wondering what happened to the fourth fledgling. He's reluctant to follow his siblings so Mom & Dad are back chirping and cajoling him to follow them out of the nest and across the yard into The Jungle. He'll eventually make the leap but for now, as I type this, he's holding out. Did I mention that baby birds are hungry all the time?