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Last evening I made a discovery while back under the arbor.
A tiny pale broken egg was on the ground under the arch. As I was
looking at it, a noisy squawking House finch flew out above my head!
Within a few minutes I was balancing on a step stool trying to get a
clear photo of the contents of a rather lovely nest of woven twigs
and grasses. How amazing little birds are when it comes to home
building with just a beak.
Inside there were three eggs, two pale blue-green finch eggs
and what I'm certain is a Brown-headed cowbird's spotted egg!
Arrow marks the finch nest location
Female Brown-headed cowbird . . . . . . .
. . . . the only parasitic bird found in the Carolinas, she lays all eggs
in host birds' nests, leaving others to raise her young. Some birds
reject cowbird eggs, but most raise them, even to the exclusion
of their own young at times!
This is a Female House finch, one of many, including males,
I've chased off of my hanging ferns on the porch. As mentioned in
the previous post we do not put out the FOR RENT sign as they
are messy and we like to sit on the porch. The arbor location is
fine, the birds picked a good place, and hopefully I can get more
photos later - I really would like to see if the egg count increases.
Enjoy the lovely moments of this special day when we are
surrounded by our planet Earth's beauty and Nature's bounty.
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So interesting about the Brown-headed cowbird...and your pictures is just amazing!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend...
Titti
Thanks Titti - weekend was literally a 'washout' here with a lot of torrential rain storms on Saturday!!! Lovely now though.
DeleteWhat a naughty Brown-headed cowbird Mary whose behaviour resembles that of our Cuckoo. No nest building for them or spending their time busily raising their young. Cuckoo young hatch after just 12 days, and then push the hosts’ eggs or babies out of the nest, allowing it to eat all the food brought by the host bird. We are surrounded by our planet Earth's beauty and Nature's bounty but sometimes she too can be cruel.
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you and Bob - your garden is a treat for the eyes🦅🌻🌿
Yes, have heard about the cuckoos - which we don't have here. We have to live with the cowbird eggs, can't take them out of the nest! Yes, we're good thanks dear - hope all good there too.
DeleteWhat an interesting discovery you have made. I was wondering why there was an odd egg in the nest and now I know. I hope you are able to follow the progress. I am continuously amazed at how birds are able to build such fabulous homes with no hands. Nature is truly amazing. Happy Earth Day!
ReplyDeleteNature is full of surprises Kim, right?
DeleteI'd heard of Cowbirds but didn't realise they laid their eggs in other birds' nests. It'll be interesting to see how things develop.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to look in the nest again today - in the torrential rain we had at the weekend I was concerned it was being washed away, but it's still there!
DeleteDearest Mary,
ReplyDeleteHope you removed that brown–headed cowbird's egg!
It seems so unfair to the much smaller house finches but yet this parasitic behavior continues and also amongst people...!
Great photos and you were very daring for climbing up there.
Hugs,
Mariette
Mariette, the cowbird is a protected species and it's illegal to remove the eggs! So I'll have to see what transpires over the next few weeks!
DeleteMary, nature can be oh so brutal at times AND those cowbird mothers WATCH their chick and even raid the nest at times...https://youtu.be/Hq78EmR-6o0
DeleteMary - such a lovely photo of your nest. I did not know that cowbirds lay their eggs in another bird's nest. (Is that not lazy? :)!!) We have cowbirds here too so next time need to check any nests I stumble on to see if there are any spotted eggs. Have a great spring day. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteTheir eggs are easy to identify - very heavily spotted - but we have to allow them to remain! Now I'm busy shooing the finches away from my hanging Boston ferns - just don't want them nesting there!
DeleteWhat an adorable little nest! I hadn't heard of the cowbird but cuckoo behaviour is very often on my mind as over the summer months we hear in the neighbourhood the call of the world's largest brood parasite, the Channel-billed cuckoo. Plug-ugly bird with a prehistoric call, unlike your sweet cowbird. I, too, wait with interest to see how this nest develops!
ReplyDeleteHi Pip dear - I looked up that particular cuckoo, definitely scary! Do you have a lot of kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets in your area? I recall both when I was visiting along Australia's beautiful Eastern coast.
DeleteEnjoy your now autumn autumn as we head closer to summertime - think humidity and mosquitoes, both of which I dislike, sigh!
Surprising to see two types of eggs in one nest.
ReplyDelete