i’ve been lax on the nest watch updates, but not on the nest watching itself! a few days after my previous post, i climbed up on the chair and got these photos above, showing that there were at least FIVE wee ones in that tiny nest! those gaping beaks tug at my heartstrings so! it was all i could do to not chew up worms myself and regurgitate them for those little bellies. the mom and dad sparrows were hustling but i really wanted to help…
the next few days got quite chilly, and i wasn’t seeing the hungry faces peering over the nest, so i climbed up again, and saw this downy snuggle fest going on. i wished i could climb in with them! i could see how much bigger they were, almost overflowing the nest, and that their feathers were coming in. but they were still less than 2 weeks old! i still thought there was much more time. i told Smith we needed to put a safety net underneath just in case…
then it warmed up again, and i thought it odd that i didn’t hear a lot of peeping and see those beaks, so i climbed up once more and saw this! WHAT?!? at first i thought there had been some kind of tragedy, as surely those fuzzballs were not yet ready to fly the coop? but a little research revealed that young sparrows fledge at only 14-16 days old, and this was june 15, so the numbers added up. i can’t say for sure what happened, but the nest is in a very sheltered spot that only a small flying creature (or a human on a chair) could really get to, so i’m pretty sure they were safe. i just regret that i missed the scene of their first flights…
good news though: i also learned that there could be another clutch or two of youngsters before the season is through! and, interestingly, that male sparrows are more loyal to their nests than their mates, so even if they find a new wife, they’ll bring her back to the same nest. i’m not sure i agree with that, but you can’t tell a sparrow what to do!
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