Birds are pretty ingenious creatures when it comes to survival instincts. One thing that a Killdeer parent will do to protect its young from predators is fly off from the nest, squawk like crazy, and spread out its wings as if badly injured.



This behavior is meant to drive a predator away from the nest and focus the unwanted attention on the parent. Once the predator is safely away from the nest, the Killdeer takes off in flight in the opposite direction of the nest in hopes that the predator will either follow or be far enough away from the nest to no longer pose a threat.

I've never personally seen or heard of this particular nest protecting behavior done by another bird. However, this happened today:



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This new pair of Barn Swallows have started building their own place, as evidence of the new nest. This progress is only about 3 days into building. I think it is amusing that they sit on the tiny nest that is under construction rather than use the existing nest that's just a foot or so away from them.

This pair looks different than the pair last year. Perhaps one of them is from a brood last summer, but there is really no way to tell. I just like having them around (even if they do deposit copious amounts of guano...)

Today Sarah and I went out early to Springbrook Nature Center to try and see some of the migrating Warblers. We had decent luck seeing a number of different birds yesterday, so we were hoping for more of the same today (and getting an earlier start does not hurt, either).

Right away, we saw an American Redstart and a Piliated Woodpecker. The Woodpecker was going to town near the base of a dead tree, which inconveniently happened to be behind a lot of other trees, so I could not get any photos of him.



A Brown Thrasher spotted in one of the trees off the main trail.

We kept going and saw some Geese, a few Warblers, some Robins, and a a Grackle. We also ran into 3 ladies who happened to also be birding, so the 5 of us just started walking the trails together and saw a Magnolia Warbler, a Nashville Warbler, a Yellow Rumped Warbler, a Red-Winged Blackbird female, a number of American Redstarts, a Gray Catbird, a Red Tailed Hawk, an American Crow, an Eastern Kingbird, some Tree Swallows, a Song Sparrow, a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, a Yellow Warbler, a Brown Thrasher, a Brown Headed Cowbird, and a Baltimore Oriole.

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Today has been an especially busy day in the yard. I think the birds have finally gotten used to visiting the area and I am sure they also realize they have access to a reliable and consistent food source. The following is a list of yard visitors seen today:

Bluebirds
Blue Jays
Black Capped Chickadees
White Breasted Nuthatches
Pine Siskins
American Goldfinches
House Finches
Purple Finches
American Robins
Northern Cardinals
Downy Woodpeckers
Hairy Woodpeckers
Piliated Woodpeckers
Ruby Throated Hummingbirds
Baltimore Orioles
Red Winged Blackbirds
Brown Headed Cowbirds
European Starlings
Yellow Rumped Warblers
Chipping Sparrows
Tree Sparrows
Mourning Doves
Barn Swallows

The hummingbird came earlier in the day and did not stay long, but it was the first sighting to the feeder for the season. Hopefully he will return, so I'll have to keep an eye on the feeder. The Orioles first appeared around the same time, and they were also the first of the season to appear at the feeders. Actually, I think they are the first Orioles at the feeders ever, since I cannot confirm an Oriole sighting last year. At one point, there were 4 Orioles at once going back and forth from the oak trees to the feeder areas. They seem to be enjoying the fresh oranges over the sugar water (obviously), and one of the males was even seen eating some of the fruity suet put out for the woodpeckers.

The Bluebird boxes in the yard only open from the front, so there is no easy way to look into them. I wish I had the foresight when I bought them to get ones that could be opened from the top so I could peer inside more easily and with minimal interruption to the Bluebirds. The only way to see into these boxes without opening them is to use a mirror and a light. As it happens, that's how I looked into the nest to discover there are currently 5 eggs in there! Now it's time to keep a careful eye on the nest and the birds to see when the eggs hatch and I can get some baby Bluebird photographs!

I just noticed that the Sparrows are busy flying in and out of the pine tree next to the Bluebird house. After watching them for a bit, I saw that they were bringing in small twigs, so they must be building a nest in the tree. I need to go out in a little while and take a closer look in the tree to see if I can spot the nest.

I headed over to Springbrook Nature Center with Sarah this afternoon after reading about 6 different Warbler species being sighted there earlier in the morning. The weather was not too ideal with it being overcast and slightly breezy. The sky looked like rain, but I was not too worried about it opening up with showers.

As soon as we got there, we spotted some Canada Geese, Chickadees, a pair of Northern Cardinals, and a few Warblers were could not identify.

The city finally put up some signs for hikers with all the trail designations and markings. After being there dozens of times in the past, I now know where all the trails go, but the signs are better late than never, especially for newcomers to the park.

Below is a bird species list from the trip as best as I can remember:
Great Blue Herons (1)
Great Egrets (1)
Bald Eagle (1)
American Robins (4+)
Northern Cardinals (3+)
Blue Jays (1)
Northern Flickers (1)
Downy Woodpeckers (2)
Red Winged Blackbirds (many)
Common Grackles (1)
Canada Geese (many)
Mallards (many)
Black and White Warblers (1)
Yellow Warblers (1)
Yellow Rumped Warbler (3+)
Common Yellowthroat (1)
Black Capped Chickadees (2+)
Tree Swallows (many)
Barn Swallows (many)

The above list is only sighted birds. We did hear a lot of birds we could not see or find in the trees, especially Crows, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Sparrows, and Nuthatches.

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Guess who is back in town? After seeing some movement through the windows, I went out to investigate. Sure enough, it was a pair of Barn Swallows checking out their nest! Since they are not banded, I am not sure if it is the same pair from last year, but they did not seem bothered by my standing there while they were flying in and out of the portico. Hopefully this pair is the same as last year and they will stick around and raise some young!