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Baby quail out and about © Diane Reed
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It's hard to believe it's the first day of summer. We've had several days of rain and unusually cool weather. The bird feeders are full of young finches, we call them Baby Hueys because they seem bigger than the parents. Yesterday a bunch of them were sitting on our deck furniture under the roof overhang looking cold and wet. It seems likely that the parents bring them to the birdfeeders, show them how to get food (sometimes they just peck at the feeder tubes because they can see the seeds, but can't figure out how to get to it). The parents take off and leave them on their own and they hang out near the feeders.
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Watching over the chicks © Diane Reed
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The quail have been around with their babies. The male generally serves as the lookout while the female leads them under the bushes and over to the grass under the feeder. There's always seed on the ground for them.
The last few years we've had one or two white ducks at the pond. They were likely dumped there by people who got baby ducks for Easter and decided they didn't want them. One of them, a female, had quite a few Mallard suitors this year, so it was no surprise when she showed up one day with a flotilla of babies in tow.
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Mama duck and her brood © Diane Reed
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It proved to be quite an assortment -- three yellow, three brown and one in between. She is a devoted mother, gathering her brood under her wings at the edge of the pond, quacking fiercely at the Osprey if he dares to dive near her ducklings.
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Mama duck gathers her babies under her wings © Diane Reed
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For all the young birds there is plenty of peril. Coyotes, cats and people are a hazard. Young ducklings are fair game for Osprey and Blue Herons. The quail and songbirds need to watch out for a variety of hawks that frequent the neighborhood. In the end, it's the smartest ones (and the ones whose parents defend them) who survive.
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Swainson's Hawk on the lookout for dinner © Diane Reed
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