A few days ago I was able to snap this shot of the little bird that is building a nest under our porch eaves. Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? I cruised around birding websites for about five minutes before becoming overwhelmed by the number of birds that look exactly like this one and gave up. If anyone has an expert birding eye and happens to know what species this is, please do share!
I also captured these shots of the nest while the bird was flying about collecting twigs and moss:
Pretty, right? Isn't it amazing that these little structures are built one twig at a time?
This evening the bird appears to be roosting. It generally flies off as soon as anyone enters the porch area, but today I was able to quickly snap this shot before moving away so as not to disturb it. I am assuming it is incubating eggs, though I really have no idea.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. A couple of Cliff Swallows made their nest on our porch light this year. I've been referring to them as "our bird friends", to which my family makes a face.
ReplyDeleteI don't live in the Northeast, otherwise I'd look in my reference book to see if I could identify your bird friend.
Thank you for sharing. =)
Wendy, I hope your swallow chicks make it! it's so fun to watch the process. Someone suggested to me that our bird may be an Eastern Phoebe, and image searches for that bird look about right. I think I will call my friend Phoebe from now on :)
ReplyDeleteThis cute little bird may be a mocking bird.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your bird has a bigger nest than the one we are seeing in our forsythia bush. The sad part is, they leave an empty nest soon after. Hatchlings fly away faster than our interest wanes.
ReplyDeleteHi, your bird is an Eastern Phoebe. Don't you love the name? It is so well suited to the bird's delicate, soft features.
ReplyDeleteEach year one builds a nest in the eaves of a house in the woods on our family property. While they are kindof messy, everyone needs a place they can call "home."
And, wow, congratulations on your "quit your day job" feature! Best wishes for future success!
Best,
Dana and Dennis
Ephemerascenti at Etsy
Dana - someone else said Eastern Phoebe, so you must be right! A bird of this same type built a nest in the very same spot on our porch last year, but unfortunately the chicks did not make it. I hope they have better luck this year.
ReplyDeleteJust checked out your shop. You have some cool stuff! I love that Red Cross 4 drawer box, so neat!
Good luck with everything & thanks for stopping by the blog :)
though the nest is a dead ringer for that of a phoebe, a phoebe is a little rounder than your bird, yellow on the belly, and the white under the bill doesn't go as far around the neck. i think you have a kingbird - a tyrant flycatcher along with the phoebe.
ReplyDeleteone good way to tell what your little friend is is the call - phoebe makes a really raspy, well, "phoebe", kingbird goes "kzeer". also, a phoebe will constantly wag its tail when perched - not sure if a kingbird does as well, maybe not?
anyhoo, food for thought, hope you figure it out!
mark
Mark - wow, lots of great info. Maybe I'll need to get a pair of binoculars so I can get a better look. The bird moves so fast and won't come around when I'm close to the nest so it's hard to get a good look. I did notice that the tail is constantly going up and down when it sits on the power line and also while in the nest. Thanks again for all the good info!
ReplyDeletep.s. great profile pic :)
hey Claire,
ReplyDeletehmm, i may be totally wrong, maybe your bird is an eastern phoebe. doesn't look like the typical bird, which is a bit round with almost a little crest on its head:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sayornis_phoebe_-Owen_Conservation_Park,_Madison,_Wisconsin,_USA-8.jpg
but it doesn't really match the eastern kingbird either, which has a white band on the end of its tail.
your bird dares to be different :^)
well, if you hear a raspy "fee-bee" call you'll know for sure what it is.
thanks! musical rodents crack me up...
btw, read the cool writeup on the Etsy blog, way to go striking out on your own! i've been slowly working toward ditching the corporate ogre as well (though i guess Google is probably quite nice as far as big companies go). gutsy move, kudos!
mark