We have a purple verbena hanging basket on both sides of our front door. During the past week I notice a small bird, perhaps a gold finch, fly out of one of the baskets whenever any of us entered or left the house. The light bulb finally went on. I took a stepstool and gingerly parted the blossoms to find a beautifully formed nest with 3 tiny blue eggs in it. We now use the side door and posted a sign on the front entrance, warning unsuspecting intruders. Now I just have to figure out how I can water the plant on a daily basis without disturbing the nest and eggs. Tricky!
ADDENDUM: So far so good! This was a macro shot of the eggs and nest so the actual items are much smaller than the photo. My fingers are crossed; I hope the fertilized water we poured on the plant before we found the nest hasn't damaged the eggs. The mother bird is still around!
Good luck! We had the same thing happen, but a bluejay raided the nest as soon as the babies were born. Sad!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful, Kate! I love birds. In Washington we lived on the edge of Cabin John Park. Our wooden deck was high above ground, perched under tall trees, and one day I discovered a Carolina wren's nest in one of my red geranium pots. Both parents seemed to take turns to sit on the eggs, it was so lovely to observe them. They grew to accept us, and didn't mind having us sitting next to them. This went on for years.
ReplyDeleteI also have a wonderful pictures of American Goldfinches edged in my mind. We only had a little piece of grassy area besides the deck (we didn't want to cut down the 7 stories high old trees), and on morning I was looking out the window, and there were literally hundreds of goldfinches in the grass, feeding on seeds that had fallen from the trees, and in between flying up and down tree branches. It was like hundsred of little sun sprays lighting up the area. I shall never forget. Good luck with your housemates, please let us know how the adventure continues.
Sunny greetings from Vienna,
Merisi
:)
ReplyDeleteexcited to find the cute egges among the greans.
well, i think you need be much more careful when water.
jing
shanghai daily photo
bien vu pour proteger ce nid. chez moi sur ma loggia, j'ai regulierement des nids de pigeons ;o(
ReplyDeleteseen well to protect this nest. at home on my loggia, I have nests of pigeons regularly ;O (
you are so gentle...using the side door just because of the nest! Very nice of you
ReplyDeleteGreat ,Kate! So spring - like green and skillfully made nest, beautiful picture!
ReplyDeleteYou can see hatching out and nestlings clearly!
Have a wonderful day!
How about a web cam? You are privileged with those visitors. I'd need to watch out for cats or lizards here.
ReplyDeleteoh that is so sweet, making sure the eggs will be safe,.. i envy you coz the last time i saw real bird egss was like 20 years ago
ReplyDeleteI hope that they all make it! Nice shot - a good one for spring.
ReplyDeleteperfect!
ReplyDeleteye that is tricky because if the nest is disturbed they will desert the eggs.. it's amazing how they build such perfect little nests ..
Wonderful photo.
ReplyDeleteNice shot, Kate. I like this picture. We have a robin with four eggs that have now hatched-out.
ReplyDeleteHave your ever seen the top of two Hondas?
They look so perfect - just waiting to be hatched. Great photo - hope they remain undisturbed. We've had a mama duck & her babies waddling around our yard - I don't think I will ever get tired of watching that!
ReplyDeleteYou've found a real treasure! But yes, I understand your question about watering this basket...Like every year, we have just now a bluetits family in our small bird house above our front door. We can hear "pwe pwe pwe" each time the parents are out of the nest!
ReplyDeletewow... what a nice sweet pic--reminds me of mother's day...all the recent posts about children and nurturing moms.
ReplyDeleteLovely photo! When I was a girl, we had some ducks nest in the bush outside of our front door. My dad would sit up late at night and watch to make sure none of the neighborhood cats got to the eggs. We eventually saw the little ducklings waddle off to the pond in the park behind the house. We too used the side door and I believe we even parked at the bottom of the driveway so as not to disturb our duck mommy.
ReplyDeleteDelightful Springtime shot. How big are the eggs? Finches are quite small. I hope you can keep us posted on their progress.
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted on happenings, or rather hatchings, Kate!
ReplyDeleteNo, watering will not hurt the eggs...But don't water once they hatch!
ReplyDeleteGreat detail in your photo!
WoW...an wonderfully captutured shot. Keep these eggs safe and protected as you by now has already seen how lovely the end result will be and will be a delight to watch those cute little chicks & I also like the way the mother bird feed their chicks. Do let us know of its future happenings.
ReplyDeleteAwwwww! That is a nice photo.
ReplyDelete