It was only the relative silence of this morning that I could reel in the cacophony of avian parenting and chick squawking that last week filled the shrubs, trees and any open area in our garden - especially if I was watering with a sprinkler. The young birds are about the same size as the adults for every species but with a much shorter yet crass vocabulary - "Feed Me" in as few yet loud and penetrating sounds as possible.
My Brown Thrashers are the proud parents of twins who make relatively little noise when wanting to be fed other than maybe an attention getting "craa". The twins are true thrashers as the parenting grackles try to bully them away and the little tikes attack forcefully and stand their ground. They don't just jester an attack, they jab full on to vital parts of the encroaching grackle's body. The parent thrashers are too busy focusing on finding food to even give the grackles notice. The twins and one parent perform their feeding rituals right outside my office window beneath the grape arbor - the young side by side, mouths agape and an air of appreciation with every tidbit delivered. The parenting is a tedious task as the thrasher will pillage a small beak of suet or peanut piece and offer it to the young, again and again. I'm exhausted just watching. The Common Grackles parent singularly and seemed to think they owned the yard for about a week. Any intruder any where close to a youngster and an entire flock of grackles amassed in the shrubs and overhead trees "cheek"ing out their alarm calls and crowding in intimidation. Several times the noise was so deafening when our 16 year old, arthritic cat lolled in the sun in "their" space - I had to turn the hose on them to talk on the phone - even with the windows closed. Before parenting, they would allow me to shower them in the trees as a part of their feather maintenance but now they flee it as the aggression it is - if only to another tree branch. As of late, they will also patronize my waving arms and shrieks to shut up when they start up on me, by all flying to the dead top of a tree and vocalize as a distant chorus of clacks and cheeks. The House Wren has tried several times and with several females to propagate but to no apparent avail. They are still trying as I see them periodically gathering nesting materials again. Same for the Cat Birds apparently. The Starlings are still the most put upon parents. Their young issue an irritating "craat" at a volume I am sure OSHA would find in painful violation of noise ordinances. And the young don't stop. They appear to heckle the much more slender and harried adult. The other day I watched as a young chick sat on a limb in a lilac bush and bellowed incessantly as the adult searched continuously for food tidbits - including wads of suet (not a very large mouthful of suet per carry unfortunately I am afraid). The adult would carry the tiny food prize up to a limb just across from the child - the only perch available without landing on the same branch as the demanding offspring. But the distance was just a little to far to be able to reach unless they both coordinated leaning unbalanced and forward at the same moment. It was painful to watch the adult struggle again and again in the face of that bellowing to hit the target while almost falling and flapping its wings - bringing only louder bellows from the demanding chick. My, what a unappreciative look that exercise had. I have never had children although I love being and playing and working with them. After watching the effort it takes to parent through the actions of these birds and the human mothers of children who have graced my life, all I can way is - Hi-Diddle-e-dee, a bachelor's life for me. I guess my parenting years might be behind me. I think I did miss out. There are more stories about the Jays, the Robins, the Cardinals, the finches, and the myriad other flyers who grace my space. I am still rewarded with an occasional flycatcher who continues to refuse to sing. But don't get me started on the 32 squirrels and ground squirrels I have transplanted across the river or those that I knew I missed but backed off for a bit. Now their babies are almost adult and do what they do to try to empty my feeders and chase the birds. The rabbits who I have not yet managed to live trap are also proud parents and their babies were so cute until they mowed down an entire open area I had covered with sprouting sunflowers. Now the adult is cropping my most delicate and unique hostas. It actually is only a game after all - isn't it. I hope your backyard birding is a pleasurable as mine. This truly is heaven. Thomas Maiello Spring Lake Park
