Family Time

Following courtship, the birds in my yard settled in to raise their young. The American Robins (pictured above) nested in our old apple tree or on the elbow of our neighbour’s downspout. Those birds provided me with opportunities to watch some interesting nesting behaviours. I had read that robins use mud in their nests. We had put down a new piece of sod that I needed to water daily. I watched a female robin come to that spot and scoop up bits of grass and mud for her nest. Our local Cooper’s Hawk inadvertently provided nesting material for the local birds as well. When it had grabbed a Mourning Dove, the scattered feathers were quickly collected by the backyard regulars for their nests.

Mourning Dove

The male robins took the defense of their territory seriously. One spring a Blue Jay was picking up seeds under the main feeder, gobbling down sunflower seeds. The male robin was on patrol. He came flying between our and our neighbours’ houses, whipping around the corner, and heading straight for the jay. The robin ploughed into the jay, knocking it off its feet. The startled jay shook itself off and resumed feeding. The angry robin turned around on the other side of our house and flew at the jay from the other direction. A second hit was enough for the jay and it left the yard to the victorious robin. Sometimes it takes a mob to defend the neighbourhood. One day I looked out to see an American Crow carrying what looked to be a nestling. Following the crow were robins, cardinals and the local Red-winged Blackbird.

Blue Jay

I had also read about how Red-winged Blackbirds in poor territories were able to maximize the number of young they produce. The magazine article described how the male would care for the fledglings and even feed them. Then his only mate would be able to start nesting again and have another clutch. My yard was not a place where a male could attract a harem. After a couple of years, the resident male Red-winged Blackbird finally was finally able to attract a lone female. A few weeks later, I was amazed to see the male feeding two fledglings. He was showing the exact behaviour that was described in the magazine. That was why I always checked the view from my window, in the hope that I would see more interesting behaviours.

Note: All photos are from Wikipedia Commons, an online source of copyright-free photos: American Robin; Mourning Dove by Jeffrey Gammon; Blue Jay by Sam.