When Birds Get Busy
This is the time of year when birds get busy. One friend told me about a robin building a nest on her front porch. Another friend described mourning doves at her house. And I’ve seen finches flitting in and out of our forsythia bush with branches in their beaks.
Spring is the ideal time for birds to breed. It provides accommodating weather, seeds from sprouting plants, worms. The trees leaf out to offer hidden nesting places.
The Swallow here was seen at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge* at Tinicum in Philadelphia. There was a flurry of birds, mating couples flitting back and forth from man-made birdhouses in the water. It seemed frenetic at times but there was no doubt that all that activity had a purpose. Soon there will be eggs and then nestlings and the chain of life will continue.
People make nests, too, at least symbolically, where we can feel comfortable and raise our children. Like the birds, we try to keep our little ones safe and well fed until they are ready to be independent and find their own way in life.
Unfortunately, in today’s difficult world, that isn’t always a given. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could count on our nests to be the places they are meant to be?
An overview of nest info and be sure to click on the nesting birds link:
http://nestwatch.org/learn/general-bird-nest-info/nesting-cycle/
©2016 Ferida Wolff for SeniorWomen.com
*The refuge protects a variety of habitats for birds in the highly urbanized landscape of greater Philadelphia. It has been designated as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. While most of the 300 plus avian species identified at the refuge utilize it as a migratory stopover, more than 80 species have been recorded nesting on the refuge over the years. Several species are also state listed as either threatened or endangered species or species of state or national management concern.
The periodic drawing down of the impoundment and the presence of tidal mud flats provide some of the best stopover habitat for migrating shorebirds in Pennsylvania. In addition, many types of waterfowl, wading birds, waterbirds, and landbirds utilize the impoundment. The area serves as a wintering ground for over 20 species of waterfowl with 1,100 to 1,400 individuals observed per day between September and March.
State endangered species such as the least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) are known to breed at the refuge. Other Pennsylvania endangered species that have been observed at the site during migration, but are considered occasional or rare in abundance, include: yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea), common tern (Sterna hirundo), black tern (Chlidonias niger), king rail (Rallus elegans), short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) and loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus). The king rail historically nested at the site (prior to 2000). The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) listed as extirpated in Pennsylvania, is an occasional “accidental” occurrence during migration.
Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a former federally listed endangered species that has recovered and been delisted, have historically utilized the refuge for hunting and roosting. The first known bald eagle nest on the refuge was built in 2009 with the first two refuge eaglets successfully hatched in 2010. The pair has returned to breed on the refuge every year since.
— Above from the John Heinz refuge
Note: There are more activities at the refuge:
Tinicum Park Polo Club
Polo matches will be held every Saturday, beginning mid May through October, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in beautiful Tinicum Park along the Delaware River just 17 miles north of New Hope, PA. Click here for more information.
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