Fledgling

The sun came up all the colors of the Sacred Heart, glowing, beating, filled with loving power..... reigning over the morning.

It was fine indeed. 

Also fine, if rather raucous, is the season's crop of fledglings. 

In the old cow barn, back in the bull pen, a clutch of Carolina Wrens, no larger than walnuts with feathers. So cute they could be Peggy toys, flitting in and out through the fan.

Baby robins, dot, dot, dot, screeching like crazy and hopping everywhere. So many clutches, on ledges, limbs and unlikely spots under eaves. One built a bunch of dried out Egyptian top onions into the nest. Looked pretty funny dangling down.

House Finches, oh, how noisy, following dad around all day. If I was him I'd give 'em a good swift peck on the fanny!

Other babies actually seen: Savannah Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Grey Catbirds, European Starlings (oh yay) House Sparrows (ditto), Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Bobolinks, Eastern Phoebes, Tufted Titmice (one first-day-on-the-new-wings youngster flew right through my hair!!! Oops), Black-capped Chickadees, Purple Finches, Song Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatches (on the feeder right now...beep, beep, beep), Common Grackles, and probably more that I am forgetting. The boss had a whole family of Kestrels hunting when he was raking hay.

Birds singing on territory and clearly nesting: American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Red-winged Blackbird, Indigo Bunting, Willow Flycatcher, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Northern Cardinal...oh, heck, there are a lot of birds around.

I think I am hearing that Cerulean Warbler, but I don't see it and it always comes around singing when I am working in the yard with no camera to record the song. I'll get it one of these days....hopefully.

Anyhow, now that the sun is back, as soon as the baler is definitely fixed, time for more hay and hopefully some strawberries for jam.