Common Nature

While walking in the woods on the last day of spring, I came across an Ovenbird fledgling!



Ovenbirds are named for their dome-shaped nests built on the ground in forest leaf litter, resembling old school bread ovens, so you could say this little guy is a bun fresh out of the oven. 🥁 It'll be able to fly in a few days, but the parents will keep feeding it for about a month. They mostly eat bugs.

Sometimes people see fledglings and are worried they've fallen out of a nest and need help. But generally if a young bird is fully feathered like this one, it's fine and should be left where it is. When they first leave the nest, fledglings often don't react to threats and will let people get very close, but that's a normal development stage. The parents will be nearby keeping an eye on them until they figure out How To Be Bird. This one's parents were a few feet away losing their minds when I (briefly) approached to take a picture.

There are photos of adult Ovenbirds on eBird if you want to see what this kiddo will look like soon!

We have a pair of Northern Cardinals nesting in our yard, and today I saw dad with a fledgling!



The fledgling was begging for food by fluttering its wings, a common signal in many baby birds. Dad was attentively finding seeds and stuffing them in Junior's mouth. The baby already has a little bit of a crest and some red on the wings, but it's too early to tell the sex. Mom wasn't with them but I saw her on the feeder later in the day.

( Mom cardinal )

I spotted these cuties on the shore of Lake Champlain.



Semipalmated Plovers breed in Alaska and northern Canada, and winter on the sea coast in the lower US, the Caribbean, and South America. During migration they can be seen just about anywhere in North America.

( 2 more photos )