The Magical Month of May

Earlier this week I noticed a mockingbird that seemed to be coming and going a lot. At one point I saw it on the fence with a beak full of nesting materials.  As I sat on the patio, I began to realize that it was probably nesting in the false cypress we have against the fence on the west side of our garden.

 As you can see from the photo, this was where we had put up the nesting shelf for the cardinals.  As of yet, the cardinals have ignored it, but if you look closer, you'll see that Mrs. Mockingbird was kind enough to build her nest right where I can get good photos without having to teeter on top of a step ladder!

When I took a peek this morning, I was thrilled to discover a beautiful speckled blue egg. Hopefully there will be more to follow.

The nest is very sturdily constructed, having been started last year, but never actually used.  I'm so thrilled that someone is nesting in it this year.  With the loss of habitat either side of us, I'm particularly happy to see that we still get birds in our garden and that they choose to nest in the habitat we are building.

I was going back through my iPhoto library because somewhere I have a photo of this particular nest when it was just a few sticks.  I couldn't find it, but I did find some other photos that reminded how magical May can be.

For example -- it was one year ago today that we had some unusual visitors to our garden.  I don't think I showed this video before, but we had a visit from a family of these little guys, drawn to our garden by the soggy ground under our hose reel.

They stayed with us for two days and I was fascinated, but a little relieved when they moved on -- my flowerbeds were starting to show signs of wear!

More magical moments in the garden last May when a Carolina wren nested on our patio.  I just happened to have a day off from work and be sitting on the patio on the day the young ones left the nest.

In last week's post, I celebrated the fact that we were finally hosting some Monarch caterpillars on the milkweed in the front garden.  More recently, I spotted a couple of tiny caterpillars no more than half an inch long on the milkweed in the back garden.

As I was heading out the garden gate to turn on the water so I could refresh the bird bath, I saw something I have never seen before in my life -- a Monarch chrysalis!!

As we head further in to May, I'm looking forward to more magical wonders in the garden.  I'll keep you updated on Mrs. Mockingbird and her family and let you know how things develop.


Happy gardening everyone!

 


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Nest Watch!

We have two small live oaks in our front garden.  One was planted as part of the landscape package when we moved in four years ago.  It's now about 15 feet tall and nice and full. The other is one that we planted to replace one of the originals that died a year after it was planted. It's much smaller than the first, but it's coming along.

Both of them seem to be bird magnets and last year we had Northern Mockingbirds nesting.  So last weekend, when we were being serenaded all afternoon by a mockingbird, we assumed they had taken up residence again.

However, when I zoomed my camera in to the higher of the two nests in that tree, I was surprised to see it wasn't a mockingbird sitting on the nest, but a Mourning Dove.

I've entered this year's first nest attempt report at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Nest Watch web site, even though the nest is too high up for me to get details like the number of eggs etc. 

She's been sitting on the nest all week, and Eric, whose "man cave"/den looks out to the front garden told me that the mockingbird has been hanging around most of the week too.

We joke that the babies will be probably be some sort of mocking-dove hybrid.

Has anyone else seen this kind of camaraderie between bird species?


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Wordless Wednesday -- Waiting

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

My Sweet Texas Home

I purchased this resin cowboy boot birdhouse a couple of years ago as a strictly decorative addition to the patio, having seen a similar one in a friend's garden.  I certainly wasn't expecting a bird to actually build a nest in it.

As you can see -- I was wrong! 

A pair of Carolina wrens spent most of the morning flitting back and forth with bits of grass to add to their nest.


As far as nesting sites go, it's really not too bad. 

In it's favor: it's 5 foot up a brick column, so it will be free from predators. Also it's on the east side of that column, under the eaves of the house and sheltered from the hot afternoon sun.

Possible dangers:  it's 5 foot up a brick column.  If and when the babies fledge, it's a long way down to the ground!  I'm also a little worried that it's so deep, the babies won't even be able to get out of it when the time comes.  

Maybe the parents will give them a boost to help them out.





 




Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The Empty Nest

I've been keeping a close eye on the baby wrens in the nest on our covered patio and watching Momma Wren come and go tirelessly, finding insects around the garden, and the thicket next door to feed them.

I like to sit on the patio with my morning coffee on the weekends and I had got used to hearing a soft thump as she landed back on the rim of the container the nest is in. For the first time, I started hearing the babies peeping every time she came back to the nest, clamoring for attention.

I took a peek at them. There were four (I had previously thought there were three of them) and they all looked fully alert and were starting to stretch their wings.

So yesterday I had scheduled a day off work, to use up some vacation time, and was sitting with my morning coffee when I was startled by a whir and a thud behind me, over in the corner where the nest is.

I turned around to see what was happening and ... Lo and Behold... the first baby had ventured from the nest!

So of course I spent the next couple of hours crazily snapping pics and taking video till my camera batteries gave out!  

It was quite nerve wracking watching them trying out their wings. The nest is on the top shelf and of course, they all launched themselves into space and then fluttered to the ground.

But they gradually got the hang of it and fluttered back up again, one shelf at a time. 

 

 Throughout all this activity, the Momma Wren was giving encouragement, as well as nourishment. In fact, even when they were all out of the nest, she went back to it several times with a juicy insect, just to make sure no one was left behind.

After a couple of hours (maybe more, I'm not sure, I completely lost track of the time) one by one, they launched themselves across the lawn to the shrubs at the back of the garden.


That seemed to wear them out a bit and for a while two of them sat in the crepe myrtle and two sat in the butterfly bush, resting.  Momma Wren didn't like me poking around the shrubs trying to get a photo, so I went back to the patio and left them to it.  I could still hear them peeping though.

But eventually they moved on.  I went over to check on them one last time and they were nowhere to be seen or heard.  Momma Wren wasn't hanging about either, so I assume she took them over the fence to the thicket next door.

I wish them the best and hope to see them again.  Who knows, maybe one of them will choose to raise their own family on our patio.


But for now, I kind of feel like a mother whose kid has gone off to college.



Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

For the Birds...

A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of a nest that was little more than a few twigs that could have been blown away at the slightest breath of wind. And you know how windy it's been in Texas recently...

At the time, we assumed that it had been a trial run and that the bird had decided to nest elsewhere. However, we were wrong.  Each day the nest seemed to get more complete...

My husband, whose home office is at the front of the house, said he thought a Mockingbird might be nesting there because he kept seeing one go into the tree.

This morning, as I was out doing some gardening in the front garden, a Mockingbird flew out of the tree so I decided to see what was happening in the nest.  Using a stepladder I was able to peek in without touching or disturbing the nest.


I was thrilled at what I saw...

... four beautiful speckled eggs! 

So we're going to be "bird grandparents" again! 

It's funny how birds choose their nesting sites.  Our house sits between two vacant lots, both of which are completely natural, with trees, undergrowth and every thing else an expectant bird could want.


So where does she nest?

...In a small live oak sapling we planted a couple of years ago to replace the builder-planted one that had drowned due to lack of drainage. 

(If you look at the enlarged image, you can see the nest about half way up. Eye level to me when I'm standing on the ground)


Of course, that's no stranger than the wren nesting in a container on the back patio, five feet from where my husband and I sit and drink our wine on the weekends.


Speaking of the wren.... her babies have opened their eyes and are getting their plumage now.

I'm so glad we bought Cali, the stray cat, and her kittens indoors.  For the safety of all the birds in our garden!


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

We're Expecting!

This rather bedraggled toad flax lily hosted a wren and her nest last summer and I've been watching this spring to see if she will come back.  Another nest seemed to be taking shape, so I held off watering the poor plant, just in case.

 


 Last week, as I was watering another plant on the same shelf, I accidentally bumped the watering can against the shelf. Imagine my surprise when a small brown bird seemingly catapulted out of the nest.  I actually squeaked with surprise!


While she was gone, I had to sneak a peek in the nest and see if there was anything there.


I was in luck!


Please excuse the fuzzy photo:

After taking this photo, I began to get worried that I had scared the mother away permanently.  But I've  seen her come and go a few times since, and we've been treated to some serenading by what I presume is her "husband."


I have no idea when the eggs were laid or when they might hatch, but I'll keep an eye out and keep you posted.



Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Renewal

My husband's office is at the front of the house, looking out over the front garden. One day this week, when I got home from work, he pointed out of his window and said, "I think there's a bird nesting in the tree."

The tree in question is the small live oak we planted in May 2009 to replace the builder-planted one that had "drowned." Click here for my husband's amusing account of that adventure. 

Personally, I don't think it's nearly big enough to house a nest, but sure enough, there was a mockingbird industriously hopping to and fro with twigs.

Strange that she didn't just use the fairly substantial nest in the other live oak tree, 15 feet away. (See the dark clump in the middle? 

 

That tree housed a family of mockingbirds last year but our guest this year prefers more custom features and is building her own nest.


I hope she keeps working on it, because looking at it close up, I'd say there's a good chance any eggs would fall through the bottom as it is right now!

 Here are both trees seen from the street. (This post gets its title from the fact that these trees, and a lot of other things in the garden, are covered in new, bright green leaves.)

Underneath the small live oak, the little clump of bluebonnets is in full bloom.

I hope I get more of these next year.  This self-seeded, but I think I'll try and collect some seeds to give it a helping hand next year.

In the back garden, the Star (Scentless) Jasmine is covered in buds. This vine is growing rampantly and will need to be trimmed this year.  I just need to make sure I do it at the right time of year and that I don't kill it in the process!  The scented Star Jasmine, growing next to it, is much smaller still but is also starting to bloom and grow.

In the back garden, I had pulled out a bunch of weed that was growing in with the homestead verbena.  Apparently I missed this one (which is actually in the lawn - the verbena has spread about 2 feet beyond the border) and I'm glad I did! I love the color combination!  Looking around the lawn, there's a lot more of it but it got mowed last night, so it won't get a chance to flower.

Finally, on the patio, I had pinched the fuschia back to remove the seed pods, and had given it a little fertilizer.  It's now rewarding me with a second flush of blooms.  They aren't as big as the first round, but I'm happy to see them anyway.

I hope you are all seeing signs of renewal in your spring gardens. 

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

For Rent: Desirable Residence, UPDATE

 It's official -- we have a Carolina Chickadee nesting in the bird house hanging in the Vitex tree.

I've seen her fly in and out a couple of times and when  I look in there (from a discreet distance) I can see her on the nest.

I tried taking a pic with my zoom lens but you can't see anything just a black hole.

I'm looking forward to seeing the babies when they fledge. I'll keep you posted


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.