Baby Birds

Yesterday the baby birds were all flying and flycatchers were chasing the old cat Murphy that follows us to the hay shed when we feed the horses. Murphy always comes back to the house with us when we are through. He didn't know what to think of those birds attaching him. I think one even grabbed some fur. The certainly weren't afraid of him. In the afternoon I watched the parent flycatchers teaching the chicks to catch bugs 'on the fly' they were using the low power line right behind our house as their launch site. They all got highly upset when a roadrunner came into the yard for a drink of water. The flycatchers would dive bomb the roadrunner and it even looked once as if a flycatcher actually hit the roadrunner on the back. Poor roadrunner was never able to get a drink. Finally it went and hid in the neighbors wild sunflower patch. I figure it went on to the next neighbors who has chickens with water out. The flycatchers stayed here so maybe it was able to get a drink there. I had the camera and got a couple of so-so shots of the roadrunner but was unable to get one of the flycatchers dive bombing it. Would have made a great video.
The baby hummer is learning to use the feeder and helps its mom chase off the other hummers.

Flycatchers

Previous post was on the hummingbirds in my yard. This one is on the flycatchers. Flycatchers are a bird not quite as large as a robin.  I encourage flycatchers as much as I can because as their name says they catch flies and lots of other flying bugs. Its quite a sight to see them swooping across the yard catching bugs while flying. They catch bugs on the ground but prefer to catch them while in the air. Most years I have noticed they have nested in the neighbors yard but this year we had a pair nest in the cottonwood tree by our hayshed. At first they were afraid of us each time we went to the shed to get hay for the horses or water the horses or trees that are nearby. Gradually they have become so used to us they don't seem to pay us much attention. The first nest they built came down in a wind storm in the early spring but they went at it again and soon had a better nest. I could watch them working since the tree hasn't put on as many leaves as it should have due to the drought we have been having here in New Mexico. Soon the pair of birds were taking turns sitting on the nest and I assumed there were eggs in it. I can't tell the male from the female as both are the same color = gray on their back and wings and a pretty shade of yellow on their front with a black stripe across their eye. I call them flycatchers as that is what I was told thy were as a child but some of the books I looked at called them King birds. I will continue to call them flycatchers. In a few weeks there were cheeping noises and I could see tiny beaks sticking up out of the nest when a parent bird would come in. Soon I could see 3 little baby bird heads. Now I am able to see the chicks better and can tell they are growing feathers. Here are some of the photos I was able to take of the nest. The nest is about 15 feet up the tree and I have a good Cannon camera with a nice zoom lens.