Outside my kitchen window....

On those very rare occasions, when I actually have a chance to sit at my kitchen table and check my emails while enjoying a much needed cup of coffee, (after the first round of feedings of course!) I keep my camera close. There is an amazing world going on out there... right outside my kitchen window!

Lots of baby birds following parents around begging to be fed....

As always, the fuzzballs the feeders were intended for....

....and those they were not intended for, but who insist on raiding....

Yup...even some of the girls are getting into the act! The high demand of their kits probably driving them to the high fat and protein bonanza to be found here.

Generally the coonies wait till dark so as not to ruffle the tails of the likes of this guy! The fox may have learned where the squirrels like to hang out, but the squirrels have learned to keep a guard on duty. Usually one of the older, more seasoned adults is standing sentry on the railing and I'm amazed at how sharp they are. One sound from the sentry and all those at the feeder head up to the top of the tree or the railings.....and wait until it is deemed safe. They have learned to head up and wait it out or exit under the thick cover of the bushes along the foundation around to the other side of the house. They know not to just run across the open yard now.

It's not often you see these guys fluttering from tree to tree like a little song bird....but in the spring, Mr. Wood duck is obediently following Mrs. Wood duck around as she searches for the perfect hollow to lay her eggs. He followed her around for about an hour this particular morning! LOL

There is an over abundance of these guys this year! I have never seen so many! I'm practically stepping on them as I walk through the woods.

And as always I am not able to linger and enjoy this relaxing show. Got a new guy in yesterday. He was found at an abandoned train station and an attempt to reunite for a night was unsuccessful. So the little boy named Pinner was brought here. He's in perfect shape...a very healthy, chunky little boy. He's comfortably settled in and sucking down his bottles like a pro. After his 2 week quarantine he'll be a perfect pal for Spencer who is still a loner since he's still a little too young to be in a bigger crate with any of the rest of the groups.

Right now everyone else is doing fine. Bama is eating and happy to be back with Springer and Chester. I'm thinking soon they will join Tumbler, Legend, Rizzoli and Isles as one big group. Just giving it a little more time to make sure no other problems break with any of them.......

Some lives come to an end while others begin anew.

Thistle and Thorny have joined their sister Bramble. Both finally succumbed to the parvo I'm saddened to say. But I didn't have long to dwell on it! The very next day I think they all came back to haunt me...LOL

My Dad calls to tell me a baby robin fell out of a nest in his yard. I have him try to re-nest it twice! Finally after the third time on the ground, I have him take it in and go over to get it. While I'm there I check under the nest for the heck of it. A second of the 3 babies are on the ground! I know where this is going, so I just take in that one also. Enter 2 baby robins....

While I'm collecting the robins, another call comes in for a baby bird! What the heck! So this little guy joins the crew (maybe a grackle or starling??)....3 new baby birds I have no clue what to do with....
The single baby didn't seem as vibrant and active as the older robins....something that was easily remedied....I put him in with the other 2 and it was a world of difference!

All 3 very happily snuggled together. I got all the info I could about caring for the little ones from a bird rehabber to hopefully keep them healthy and well while I looked for a rehabber with room to take them in....these guys have to eat every half hour from sunrise to sunset!! Holy crap!! All the bird rehabbers out there deserve a gold medal! I only had them for 2 days and I don't know how anyone can do that all season long!

Luckily for the birds I managed to find someone with room who I am sure will do a much better job than me! Good luck little fellas!

While I was out filling the feeders this afternoon I happened to notice some movement on the top den box platform at the main station. It was a little kit! Too young to have followed mom there. It was not crying or alarmed, just appeared to be checking out the area around the den box. As I started walking over to check it out, mom suddenly appears and climbs up to the den box, greets the kit and brings it back into the box. I reached up with the camera and snapped off a picture and managed to get this before a growling, huffing and protective mamma stashed the little one further into the box. Awwwww!

I can only wonder how long they've been there. I would be surprised to find they were there all along without me knowing. I'm down there every day and would have heard something! Not to mention all the other coonies that hang out down there. I'm wondering if she may have just moved in there for some reason. I've got the camera set up down there again now so hopefully we'll see what's going on.

We hope to have the necropsy results on Phillip back tomorrow possibly. The rabies test was negative...one thing eliminated. That also means I can have the body back so Phillip is coming home for good. The rest of his gang continue to do great!