Kong

As in King Kong.  This perky little male house wren appears to have attracted three females for the second round of nesting.  I've seen he and a third female working on the nest box next to our patio; meanwhile one other box started hatching yesterday and another nest has 5 eggs ready to hatch.  This is a new record in terms of the number of females one male has "kept".  It is not uncommon for mature males of this species to be able to attract two females, but three...?

Last night's Chimney Swift Express didn't get underway until almost 9 at night at which point it was dark with thunderstorms - not ideal for driving.  But we loaded the box with nine little baby swifts into my CRV and off we went.  Giselle met us outside her building with an umbrella and took charge of the youngsters who were all peeping at the tops of their tiny lungs.  Chimney swift nestlings require special care and also a special setup so most bird rehabbers don't work with them; as a consequence, Giselle always has a bunch of them starting around now.  They require longer in the nest than most small birds and very frequent feedings.  When it is time to release them, she'll need to release them near an existing colony of adult birds who will quickly "adopt" them into the flock to migrate.  They are relatively long distance migrants, some going as far as Peru.  I was unable to get a peek at them, because I didn't want to risk them getting loose in the car (can you even imagine???) but they sure sounded healthy and hungry.

Today I ran out to pick up some fresh burrata for later.  The girls will be arriving mid afternoon so I'm going to sneak in a quick nap now.  Wish I had my normal energy, but it is what it is.

Be well!

And today's chocolate is fudgy brownies with a salted caramel topping, prepared and shipped by our friend Paul. YUM

xo
Debbi