Kaylee about to emulate a Wood Duckling :)

[Kaylee]

Ducklings Jump from Nest 50 Feet in the Air (3m27s)


I just did...amazing! ...and I feel the same...
Thanks! I learned something new!

LOL! Glad to share with you, both the analogy and the life transition!
We'll both get there, eventually.

The longest location I've ever lived in my adult life, was after the car accident, in an old house in the country.
It had great habitat, and I was the only bird feeder in the area, so I "got" some pretty good "yard birds" (i.e. any species which is visible from one's yard).

The absolute coolest was a pair of Wood Ducks who showed up at dawn, and checked out an old raccoon hole high up in a tree that was visible from my work window.
Alas, they left after a few minutes.
Given that the closest pond was quite a long waddle away, I didn't blame them, and was delighted they'd even consider being my Neighbors.

The most terrible sighting was in mid summer, when the fledlings of all my breeding neighbors showed up, and I had the opportunity to learn what they looked like.
One year, a particularly large, and particularly homely fledgling showed up on my favorite tree, and I had a growing Han Solo "bad feeling about this"...

...

...

which was confirmed when "my" pair of Chipping Sparrows showed up, and started to feed the monster.
Yes, it was a Brown-headed Cowbird.

Cowbirds sneak into the nests of other species, remove (thereby killing) one or more eggs, and laying replacement(s).

Chipping Sparrows are my absolute favorite species of sparrows. They're native (non-invasive), brave, no-nonsense (basically ignore humans, neither sucking up to or freaking out at our presence), and esthetically pleasing. They've got a rusty cap with adjacent racing stripes - very distinctive.

I took out the cowbird eggs...

Bless you.

The next summer, "my" Chipping Sparrows showed up with three hungry real offspring.