In May, a pair of Cardinals built a nest in an evergreen tree only feet away from our front door.   It can be quite interesting and entertaining to watch baby birds grow.  Change happens very quickly.    In nature,  songbird chicks must mature very fast before predators are able to locate their nest.

Photographing songbird nestlings is quite tricky.  A long lens is a must and a photographer must always assess whether or not he/she is influencing any behaviors of the birds themselves, in particular the parents.   Chicks this age need to eat continuously or their growth and development will be impeded.   If the presence of the photographer keeps the parents away even for a short time, this can be detrimental to the growth rate and ultimate success of these chicks.  A ladder and a long lens put me in a position to not bother the birds at all.

(Below) These babies have just hatched.  They have  barely dried off.  There were five eggs,  but only three hatched.  All three chicks look quite healthy.

Hours old Cardinal chicks.   The fuzz on their tiny heads reminds me of when I am having a bad hair day…!

(Below) Three days old now and the chicks continue to be all mouth.    They are ravenous eaters and keep both parents very busy.

(Below) The chicks are five days old.   The feathers that will one day carry them on the wind are developing nicely.

Seven days old now and they have really changed…    I did not photograph them again until they were leaving the nest.   I wanted to be absolutely certain that my presence did not in any way send them out of the nest too early.

Here, two of the babies are entering the world outside of their nest for the first time.   As you can see…the bad hair days continue on…!

A brief flight onto the ground and then staying very still is a good strategy for survival.  This chick later flew up into a little bush for a bit and then was out in the wilds of the woods within that same afternoon.    Of the three little babies that originally hatched, only two fledged.  The third was small and weak and the parents abandoned it that afternoon.   He died very shortly thereafter.  This chick below is robust and healthy.

Here is their pretty Dad, bringing a tiny insect larvae to one of the chicks.  It is hard to believe that those gangling, brown fuzz-balls will one day be as pretty as he is…

A collection of my original paintings and giclee prints are currently on exhibition at Garmin World Headquarters in Olathe, Kansas  until July 1.   Shown in the front of the photograph is “The King’s Dragon” which will be traveling to San Diego, CA this fall for the Society of Animal Artists 50 anniversary Art and the Animal exhibition.

Birds are wonderful parents.  During my explorations in the wilds I’ve seen examples of this over and over again.

Recently I have run across two different families of Canadian Geese at a nearby park, both undertaking the arduous task of raising a family.   They have allowed me to share their space to the point of having to zoom all the way out to photograph them as the babies pass sometimes within inches of me.   Mom and Dad just don’t seem to mind at all.

This is a typical procession with a parent on each end of a perfectly straight line.  The adult in front guides the way and the one in the rear makes sure everyone gets there safely.  What a smart strategy.  These chicks are about three days old in this photo.

A fuzzy feathered flotilla…

Goose chicks constantly watch their parents to learn from them.  Here a chick from the slightly older brood is learning from an expert how and where to find food.

Mom pulls seaweed up from the bottom of the lake.   Sure looks tasty!   Some of the chicks are already trying their hands at it as they dunk their heads under, leaving only their fuzzy bottoms above water.  But the fellow in front isn’t ready to work for a meal yet and takes the easy way out.

Once out of water the chicks wattle all around.  This one is curious about me.  “Commin through!”

But then he stops and decides to give me a good look-over.

Once joined by a sibling, he wattles off to go and find mom.   I find it interesting that in many cases when chicks walk around together, they do so in perfect step with one another.  This photo is an example of just that.    I have dozens of photos of chicks together where this is the case.

Time to gather the kids.  Mom corrals her chicks back into a little group again for another feeding lesson, this time on land.

See son, we can eat grass too…

And you don’t want to eat Maple tree seeds…

A tender moment between parent and baby…

With a lesson learned, these two are able to feed on their own.

One last cute pose for good measure…

Sometimes the simplest thing can start a quarrel…

And when one party just won’t let it go, the conflict can become more troublesome…

This pair of Orioles were having a rough day.

I don’t know what he said to her, but it didn’t go over well…

She went all out on the “girl power” thing…

This poor guy just couldn’t catch a break.  Now a youngster jumps in and reads him the riot act…

In the end there was little he could do to smooth things over.

SOUND FAMILIAR GUYS???

My dog Pawsome found a box turtle in the garden today when we stepped outside at lunch time.  He was a bit shy at first but eventually “came out of his shell” and went about his business.

The step from the garden onto our concrete patio is a BIG one if you are a turtle!

Feeling a bit perplexed and out of place, he looked me over for a bit…

And then he decided that it was time to explore our deck.

On the smooth surface of the deck, one can build up some real “speed”…  COOL!

These purple flowers sure look interesting.  Wonder what one might find in here?

Oh, I see this little Skink likes purple flowers too…

An ant came out from under the turtle’s shell.   When the turtle noticed it, he went from a poky little chap into a streamlined hunter (well, as streamlined as a turtle will ever be).  The chase was on as he “raced” after the ant…

In the end it wasn’t the ant that he was after, but rather the vegetable matter that the ant was carrying.  GULP!   And the ant went along on his way.

Hmmm…wonder what is over there?

This pretty thing sure looks tasty…

Chomp!  Gulp…

(This by the way,  is why we DO NOT use weed killers on our property!)

Ahhhhh!  Lip smackin good!

There is nothing like a nice dandelion mustache to show for a good meal…

Time to mosey….see ya!

SOME BOX TURTLE FUN FACTS:

Box turtles can live to be 100 years old.

Box turtles are becoming increasingly threatened in the wild due to habitat loss (woodlands being converted into subdivisions, roads and farms) and the pet trade.  Pet traders are pulling  them from the wild and selling them at alarming rates.  Over half of them die in captivity.  It is difficult to adequately meet the nutritional and physiological needs of a box turtle in captivity.  Most are anemic and sickly.   So teach little Johnny that the best place for the box turtle he has just found… is exactly where he found it!

A box turtle stays within about a half mile range of where it was born, all it’s life.  If it is caught and released somewhere else, it will spend the rest of it’s life trying to find it’s way back to it’s original range.

Female box turtles lay eggs in late spring, usually around 4-6.  Their reproductive cycle is very slow.   They only need to mate every four years and are able still to lay fertilized eggs each year.

The next time you see a box turtle, ask him how old he is.  His first birthday could date back to the time when automobiles were first invented!