family life among the birds

The Yellowthroats have moved all the way up from the marsh through the woods to the old right-of-way where there is plenty of dense underbrush to suit their living style. I got good sightings of at least two young birds with the adult male. What I thought was a second family group turned out to be the adult female presumably traveling with one or more young from the same nest. I think this is a pretty common practice: mom and dad split up, each taking a couple of youngsters with them to search for food.

I have now seen a single House Wren hanging out with a family of Carolina Wrens at least three times. House Wrens have been common breeders around here in recent years but the population now seems to have been reduced to this single bird who has moved in with the closest relatives he or she can find.

House Wren sexes look alike but this morning's Belted Kingfisher was a female, identified by the reddish or rust belly band. Since both male and female are appearing on the creek (I saw a male later in the day) and appear to tolerate each other, the assumption is that this is a pair possibly with young in a nest hole somewhere.

Eric Salzman