Independence time for birds

Red, yellow and blue

Growing up, my brother used to say “ after the 4th of July, summer is almost over”. Back then it seemed to be such a disheartening statement since the most referred seasonal calendar states summer begins the third week of June on the summer solstice. The long daylight hours here in Minnesota that have been building since December will hold steady another week before beginning to noticeably decline but the warmth of those long sunlight hours will continue to heat up the summer days for the next two months. So if one is gauging summer by the amount of daylight, yes we are past peak but not almost over.

Male Baltimore Oriole at the nest with young

Now if we measure time by our resident birds’ nesting cycles, yes we are almost over. Most bird species have now fledged their nestlings and are busy following and feeding them as the little ones learn to navigate out in the world.

Two fledging Black-capped Chickadees with an adult learning how to use the feeder.

Some species like bluebirds, robins, cardinals and wrens will have a second brood, extending the nesting season and increasing the odds of successfully raising young.

Female cardinal on nest in yew shrub

The last species to nest in my backyard is the American Goldfinch. Goldfinches wait until late July after the thistle blooms into down to line their nests and other seed plants are maturing to feed their young.

Male American goldfinch on thistle

The fledging have their own begging sounds that are new sounds to us this time of year. Young owls that have fledge months ago are still dependent on their parents to deliver them food and they are constantly broadcasting their whereabouts with a “feed me” screech.

Successful fledges of the grassland birds are critical nowadays as many of these species are in decline. Here a group of adult Bobolinks are taking care of a group of fledglings. Bobolinks are very social birds and will flock together right after nesting.