New Occupants

I noticed a week ago that there were birds coming and going in the basket. There was a time there were 2 of them. One sitting inside the basket and the other perched at the edge. I have wondered if these birds were just visiting or resting.

A couple of days later, as I was going out of the door to the patio, a bird was flying towards the basket. As she or he took sight of me, it took a detour and landed on the wrought iron fence. It waited there for a while. I looked at the bird and I noticed that it was carrying, in its beak, a piece of twig. It must be refurbishing the old nest then, I thought to myself. It is the same kind of bird, a pigeon.

Days went by when I took a peek at the basket and there was a bird inside. It seems it's laying eggs, just like the other bird. My basket is a popular place for these birds; and they picked the biggest one. They must think it as a mansion. I have other baskets on that same pergola, but they are smaller.

Here is the new tenant, caught in the act of laying eggs!

I'm now giving this basket to the birds, it's full of poop anyway. LOL

It pays to wander...

As I bloghopped to some fave spots of mine, I stumbled on a giveaway by Indiaartist. As she had mentioned the first commentator, in her post, will get an oil painting from her. I made it to the first, and others who were not lucky enough, didn't jump in anymore. Days, weeks and more weeks passed by and no sign of the painting coming my way. And then, finally, it came. Beautiful painting, a style of her own. I wish I could do the same.

The lovely apple...is right here.

Little Birdies Flew Away

The mother hen with her chicks.
(click photo to enlarge)

I was quite busy since that time I took a peek at the nest and found those 2 eggs, and I never got the chance to get a shot at them. About sometime last week I noticed that the mother seem to be feeding her little babies. They have hatched then! I thought I would take a peek and if the mother would fly, that would be it. She, however, sat there staring at me. So, I aimed my camera high above my head and took several shots. I got her with her chicks huddling by her side, keeping warm on that cold early morning. They have tucked their heads underneath her.

About an hour or so later, I noticed that the mother was not there. I stepped on a chair again, and peered above the basket, and there they are the chicks. They have grown so much already. They are no longer the teeny weeny little chicks, that are almost bare of feathers.

The chicks
(click photo to enlarge)

When I first found those two little eggs, I thought I would record their progress when they are hatched. But I've been busy lately I never got the chance to do it.

Yesterday morning my cousin told me that she didn't see the eggs. She wondered what happened to them. I told her, "Well, they have flown away then. I mean, the chicks are gone."

And she stared at me and said, "You mean they have hatched and grown and flown?"

"Yes, manang, they are big enough to fly already. They have flown."

And they left the nest with their poop - those dark grey little round stuff with a speck of white in them. That I have to clean for the next tenant.

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