bringing up baby

baby lower left, parent upper right

Yesterday morning the baby wren was snug in it's nest and yesterday afternoon it was on the floor of the garage underneath one of the shelving units along the wall. I had noticed that while the wrens were still coming and going into and out of the garage, they were no longer flying up to the nest. And the baby bird sounds weren't coming from the nest anymore either. I don't know if the baby tried to fledge or if it fell out, but it was indeed under the shelving unit and there appeared to be only one baby. That was when the cat became housebound, something she's none too pleased about.

I was doing cold work out in the garage all yesterday afternoon working on the flat lap and going back and forth from it to the table while the wrens were also going back and forth. We narrowly missed each other several times.

Early evening, the baby was in the middle of the garage floor. Half an hour later when I was ready to close up the garage, it couldn't decide if it wanted to be inside the garage or outside so I propped one of the doors up enough to allow the birds to come and go but no cats.

This morning the wren activity was centered on the other side of the cement apron from the garage. One or another of the wrens perched itself on the side of the truck bed keeping watch while it's mate tended to the baby which we finally located in the grass under a magnolia leaf. I feared for it's safety there in the grass so I managed to get it into the bed of larkspur where it stayed all day while it's parents tended to it and stood watch.

This evening when I went out in the garage for something, I noticed the baby was back on the concrete apron so I stopped to watch. Mom and dad were flying down to it and then flying onto the truck. Back and forth, back and forth. Down and up. Down and up. And baby would take fluttering hops, more hop than flutter but it was trying. It worked it's way over to the grass closer to the garage by the time I went in.

Dark now. Cat is still housebound and still none too pleased. We'll see where the baby is tomorrow. Once it can take to the trees, it will be much safer. In the meantime, it's parents are never far away and keeping vigil.