House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
In August and September, these juvenile birds came to my attention. We normally think of spring as the time for young birds, but some parents have more than one set of offspring, and some simply nest later in the year. Here are 4 examples that I enjoyed photographing.
A juvenile House Sparrow begs for food from its father- young birds do this typically by crouching down low and opening their beaks upwards while quivering their wings.
It works – dad feeds his youngster.
A good parent demonstrates by example how to eat on your own, and this young bird is learning.
A female American Goldfinch keeps her eggs warm in a nearby park. Goldfinches typically nest later in the summer.
Two weeks later, the eggs have hatched, and nestlings have emerged.
Ten days after I noticed the nestlings, this young Goldfinch is sitting next to the nest already, patiently awaiting a visit from a parent with food.
This bird sat very still, which is a good survival mechanism. I probably would not have seen it if I didn’t know where to look.
A young Mourning Dove has left its nest and cannot quite fly yet. It rests upon the ground under a plant.
This young bird has a dedicated mother, who sits nearby.
A mother’s presence calms the young bird.
Mother shields her baby, glancing skyward as the sun comes out- this young bird survived and learned to fly.
The last time I saw it, it flew into a tree from the ground when I walked by.
This adult Rock Pigeon was raising babies in a hole in the roof of an apartment building when workers covered up the hole.
This parent can hear its young ones crying, trapped. Young pigeons have a very distinctive cry.
When made aware of the situation, apartment management allowed the repair to be temporarily removed until the young pigeons left.
Here they are looking out upon the world. A happy ending!
Whoa Tracey, you knocked these out! What a great post and photos. Margie
So many stories–the last photo of the happy ending has so much personality!
Your posts are always a pleasure.
Excellent post with great photos! Right now, the maple tree in my backyard is full of young Goldfinches – they sound like squeaky dog toys.
Great job!
Great post, W.S….I imagine your Goldfinches will end up down here in Little Rock this winter…we loose them in about April, when they migrate your way…so we will put out the thistle feeder, Oh, maybe a month from now…and they will loose their “Gold” and become more mottled…I think that’s the word…but we then have them all winter…thanks again…we have a couple of doves in our courtyard every evening…they seem to put a sense of “peace” on the end of our day…thanks again…
Love the Goldfinches, Jim! And they certainly enjoy the thistle seed. I agree with you about the doves- very peaceful and soothing birds.
I don’t know how you do it. You have an amazing talent for capturing the true bond of family in these beautiful creatures. 🙂
I love all these photos! I’ve seen things like this in my yard, but to actually see the photos is just wonderful. Thank you, thank you for posting!
I love watching the birds. You have a great blog 🙂 Judy
Stunning photos – I was especially taken with the first one of the mourning dove mom and baby together. I don’t know how you feel about sharing your photos, but if possible, may I use that one on my blog? I would credit you however you’d like me to. It’s really amazing – I love mourning doves have never seen an touching picture like this one before. What an amazing nature photographer you are!
Sure, Barbara- you can use it with a link-back to the page 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, Tracy!!! 🙂
these photos are amazing – love this post
Hi Watching Seasons, The babies and juvenile birds are oh, so cute! Great pictures. So glad that the pigeon family was OK in that building. A happy ending, for sure! Have an excellent day tomorrow!
Thanks everyone for the kind comments!
I don’t think I had ever seen a young morning dove before. Your pictures were GREAT as always. The story of the pigeon nearly had me crying until I continued reading…. how desperate she must have been to reach her babies…. Love watching birds. 🙂
Young Mourning Doves definitely look different than their parents! The little one I took pictures of ended up looking like the adults fairly quickly once it was out of the nest- unfortunately, I didn’t get a good photo of it in its adult plumage before it flew off to start its new life 🙂
This is a wonderful series of photos!
I am so glad there was a happy ending for the Rock Pigeons. 🙂
Wonderful series of photos.
Wonderful photos, and i love the stories that came with each one.
Beautiful photos that depicts tender moments between a parent and her baby birds. I used to jump for joy as a kid when I see a nest with eggs or hatchlings,… Thanks for bringing back sweet memories. Stay blessed always.
Thank you for the great comments, everyone 🙂