Oh, dear. My archives contain very few people photos, and therefore even fewer of children. To fulfill the challenge that Tina poses this week, I’ve selected some favorite baby bird shots. Maybe this will prompt me to go places where people gather and to take more photos of humans interacting!
Ducks, geese, and chickens are examples of precocial birds; capable of movement and self-sufficiency soon after hatching. Above, a hen Mallard with her brood of five ducklings are on their way to feed in a marsh pond.
The majority of birds that frequent my feeders are atricial; immature and helpless when they hatch, and require care and feeding for some time afterward. Parents often appear smaller than their emerging fledglings. Above a Downy woodpecker stuffs suet into the chick’s mouth, and below a Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker does the same. Over time the chicks learn to cling to the feeder and get suet on their own.
Below, a fledgling Killdeer is almost invisible in the grass and dried foam of the receding marsh. Ground-nesters, adult Killdeer have elaborate broken wing displays to distract predators from their nests as the atricial babies grow.
Lindy Low LeCoq 