Backyard Nature
Living through a pandemic has definitely been a unique and interesting experience for all of us, to say the least. During this period we've learned to make many adjustments, insulate ourselves, sometimes lose sleep—and adapt to a new reality. I’d like to share something to hopefully lighten the mood. A little sweet experience with nature.
This is ongoing. I will update this page regularly.
At the beginning of Spring I noticed this one bird regularly hanging out in the yard. Initially I'd only see one, but shortly after there were two.
May 02, 2020
Soon after, I spotted their nest.
And within days they had three eggs.
May 24, 2020
One day I looked inside to find one baby bird.
May 25, 2020
Only when the parents are away I take a closer look, I obviously don't want to scare them. But I worry because there are a couple of cats that pass through the yard sometimes, especially at night.
May 27, 2020
I can not believe how fast the baby bird is growing. These photos are generally one day apart.
May 27, 2020
I think this is the mother. 
May 29, 2020
The baby bird is so big now, it’s hard to see the two eggs.
Hi Mr. Toad. What are you doing up so late? 2am.
In the dead of night, these two were hanging out.
Just chillin 😎
June 01, 2020.
Almost completely grown, looks like a full size, adult bird here.
While out for a quick bike ride I saw these four. Not social distancing!
June 02, 2020
Unbeknownst to me, this was the very last photo of the bird in the nest. A full size bird.
June 03, 2020
It was bittersweet to see the nest like this. I was happy to see the bird all grown and gone, yet sad that I could not visit and see it daily.
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Please feel free to leave a comment. Do you have a similar experience with birds or other animals in your yard? I wonder why only one egg has hatched. How have you been coping and keeping occupied throughout this period that we're all experiencing? All comments are welcome, please share them below.
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Thank you for all the comments! I can not reply at the moment but will try to fix that. Really enjoying reading your comments. Please keep them coming! 😊
27 comments
I once had a house finch nest in a hanging basket on my balcony. It was beautiful to see the little family develop. They came back the next year looking for the flower basket, but it wasn’t there. I’m sure that they found another place to set up a home. Ottawa has lots of trees, even downtown! It’s a beautiful city.
During this pandemic just trying to take life easy and enjoying the simple, quiet pace.
Those are such clear, beautiful pictures! I’m always amazed how how birds build such intricate nests, aren’t you? I once watched a baby bird, just newly out of the nest, and chirping in a parking lot. the parents were on a hydro wire watching from above. When they knew the coast was clear and safe, they flew to their baby. They would swoop up a couple of feet and down again, over and over. They were teaching it to fly and to follow them. Eventually the three made it into a wooded area. I hope they were all safe :)