The Third Bird

Uncategorized 2 Minutes

July 9, 2019

At the very end of the day yesterday, I wandered over the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, Michigan. I hadn’t been there in quite awhile and I wondered what I might find.

This beautiful plant is a new one for me. It’s called a Great Willowherb.
According to my app, iNaturalist, this is an American Black Elderberry

Not long into my walk, I saw (and heard!) a couple of Eastern Kingbirds flying overhead. They were squawking pretty insistently and hanging out near a tree where I had frequently seen them last year. With all the squawking and hovering, I figured there must be babies nearby, so I decided to stick around for awhile, but not too close. Once I stood still, the birds did too. They found branches to sit on and, except for a few forays into the air to catch bugs, they stood guard– or at least that’s what I assumed they were doing.

Mom and Dad Kingbird keeping watch

Several times during my bird ‘vigil’, I attempted to pull myself away. But I just couldn’t. There’s something about a beautiful bird sitting cooperatively in a tree on a clear, sunny afternoon, that makes it hard for me to leave. So I didn’t.

The eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a large tyrant flycatcher native to North America.
The call of the Eastern Kingbird is a high-pitched, buzzing and unmusical chirp,
frequently compared to an electric fence!

My patience eventually paid off! Hidden deep in the leafy branches of the tree were the two little birds that mama and papa had been squawking about earlier.  The two ‘babies’ were sitting quietly on a branch tucked away safely in the middle of the tree. Fortunately, there was a rather large opening in the branches which gave me a pretty clear view of the babies (once I noticed them!) and I proceeded to take an excessive number of pictures. But, if I hadn’t been obsessed with taking so many pictures, I never would have seen the Third Bird! Three baby Kingbirds! What a treat!

Two baby Kingbirds hiding in the tree

The Third Bird!
Vigilant parent keeping watch

It’s easy for me to stop taking pictures of something when the lighting isn’t just right, or the subject is moving too fast, or I can’t quite get the right angle for a good picture, but when everything is ‘just right’, like it was for these little birds and their parents, I find it nearly impossible to pull myself away.

The ‘big picture’. The Third Bird is hidden in the lower left corner, the other two babies are top center, and one of the parents is in the middle right just below the two babies.
These birds aggressively defend their territory, even against much larger birds.

Eventually, though, I just had to move on so that I could enjoy the rest of my walk through the hatchery before the late afternoon shadows grew too long and too dark for any more pictures.

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly
Question Mark Butterfly
Slaty Skimmer Dragonfly
Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

 

Published by Jeanne Church

I am a 76 year old retired teacher with an avid interest in hiking and photography. I am not a professional photographer, but spend almost every day exploring the natural world, taking pictures and honing my skills. When I review the pictures I have taken, I love researching information about the things I have found-- and then sharing my results with others. The time I have spent walking in the woods (including 4 months on the Appalachian Trail at 68) has always been somewhat therapeutic. When I added photography to the mix a few years ago, it quadrupled the therapeutic effect! Opening pictures on my computer at the end of the day is like opening presents. There are always surprises! It allows me to see so many details that were not visible to my naked eye! I have learned so many new things about birds and bugs, reptiles and mammals that I never knew before--and I have also found, that when I share with others, I invariably learn something new!

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