This is a picture I took on Saturday. A parent waiting to go to the nest with a little insect to feed.
I'm going to keep everything crossed that these babies will stay safe until they fledge. It's good to know that all three eggs have hatched and that the youngsters all look healthy and well fed.
Absolutely stunning photo if the chicks Dinu...so far, so good. My congratulations to mama and papa Bulbul and to grandpa Dinu! It looks like they are being well tended to...looking forward to seeing them grow.
Thanks Eileen and Vitrsna. Last night at 1 a.m there was a heavy thunderstorm. I had got up to attend N/call at that time when it started raining. It became heavy very soon and so I attended to my rainwater filters because if I allow drainage of the initial flow, it would not clog the filter. Dirt is too much in our old house roofs with its proximity to the main road. Rain apart, I was also worried about the babies in the nest. While lightning flashed through the two glass roof tiles above my bed, my mind was worrying about the nestlings. I could not go out to check. I slept with a little prayer for their safety. It was a good downpour lasting nearly 90 minutes. The first thing I did in the morning was to go near the nest. Verified that the papa-mama pair had not yet made their first visit and then peeked in from behind and saw the three of them cuddled against each other. They are growing fast. I just lightly shook a small twig to alert them. Lo and behold! They were up expecting something to fall in their open mouths. They were alive and had wet feathers, now slowly growing. I was relieved they had seen through their first rain. Brilliant are Nature's ways.
Oh thank goodness they survived the night!! Let's hope the weather now stays fine until they are well feathered and ready to leave the nest.
Today's good news is that the chicks are out of the nest, taken wings. The last I saw them this evening before dusk was in a neighbouring shrub with one parent trying to show how to flap wings... I'm compiling details for my blog which I'll write and post later. For now, here is one picture of one chick that had ventured into my yard. A short while later, both parents came near it to feed, with an insect in their beaks. I was glad they were not too much bothered by my presence plus my wife and two daughters, all watching this beautiful happenings. I checked them in the morning around 10 and they were still in the nest. At about 4 pm I heard the parents calling differently. I went out to check the nest. When my head touched the vine above the bench, I heard the chicks disturbed.... they had flown out already!! Nest was empty. Then the next two hours, we all watched.
O dios mio! Congratulations on this wonderful success. What a cute baby! You have done your job very well grandpa Dinu. I hope the parents introduce the chicks to the birdbath
It survived one night out of nest. Checked one chick guided by one parent in the junk shed and from there the little one flew into the bushy Jasmine plant. Thereafter, I went to prepare myself to get ready for work. It was a wonderful experience of all of us watching the action. Let's see how quickly they grow and survive to be independent.... would love to see them in the birdbath.
What a lovely photograph of the youngster Dinu. I'm so pleased they all fledged and seem to be doing OK. Now their adventures begin!!
When I came home for lunch, one of the 3 had come in to the open central courtyard. Amazingly, the parent was feeding it there. When I returned in the evening, it was still chirping there. I opened the door that would lead to the garden side. It flew out as its parent watched. It wanted to go there. With half an hour for sundown, I saw them both in the bean vine - bushy. Plenty of food it was getting in the yard - I counted 4-5 in two minutes. So that will give a clue to the good supply of food till it is independent and also later. I have no idea about the other two. They should be somewhere.
I am so enjoying the great pictures and the story of the babies. How exciting to watch when everything goes right and so sad when it doesn't.
You are right. This morning also I watched for a few minutes, one chick being fed by the parent. I'm sure it spent the night where I last saw in the evening - in the bean vine - when it was almost getting dark. Flight length has increased! We are really excited to see these at such length of time. On the same subject, I'm now tempted to take you to my blogpost. Here: http://mysoreanmusings.blogspot.in/2011/07/our-garden-hosts-two-bird-nests.html The tailorbird chicks - we never saw them from their second day out of nest.
I really enjoyed your blog Dinu and reading about the Sunbirds and Tailorbirds. I've never seen nests constructed in the way your birds have done. I love to learn about our feathered friends from other countries. Thank you for sharing your birds with us all.
I just made the Bulbul nest story with some more images in my blog. http://mysoreanmusings.blogspot.in/2015/06/red-whiskered-bulbul-nest-in-our-garden.html
Your blog was so interesting Dinu with such clear photographs. I'm so glad all three youngsters fledged safely. Maybe they will nest in your garden next year.
