Nature: God's Second Book: Raising a family... the bird way

After coming back from our trip, we began the process of doing laundry and settling back into our normal routine. It didn't take us long to realize though that something was not normal with the drier... it wouldn't dry! We quickly came to the conclusion that maybe something was blocking the vent and so I brought the ladder out, climbed up to the outside vent hole (which had lost its cover) and peered inside. Sure enough, the tubing was packed with a nest.

The nest was at least 1 1/2 feet deep into the tubing, so I had to fashion a hook out of a wire to start the process of dismantling the nest. With the first pull, I caught a huge chunk of grass, twigs, and ... a snakeskin!!! All of a sudden, I thought I heard a squeak from inside the tubing. I stopped what I was doing and called for a flashlight. There, at the end of the beam of light, were 3 or 4 helpless baby birds. So I guess drying laundry in the drier is just going to have to wait.

One of the baby birds sleeping - they are growing so fast!

Over the next few days I had the opportunity to watch the Great Crested Flycatcher parents fly back and forth in a continuous effort to feed the hungry little ones. They were suspicious of anyone around the nest (even though I was actually on the porch) and would fly from one tree to another, peering at me, giving a loud "whee-eep" call, then flying to another tree... just to be sure I wasn't a threat. Both parents brought various insects ranging from flies and caterpillars, to spiders and dragonflies. I'm amazed the babies can open their mouths wide enough for some of those insects. During one period of observation, I calculated that on average every 4-5 minutes one of the parents came with food for the babies. Can you imagine? All day long, the parents go back and forth and back and forth...dedicating their time and energy to raising their babies.

After multiple failed attempts, I finally caught him flying out

They take their time coming, but it only takes a split second to leave

Great Crested Flycatchers are treetop hunters. They do not hop or walk but prefer to fly from place to place, catching a variety of insects, though they do eat small fruit as well (such as our succulent blueberries). They prefer to nest in deep cavities like abandoned woodpecker holes, though in this case, they decided our vent would do just as well. They usually fill the cavity with all kinds of things, then form a nest 'cup' on top and line it with soft materials like hair, feathers, and fur. They are also known to frequently use snakeskins to line the nest, as I discovered.