Youth Gone Wild

No, this isn’t a post about Skid Row…but rather a post about the plethora of young creatures out and about in the wide world for the first time. As I type this I can hear the flock of neighborhood House Sparrows chirping away in front of my apartment, a flock that enjoyed great success this spring and summer if their increased numbers mean anything. But they are not the only creatures who spent their time multiplying.

It’s funny watching birds that have clearly outgrown being fed by their parents still begging for food. But over the last week I’ve seen Brown Thrashers, Yellow Warblers, Willow Flycatchers and others all begging as if they weren’t already capable of feeding themselves. I’ve also watched (what I assumed were) juvenile Gray Squirrels chasing each other through treetops, honing their leaping (and predator evasion) skills. But enough about what I’ve seen and not gotten a picture of; it’s time for the stuff that stayed still long enough to shoot!

Now that August is here there are many empty-nesters, as exemplified by this nest, held by Daisy, found on the ground on an evening walk.

In fact, American Goldfinches are pretty much the only birds still nesting around Albany because they wait for the soft thistle to provide nesting material.

This Common Yellowthroat successfully suckered its mother into feeding it moments before I took this shot:

I spished softly, hoping to bring mom back out for a family photo and was successful (though the second bird might be a sibling rather than mom)!

And shortly after I took this picture I watched the youngster catch and eat some kind of bug on its own! Greedy little creature.

Even cuter than the young birds that are so unwary is this fawn that walked right out in front of Daisy and me and stood there for a solid minute until I tried to get even closer.

So get out there and track down some of the wild youth. They are usually easier to approach than adults as they haven’t learned to fear people yet so you can get close. Just don’t choose to test this advice with a bear!