St. John's Wort

There was a tree swallow perched on the clothes line this afternoon. I'd never seen a bird on the line and watched as it struggled to keep it's balance as the line swayed back and forth. Bet this is one of the youngsters that just fledged. The hot weather we've had should be enough to coax every last baby bird out of their nest! Think a robin might have left the nest a little too early. It was sitting next to the front door. Mother Robin was chirping up a storm from the top of the stockade. I moved slowly and eventually the little one hopped off and even flew a few feet. Sat on the deck and laughed as a two red-winged blackbirds flew in. One alit on the lawn and the other in the tall grass. The one in the grass was very vocal while it hopped out of the vegetation and over to what was obviously it's parent. The parent flew up and over to a nearby bush. The kid followed but once again ended up in the tall weeds. Guess it takes time to perfect your landings. I was refilling the six hummingbird feeders every three days but suddenly there are no hummers around. Brent read that when the hummingbird's eggs hatch the baby birds need protein to grow. The hummers spend their energy catching insects and stop coming to the feeders (a few males will still visit) until the young ones fledge. Then the number of hummers at the feeders will double. Interesting to figure out what's going on w/ my avian neighbors.