A New Family in Our Neighborhood

This is the view of our beautiful rose tree from our kitchen window. We have been watching a bird fly in and out of the tree for a couple of months now. We couldn't figure out what the bird's facination with our rose tree was. When I was doing my yard clean up this spring I found all kinds of long dried stuff on the ground that didn't look like anything from my yard. So what is going on here? One day when I was again working around the area I discovered a nest in the tree and one little blue egg. I checked again in about a week and there were three little blue eggs. A while later I looked in the nest and there were two little birds. A few days later there were four little birds.

I tried taking pictures of the birds but they were to small and quite deep down in the nest for me to get any pictures of them. Finally yesterday I was able to get the following pictures. The birds now have feathers instead of fluff and they always sleep with their mouths up just waiting for their mother to bring them something to eat.

This picture is quite pale because the flash went off but you can see the babies better.

When they think food isi coming their necks extend way up waiting for the delicious treat their mother has brought to them.

This is the mother bird sitting close by with a big worm in her mouth ready to feed it to her babies. Whenever we are close to the tree she flies out of the nest and lets us know that we aren't to go near the nest. She just squacks and squacks at us and really tells us off. Even when her beak is full of worms she squaks at us. What fun we have watching this little family!!!