My ears found this one for me. I was studying a beech tree when the mother’s chup chup calls grabbed my attention. She got closer and the calls jumped into a higher register, tink tink. Surely a nest must be close by. Junebug The Hound and I saw it at the same time: not a nest but a tiny fledgling in a blueberry bush.
Eight days ago this creature was inside an egg. Twelve days before that, the bird was just an egg and a sperm cell, yet to unite. In a couple of months this youngster will, with luck, be in the forests of the Yucatan in Mexico.
May the big raccoon that I saw up a neighboring tree find its dinner elsewhere tonight.
Isn’t it a little young to be out of the nest?
It does look very young, but this is normal for this species. It takes 2-3 days after they leave the nest before they can fly. Then another 4-5 weeks on dependence on parents. The parents split the brood: half go with mom and half with dad.
What a little grumpy looking guy
Grumpy enough to leave alone, I think!