New life on Mother's Day

On this Mother's Day, what could be more appropriate than discovering the first brood of baby birds in one's yard? Yes, as I enjoyed the warm weather at long last, digging and readying my patio-side butterfly garden for a new season, I listened to the sounds of the birds in the yard, practicing my ever-increasing birding-by-ear skills. Goldfinches. Robins. Chipping sparrows.
The always-present cardinal pair. A Baltimore Oriole, the first of the season!

And what's this I hear? The plaintive squeaks, unmistakable as the cries of a nest of baby birds in the evergreens. The first nest of babies of the season! What could they be? I took a break in my digging to watch and discover. I didn't wait long...along came...grackles!

Grackles? How ordinary and unexciting is that? They chase the songbirds from the feeders. They strut about the yard making racket. Still, there is hope. I discovered a pair of White-Throated Sparrows hanging about as well. Though I haven't spotted them since yesterday, they have been heard, and would be a welcome addition to my list of summer visitors here in my small town corner lot.

Happy Mother's Day! Grackles or something more exotic, the arrival of a new generation of flying friends is a sign that the world will go on, in spite of our efforts to stop it.