Then we are privy to the feeding ritual, and the fledging of the young. There is, however, so much that we don't know about some of our native species. For most of our wildlife, their lives are played out in an almost ritualistic system of finding food, finding a mate, finding a home, making babies, raising babies to be self-sufficient, and kicking babies out so that the whole routine can start all over again. Their lives are not unlike our own. The more we know about our native species and their habits, the more we will appreciate them and learn to respect their need for their own space.
Songbirds are everyone's favorite.
Suffice it to say that these are the birds that either we put birdseed out for or they are naturally encouraged to be in our area by the number of insects and native plants that flourish here. They, as a general rule, build their nests in early spring and immediately begin egg-laying. The eggs incubate for about two weeks, and approximately two weeks after hatching, the young songbirds are ready to leave the nest. They'll hang out with their parents for several days after fledging and will often continue to be fed by the parents until they are self-sufficient. Weather permitting, many songbirds will double or triple clutch during a season, reusing their original nests.