The Eastern Phoebe pair are back. This pair of flycatchers come in the early spring. I enjoy their adeptness at catching flies. I feed cats and quite a few opossums on my back porch.
The Eastern Phoebe always move their young chicks before a big storm. The cats are obviously in a sheltered spot to avoid the storm. The nest has been there for about five years. I pressure wash the siding but work around the nest. We can coexist. I'm one to always feel a bit privileged to have a wild animal guest. I do think the birds recognize me.
The first year, I was so impressed with the bird swooping across the canned catfood to grab a fly and the cat could only watch in that it happened so quickly. I have a fence post that the bird likes to perch on and catch flies. I've seen the pair but it is my understanding that the female will chase the male off. Even though they mate for life, they are independent birds who live solitary lives with only their mate.
The Eastern Phoebe is a small bird that does live close to humans in that they like to build their nest in sheltered areas like under the eave of my house.. That portion around my house is really overgrown. But I will wait until the family moves along. I had planned to do that this winter but waiting later is a win-win for the birds.
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| Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
I don't think I've ever seen a Phoebe. What sleek birds they are.
ReplyDeleteThat's fast fly catching. I saw a few scissor-tail flycatchers in Oklahoma (the state bird,) but I never saw them grabbing insects. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteCute little birds.
ReplyDeleteWe love watching the birds at our feeders outside our kitchen window.
ReplyDeletehttps://dbmcnicol.com/a-afterthought/
You're so lucky to have birds and wildlife close at hand.
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