Thursday, March 12, 2009

Arrival of the Phoebe

There is a very special bird call that tells me spring has arrived: "FEE-bee... fee-BEE!"


Yes friends, I heard my very first Eastern Phoebe of the season this morning. I was so excited that I literally jumped up and down.

I didn't actually spot the bird, but there is no mistaking that sound! Right on time, too. Looking back over the past few years, the Phoebes have arrived in our woods right around the 15th of March.

They have reliably nested along the side of our house, under the eaves, for several years, and hopefully they will do so again this year. We would love to turn our live feedercam into live nestcam!

I don't know if you can see it, but there are some fuzzy baby Phoebe heads just barely sticking up over the top of the nest! (click photo to enlarge)


Oh Phoebes - I'm so glad you're back!

All Phoebe photos from spring/summer 2006.
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6 comments:

Kelly said...

You lucky duck!! I hope they do nest there again, and you can get the feeder cam on it. I've not heard any Phoebes yet. Can't wait!

KaHolly said...

Such a sweet little bird. It's still too early for us, but you give me hope! We have a Phoebe nest nearby, too. Can't wait!

Meg said...

Ooh, that last photo looks like a painting--beautiful. Hey, I just read the post about birding by ear at The Wilds. Thanks for that info! I am going to check it out for sure. (sleeping in a yurt? who could resist?)

Anonymous said...

Great shots of the phoebes. I guess they winter down here as I see them less and less frequently as spring approaches. Happy spring!

RuthieJ said...

Wow, that's great Heather! Spring is surely on its way!

Heather said...

Kelly - We just got the Nestcam set up today. I can't wait to watch it!

KaHolly - Yes, sweet bird indeed. I don't like to pick favorites among bird species, but the Phoebe is certainly in my top 5.

Meg - Thanks, I'm glad you like the pics. It would be cool if you could come to the Wilds!

James - Thanks! Sorry you'll have to lose the Phoebes for the season, but we'll take good care of them here.

Ruthie - Yes, between the flowers starting to pop up from the soil and the Phoebes working on their nest... all signs point to spring!