New Residents at Sweet Garden Chicago

You can only see two heads but there's actually a third one that's hidden. The Robins who took up residence in my pergola have 3 tiny babies that are hungry all day long.

I've never seen a mother work harder to feed her offspring than this one. She flies in and out of the pergola every 10 minutes or so and comes back with her mouth full of insects. She divides them equally among her young.

It will be fun to watch them grow and fly off on their own. I'll have to make sure that Jojo doesn't pounce on one if it should fall to the ground. She's a terrier and her natural instincts are to catch mice and birds.

I hope that tomorrow's expected high of 90 degrees won't harm the babies.

Free Room and Board at Sweet Garden Chicago

Mother Robin sets up nest in the Pergola

Mother Robin was observing the humans below as they chatted merrily away under the Spring sunshine. She must've decided that we're ok people because she hasn't acted disturbed in the least.

Not only does she get free room and board but I've thrown in some meals for her and a bird bath with water is just steps away. She's also protected from the wind and rain.

It will be fun to watch the eggs hatch and the little ones grow until they fly away.

WHAT THE??

The Center of Controversy

Just when you think you've lived long enough to think that the old saw " there's nothing new under the sun " is true you wake to find something that's not only new but outrageous.

This morning's Chicago Tribune covered a local story of an elderly Polish couple who had emigrated to America from Russia and settled in the northwest suburbs because of its countrylike setting . They set up a wildlife sanctuary for the birds and kept five feeders going .

There's a creek that runs near their property and brings all sorts of critters such as racoons, geese, etc. Sometimes they left a bowl of bread crumbs out for them to eat.

Much to their surprise they received a $100 fine for " feeding the birds " and were ordered by the local court to cease their activities or there would be a $500 a day fine. Seems a neighbor reported their bird feeding activites as a nuisance and possible health threat.

They came from Russia where freedoms are curtailed only to be dealt a blow to the most basic of rights, which, they declared was allowed in their native land. I can imagine how puzzled and frustrated they must be over this ridiculous heavy handed ruling by a local judge.

Knowing the many numbers of bird lovers and naturalists in the Chicago area I somehow have the feeling that we've not heard the last of this story. We Americans love fairy tale endings and I'm hoping to pick up the paper and read a happy conclusion to this disturbing news.

SWEET HOME CHICAGO

The Mango Hummer

The rare visit to Beloit, Wisconsin by the Mango Hummingbird from Mexico created quite a stir and worry about the approaching winter.

Today's newspaper brings good news -the hummer was captured and is in quarantine at our Brookfield Zoo. Furthermore, it has gained weight, an indication of good health.

Hummingbird specialists are recommending to eventually return the bird to a Texas-Mexico border wildlife refuse so that it can go home again. I'm so happy our little hummer has found a temporary home here for the winter at least.

ON A WING AND A PRAYER

2,000 Miles Away From Home

The rare green-breasted Mango Hummingbird whose habitat is Mango groves in Mexico made a very mysterious appearance in the countryside near Beloit, Wisconsin one recent October morning.

The homeowner posted its appearance on the internet and as the word spread, bird lovers descended on the town to witness this rare visitor busy at work doing what hummingbirds do best - sipping sweet nectar. In fact, more than 700 visitors, some from far away, came. The homeowners were gracious in allowing them to share the phenomenon and only asked that the visitors sign a guest book and comment on why they came. Oh yes, and not to trash her lawn and garden. Very important !

At this late stage I doubt that the hummingbird will be able to find its way back to Mexico and I fear that it will not survive the harsh Wisconsin winters. It makes me wonder if it might be a young one that didn't fly from Mexico but by some miracle or quirk of nature was from parents who did survive a Wisconsin winter. That may sound far fetched but in Chicago there are many South American parakeets that originally were thought not able to survive but did and have been found in large numbers.

I wish that the hummingbird would fly away to Florida like a lot of Chicagoans do when it gets cold.

I NEED A GOOD BIRD DOG

I discovered that the culprits attacking my Asian pears are birds . The bites appeared to be what a squirrel or rat would make and if I hadn't seen it for myself I wouldn't have believed it was the birds. I had no clue that birds could be so destructive.

My Jojo is a rat terrier and chases them and the squirrels but the birds are so high up she doesn't pay attention to them. Cleo, the Norwegian Elkhound, doesn't pay attention to them at all.

The tree is rather small so I bought a net and wrapped it around and secured it to the trunk. If this doesn't work I will have to try some other suggestions. I've been reading up on it and some people go so far as to tie paper bags around the fruit. Then we'll certainly having people making remarks about our " bag tree. " I once tied rocks on strings to train the young Pear's branches and someone asked me what kind of tree it was. I couldn't resist and said it's a rock tree of course.

One of my friends suggested an electronic "bird in distress " device that is suppose to scare them off. If all else fails I'll probably try it .