The deck of our apartment faces the rooftop of another building. Lately, several species of birds have used the peak of this building for a singing perch or a lookout.
A male violet-green swallow watches for rivals or predators while his mate builds a nest in a dryer vent below.
A mourning dove takes a midday rest.
An American robin male uses the peak for his 4:00 am song perch and surveys his territory during the day. Other birds using the perch lately include red-winged blackbirds, dark-eyed juncos, and American kestrels.
Another sort of peak is occuring at Killin Wetlands, 17 miles west of the apartment. It is the peak of the avian breeding season and, with the help of several hardy volunteers, I have been documenting as much of it as possible.
Right now, waterfowl are incubating eggs in nests such as the cinnamon teal's above.
Year-long resident songbirds, such as the red-winged blackbirds above, are fledging from their nests and begging food from their busy parents.Willow flycatchers, lazuli buntings, and other migrants have recently arrived and are pairing up, about to begin the nest construction process.
3 comments:
That's quite a variety of birds you spotted on the rooftop. I'm going to check my neighbor's peaky roof more often and see who perches there. So far just mourning doves.
A friend back East is involved in a nitehawk recovery program. She was explaining how "they always nest on flat roofs." When I told her about the nighthawks along our rivers, and the absence of flat roofs, her Vermont humor kicked in.
What a cool idea to see how many species perch on the "peak" across the way.
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