Class is in session and it's time again for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Miss Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." This week's assignment is the letter N. For a list of my fellow classmates and to see their assignments head over to Miss Jenny's blog.
Before I begin let me apologize for not meeting everyone in class last week. I think I got to all the blogs except for the last ten or so when I just ran out of time. I had a brain storm. (UH-OH!) I think what I'll do this week is once Miss Jenny closes down Linky (AKA McLinky) I'll read from the bottom of the list up. Until then I'll take them in order from the top. Sounds like a plan...huh?
I kind of knew what I wanted to do for the letter N a while back. I'm fascinated with NESTS. I've been watching the squirrels in the backyard build their NESTS. What a mess they make. They're very fussy and only use live twigs. And only certain twigs will do. I don't think they like leaves either. Whatever materials they find unsuitable come sailing down to the ground. On more than one occasion I've been hit in the heat with their rejects. It seems to take them about two weeks to complete a NEST. Here's the latest NEST in our backyard:
This is what's directly below the NEST.
Trust me...don't sit on those chairs until you check them first. There's a lot more than twigs and leaves that come down.
One of my favorite places to go in Texas is Brazos Bend State Park. There's camping, fishing, hiking, alligators, poisonous snakes, and assorted wildlife. I'm not crazy about camping, fishing or poisonous snakes, but I enjoy hiking and seeing alligators and other wildlife.
This time of year the alligators are mating. If you went now you would hear the males making this loud bellowing sound. After mating the females build huge NESTS and eventually lay their eggs...between 20 and 70. They stay nearby to protect the eggs from raccoons, possums, skunks, etc. At Brazos Bend they fence off the NESTS along the hiking trails with temporary fencing to keep people away. Here's a picture of an alligator with her NEST that I found online.
What I find amazing is that out of all those eggs possibly one or two alligators will make it to adulthood. Although the mother stays nearby a lot of them still get eaten by male alligators, heron, etc. (I believe alligators are the only reptiles that kind of take care of their young.)
One year we visited Brazos Bend around Labor Day weekend. The eggs in one of the NESTS were hatching. We stood on the opposite side of the waterway and watched from a safe distance. As the eggs hatched the baby alligators would chirp like birds. The mother would hear them, pick them up in her mouth, and take them down to the water. Because her eyes are on the side of her head she couldn't see straight ahead. Sometimes she'd get down to the water and all she had was a stick. Poor thing. Back up to the NEST she'd go. We watched for over an hour and when we left she was still bringing babies down to the water. Of course, I didn't have my camera that day!
I did find this You Tube video of an alligator egg hatching and the mother bringing it to the water. It's only a little over a minute long, but shows exactly what I'm talking about.
Miss Jenny...may I be excused?
Whoops! I had to go back and edit and republish my post because I forgot to tell you about the Peregrine Falcons NESTING on top of an office building in Jersey City, NJ. I've been following them for quite a few years. It's very interesting and every year something seems to happen. It's dangerous for birds to be living in such an urban environment. One year the male was found on the sidewalk with an injured wing and was moved to a bird sanctuary. Another male joined the female and helped her care for the babies. Sometimes the babies are injured or killed learning to fly. Right now there are four eggs and I check in on them daily. Here's the link:
http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/peregrinecam/
And be sure to read the NESTBOX NEWS. I'm from New Jersey originally and I guess that's why I enjoy watching these birds each year.
