Apparently, human teenagers are not the only critters that like to beg and whine to their parents. Young fledgling birds are adept whiners, especially after leaving the nest. Of course, this is a bit of anthropomorphism on my part, but if the “shoe fits”.
It is not hard to witness the whining and begging of young birds this time of year. All you have to do is sit a spell in your backyard or local park. Telltale signs include one of more birds chasing another, chirping as they go. If you catch them landing, the adult is clearly the one trying to ignore the young ones.
As a parent myself, I can “read” the adult bird’s mind, as in “enough already!” For their part, the teenagers are saying, “Hey, Mom/Dad, feed me!”. They often sit there shaking their wings rapidly, looking pitiful. They behaved pretty much the same in the nest, but this is in public, for the world to see.
In our backyard woodland, the calls of young birds are pretty easy to distinguish. Higher pitched and frantic are two adjectives that work. I have been hearing and watching a young Cooper’s Hawk for the last week or so, calling for its parents from the trees – just sitting on a limb. Mom or Dad flies by, if I wait long enough, apparently trying to get it to follow, as if to say, “OK child, follow me and I will show you how to feed yourself”.
An adult and juvenile Downy Woodpecker played hide and seek around a couple of tree trunks one day. Mom was not good at hiding, but at least tried to show junior how to peck about the trunk for snacks. At one point, Mom and the young one stopped and stared at one another for a while, before Mom scolded it, before flying away again. Repeat!
But not all parent birds act as irritated. We love to watch adult Carolina Wrens teaching their young ones how to forage. They often take their two to three babies to one of our brush piles to show them how it is done. The kids apparently pick up the lesson soon enough. Within a week or so later, the adult pair are back at the nest ready to raise another brood.
For my fellow parents then, feel better about thinking we are the only animals that deal with teenagers. Birds do it too. Just sit and watch the fun, knowing that all you have to do is go back in the house and close the door.
Hope to see you in our great outdoors!
