Fly Away Little Bird

Every year the rafters of my back porch become home to small birds.  They build their little nests and settle in, singing merrily and flitting about.  This year, as I was enjoying a beautiful spring morning and sitting quietly while reading in the sun, I heard the faint chorus of tiny little "cheeps".  At first I wasn't sure what I was hearing or where it was coming from, but then I realized that the birds that nest under the roof of my porch must have hatched a few eggs.  I loved coming outside and hearing their birdsong.  If I made too much noise they would go quiet, so I had to sit patiently for them to start up again.  I pulled out our ladder and climbed up to get a peek of the baby birds and take some pictures.  They were all soft, fluffy feathers, sharp beaks, and beady little eyes.  They looked quite cozy in their nest. 

After a few days, I heard through our open doors and windows the chirping and cheeping again.  It had a different sound to it this time, and seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.  I went outside to investigate, and saw that the momma bird was teaching her chicks to fly!  The little puffballs were perched all over the porch and were trying their hardest to follow momma.  Unfortunately, they had found their way into the mostly-screened porch and were having trouble getting back out.  This problem has occurred often since my husband and I bought the house, and most of the screens have been cut away so that birds, butterflies, and dragonflies can find their way to freedom.  As I grabbed my camera and tried to get pictures of these adorable fluffy fliers, momma bird was determined to come flying back, shrieking at me to stay away from her babies!  It was difficult to get any good pictures of the chicks since they were so high.  I zoomed as far as I could, but it makes the picture blurry.  After I took my pictures, I tried to stay in the house so as not to disturb the chicks any more than necessary as they worked their way out of the porch.  Eventually they were all free, and I saw one hopping along the grass in the back yard, while another one scuttled around on the roof!  By the time I grabbed my camera again, they had disappeared with momma bird - all flying away and on their way to being all grown up.