April 30, 2008 - The nest is complete!

The second nest is complete! She must have worked during the early morning hours since a lot of work was done since I checked it last night. It's quite a bit larger than Big Mama's nest. It is also easier for us to view, you can see right inside the nest easily! It is closer to the window though, so she gets spooked more often. Jonnie checks the nest every morning and usually she is in there. He will yell to me, "Mom! Our Wobbin is in hur nest!"

I went outside to check her masterpiece and sure enough, the father was in a tree looking at me. He seems to guard her much better than Big Mama's partner does. The Dad started to chirp loudly and he sounded stressed so I backed away immediately.

I went over to check on the other nest, which I rarely do from outside. Big Mama wasn't there so I tried to take a peek at her three eggs. Before I could get within 5 feet I hear screaming! It is Big Mama not too far away, yelling at me! She didn't seem nervous, just angry! She was chirping VERY loud, almost like she was screaming at me. Her mouth was open really wide and she was all puffed up. Obviously I left the area. I should have known she wouldn't leave her babies unattended.

The finished product

A close up

Here you can see the layer of mud