They flew the coop....

 

Yesterday Mildred was literally right outside my kitchen window.  I was standing at the sink and could have reached out to grab her if it weren't for the glass.  I knew she was trying to coax the little one out of the basket.  You can see it just sitting there snugly on the right side.

 

 

 

Early this morning, before the sun was up over the buttes, Mildred and Harvey got their little one to leave the nest.  We were up making coffee and noticed the baby was gone.  And when I went out in the garden, I scared the little guy who was hiding behind a raised bed.  Doesn't it blend in well?

 

It is really still so small.  I am going to have to watch Chucky and keep him out of the garden area for a few days until the chick gets brave enough to fly up to safety.  And I need to remove the egg that is left in the nest - for some reason one did not hatch.  This is the first time she has only had one baby to care for.  Perhaps that is why she was in a hurry to get it up and out.  She must be ready to start the next batch.  Both she and Harvey have been checking out other hanging baskets all around the house.  I need to take them down and clean them to get ready to plant soon and that way she will just have to use her usual nest.  It will be interesting to see when she nests again and how many eggs she lays this time around.  It was March 19th when she started setting, so just a couple days shy of a month to when she decided to empty her nest.  Amazing!!  Very prolific and very fast for such a large bird to fledge.