In May, when the house still had no doors, a pair of Panama Flycatcher birds had built a nest above the light fixture in the kitchen area. I was happy to let them share my home, and one day heard cheeping noises from the nest – I hadn’t realised there had been eggs, but now there were three babies!
I watched with interest as they grew, but was alarmed on day to hear a “thud”. One of them had fallen out onto the kitchen counter. As I examined it, another fell out with another thunk onto the hard wooden surface. I quickly set up some towels to soften further falls, and using a paper kitchen towel, carefully re-installed the two tiny babies, hoping the mother wouldn’t now reject them.
All went well, no problems with rejection, but for the next few weeks baby birds rained down from the nest, and I had to keep returning them. They became quite tame, and as they grew bigger one was quite happy to sit on my finger. The parents didn’t seem to worried either, accepting me as part of the parenting process.
When the babies started flying I felt like a proud father seeing his child taking it’s first tottering steps. Two of the three made it, the tamest on unfortunately dying in an early failed flight effort. The house felt pretty empty when they all left.
But warmer weather has arrived in Canada, and it’s time for me to fly too, north for the summer to see Moe and the kids again. I have found a house sitter to look after this place while I am away, a friend of a friend from Australia.
I plan a quick stopover in Florida before heading to England for a few weeks in July to catch up with my brother, and see my mum and other friends and family. I will be in Whitehorse again for August and September, then plan to be back here in early October, before Whitehorse begins to get too cold.