A single phoebe has shown up every year since I built the bedroom addition, early in the summer, built a nest in the eaves, hatched one bunch of eggs, and then bailed for parts unknown. As far as I know it’s always the same bird. This year she hung around after the nestlings had to be grown and gone: Looked like she was going to do a second brood. The books say sometimes they do that.
To the best of my knowledge, she never lost a brood. Before this summer’s second bite of the apple.
This afternoon Tobie discovered two baby birds on the ground under the nest, one partly feathered, one still in down, both very dead. Don’t know what got them but I’m guessing it was the heat. Phoebe seems to be gone: Hope she comes back next spring.
I’ve also noticed an unusual number of dead fledglings around my place. There appears to have been two hatchings this year. I think the heat and lack of water is the cause. I’ve put out some bird food, it is being ignored, maybe its not the right stuff. Quite a few pecking around in the lawn in the morning, I don’t think they are after bugs, more likely the water left from the morning sprinklers.