Bird basket...

We've seen birds build nests in odd places around here. The bravest bird built a nest in the Christmas wreath I hung by the front door and never took down. Come spring, this little house finch called it home.

This June I treated myself to a hanging basket of bright geraniums and verbena and lobelia, and I hung it outside the dining room windows, where I could see it from inside the house. Just a few days later, I opened the window to water the basket, and there was a tiny soft nest, right in the middle of the planter. Before I realized, I dumped water right in the middle of the nest, on top of two small cream-colored eggs.

I was sure the parents had abandoned the nest, but later in the day, there was a small Junco sitting there.

When we got home from camping last weekend, I stood on a chair to get a good look into the nest, and was surprised to see that the eggs had hatched and there were two tiny birds, all open mouths, begging to be fed. No adult birds were in sight, so I carefully watered all around the outside edge of the planter. And just before dark, I saw the mother Junco fly in and settle down for the night.

All week I kept an eye on the nest, watching the mother bird fly in and feed her babies.

Today, the nest was empty, the baby birds fledged and flown.