Time to fly!

The babies have grown and now have all their feathers. Most of the baby fuzz is gone. It looks awfully crowded in that nest, so it must be time to fly soon. Mom and Dad are kept very busy feeding this nestful.

Phoebe's babies

Phoebe's eggs have hatched and their little beaks are sticking out over the edge of the nest. Phoebe sat and watched with a concerned eye as I stood on the ladder and took pictures of her babies, but she didn't fly in to attack and didn't even chatter a warning.
Meanwhile, another bird lost a little one. A pale blue egg was found lying on the ground under the pine trees, undamaged, but cold and lifeless.
We worked on cleaning up the invasive bushes and trees under the pines this morning. Tim chopped a couple of good sized Chinese elms down and we both worked at pruning lower brances off the pines. Now our view has been opened up to the fields and forest beyond.