Family of Phoebes

Sightings of individual black phoebes turned into a family affair this week.

For the last couple of years, I have seen a black phoebe hanging around my house. Occasionally, a second black phoebe joins it.

The birds appear more frequently in the fall and winter. Then, toward the end of March or the beginning of April, they almost completely disappear for several months. Their disappearance coincides with breeding season, but when they return, it is always just one or two birds... until this week.

Last Tuesday, an adult phoebe returned, but this time, it brought some new faces. The adult had two juveniles with it, giving me my first sighting of immature black phoebes. The family explored the yard for several hours. I haven't seen them together since, but it was fun to write a new chapter in the story of the black phoebes.

Seeing the adult phoebe bring its young to the yard made me happy because it indicated that the birds saw the area as a good habitat for their whole family.