I went home for the first time since I moved this past weekend, and had a glorious time. It really was a perfect weekend. Lots of time to enjoy with family, perfect weather - sunny, but with a cool breeze that kept the mosquitos and blackflies away, and lots of time to enjoy being outside.
While I was home Mom and I took a couple walks around the yard visiting various feathered friends. The first (above) was a mother owl who kept a very close eye on us while her young ones flew from branch to branch. If you look closely at the photo, you can see the owl - she's just a little below dead-centre. Mom had heard the owls and called me out to see them. We caught only brief glances of the young ones, but had a full-on view of mother owl. She wasn't about to move, unless we got closer to her young ....then she would've dive-bombed us.
These next photos show a nest Mom had found and pointed out to me when we crossed the brook. The photos aren't great, but we didn't want to be there too long. The nest is truly amazing. Mom determined it was a Solitary Vireo's nest. And when we first saw the nest mother bird was sitting on it. She didn't move even though we were within inches of her. She sat there as still as could be in her nest. When we went back later with the camera, she was gone, though after we had taken a couple photos we heard her hollering at us from another tree.

What I find truly amazing how such a little bird can construct something so complex as this nest. It's made from bark and grass and mud (I suppose) on a forked branch of this maple tree. It's quite secure and obviously requires architectual skill to construct. This just amazes me so I thought I would share it.