So fledging was today around 4 pm and I missed most of the actual flying out, but I did get some good looks at 3 or 4 of the five little ones perched here and there on the roof. Then I had to attend to my 7-year-old and stuff happened and when I checked again the nest box was quiet, and the family seemed to have gone. About 45 minutes later I start hearing that little "cheer-up!" that the babies make when they're about to fledge and sure enough, here's #5 all alone and trying to fledge. Only it's 7:15 pm. And the rest of his family is AWOL - I can't even hear them anymore.

I got called away (7 year old, again - kids need so much attention, don't they??) and five minutes later, from the other side of my garden I hear "cheer-up!" Crap! And sure enough the Runt of the liter is standing under my magnolia looking MUCH smaller than his siblings. When I approached to get a picture he "flew", if you could call it that, into the side of my house and plunked down on my patio. This little guy is no Superman - he should have stayed put for the night!!

So now I'm sort of freaking out - still no folks - and trying to remember all the things I've read here over the past 4 months. I thought maybe it would be best to try and get him back into the box and reduce the hole until tomorrow when Mom and Dad came back. Of course, all of this is beginning to turn to gut-reaction-panic instead of well-thought-out-plan because I'm thinking of all the slinky stray cats lurking in my neighborhood...

Then, relief - as I'm attempting to catch this little fellow, he begins screaming bloody murder and I feel the breeze rustle my hair and suddenly I'm getting cussed out from here to Christmas by the Missus who is swooping me like a crazed fiend and chittering to make her head explode. "Ok, Mama! Ok!!" I say backing away and doing my best mea culpa. The swooping continues!! But at least she's finally here!!!

So I go back in the house (after dumping every last waxworm I have into the feeder so she has something with which to entice Junior into the trees) - I know where I'm not wanted. More 7-year-old (bedtime, of all the inconvenient things!!) And the yard seems to be quiet. But at 8:20 (Complete darkness will fall in 20 minutes, people!!) I hear - you guessed it - "cheer-up!" right under my bedroom window. And there he sits in all his runty glory on my deck chair while Mama flits about him, beak full of waxys, shouting "CHEER-UP!!" What's to be so cheerful about? He ruffles his feathers and back-talks her, but won't budge. Finally she flies to my neighbor's roof and then away. Five minutes pass. It's 8:30 - I have no fingernails left!

Here comes Papa. But there are no more waxys. Still, as is often the case with young'uns, Papa doens't take no for an answer and Runty flies up, up and...crashes into my neighbor's siding and goes down, down, down into the bushes at the side of their house. (Insert more 7-year-old good night business here) So when I check the yard at 9:00 it is almost dark and entirely silent. Did he make it? Jeez, I hope so. Any words of wisdom, encouragement or even twisted humor might help ease my anxious heart.

--Molly