June 19th: This is the time of year when baby birds get big enough to leave the nest, but aren't big enough to feed themselves. The bird hanging precariously here is a young redwing blackbird. They are born in nests in marshes, but this little fellow was big enough to hop up some reeds - and then get stuck. He held on awkwardly to two reeds for a bit before figuring out how to hang into just one. He then proceeded to plead for food for the next ten minutes. No parents came to feed him, but I assume they were eon the job somewhere nearby.
Red-necked grebes
I also came across a different kind of red bird - the rednecked grebe, a kind of duck. They are notable because they create floating nests. These ones were nesting on a platform built to keep them coming back year after year. You can see the baby next to the mother. Its siblings were out on the water, making a very loud racket as their father dove down to retrieve fish. (For a video of a father feeding his family, go to our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/naturediary).
Here's an image of an adult male.
I found these birds out a Colonel Samuel Smith park in Toronto, at the bottom of Kipling. It is a lovely place, great for birding, and for a nice stroll.
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