My Song Sparrow Series - Did Mother Bird Come Back?

After her world had been torn apart, and her home renovated and relocated, I wondered if the mother bird would return to the nest. I wondered how far along the eggs were in the incubation period and how long they might have been uncovered that afternoon. I even wondered if this was an abandoned nest?

All evening I watched, and about 4 1/2 hours after the nest had been discovered, I saw her (through the 250mm lens). I was so excited I could hardly keep still - but, keep still I must, or risk scaring her away and the eggs being uncovered longer.

She was very cautious as she checked out the new situation. I could see her looking over every aspect, and I think she even checked out the green wire I used to pull some of the branches together!

It still took a while before I could tell if she was actually getting in the nest and setting on the eggs. Every 20 minutes or so, my curiosity would drag me out to the rhododendron to see if she was anywhere near. At one point, after getting used to seeing only straw and eggs, I was startled to see a little bird head in the nest. It was her, laying so flat and deep into the nest, you could hardly tell she was there!

(In the following photo, you can see the brown tail feathers sticking straight up - looks like a branch at the far left of the nest.)

I was so relieved and hoped that she had been there more times than not that evening, and that I just hadn't been able to spot her.

Remember, this little bird has had my attention for quite a while at the feeders, and now, after that whole evening, I had "bonded" with her. She made me smile just to think of her safe and snug in her nest, and I knew I would sleep better knowing that her eggs were covered and warm.
 

Now, you may have been able to recognize this little mother, (and maybe the title of my series gave it away?), but at this point in the story, I still wasn't sure, so I was looking forward to the next day when I would be trying to identify what species of little brown bird she actually was!

(Tomorrow - Find out what this bird is, and something unusual about her ;)

(Photos taken 07-04-2010, Canon Rebel Xsi, 250mm lens)