It started with a Dutch oven. Then came the bird. We were camped in Teton Canyon, on the back
side of the Tetons – one of our favorite spots.
We’ve seen moose, bear, coyotes, hawks and bald eagles up there. But today’s wildlife viewing was going to be
a little different. We were getting
ready to eat supper when this bird flew over and landed on the Dutch oven
handle – thankfully, we hadn’t used it, so it wasn’t hot! Just a little dark brown bird, sitting on the
handle. Garrett chased it away – but the
little guy was reluctant to leave and didn’t go far. Before we knew it, there were little birds
flitting in and out of the bushes all around our camp. They were particularly interested in an aspen
that was right by the picnic table. The
realization came quickly – little birds flitting from tree to bush to tree -
not venturing far – moving mostly in a downward direction – these little guys
were learning how to fly! 
Their nest was inside the tree and they entered through a
hole of only about 2 inches. There was
no branch just outside their abode, so they flapped their wings and tried to
gain little footholds as close as they could to the entrance they sought. If they lost their footing, they began their descent
to the next branch, bush, or setting they could find. It was impossible to get an actual count of
the little guys – they came and went so fast, branch to tree to bush. One would make it into the nest, another
would pop out. Sometimes they would congregate
on a bare branch just above the hole – three or four little birds on the
perch. Other times they’d end up near
the ground and take a rest on a camp chair.
All through dinner, we watched their progress – we had our own little
dinner show. My best count was at least
7 little fledglings – but there could have been more.
Then came the grand entrance – or maybe not so grand
entrance. Somehow one little guy got the
name “Champ”. Now, mind you – the sun
was setting behind storm clouds and we were looking up into what light was left
for the evening. All the birds were
basically in silhouette, plus, they moved around so quickly it was impossible
to differentiate between any of them.
But “Champ” decided to make his was from the branch to the hole. Unfortunately for poor little Champ, the wind
gusted just as he alighted and he missed the hole. Down he came toward us and landed on Hank –
Hank is our 2 year old shepherd/coon hound mix.
I waited for all you know what to break loose. Luckily for Champ, Hank was tired (we’d
returned from a fantastic 4 hour hike up Darby Canyon just before dinner) and
Champ landed behind Hank’s head – out of reach so to speak. Not wanting to take any chances, I grabbed
Hanks head so he couldn’t jump around and throw this poor little bird to the
ground. I really don’t think Hank ever
knew what happened. Champ wasn’t waiting
for Hank to figure it out – he was out of there – and on to my leg. I froze… and Champ was off again – except now
we couldn’t figure out where he went.
Was he on the ground beneath the table?
Was he in the bushes on the other side?
No one saw him come out from under the table – so we all froze – not
wanting to accidentally step on the fledgling.
After a careful check of the area, we resumed our dinner and bird
watching.
I
have to it say, it really irritates me to go to a restaurant with my boys and
have them watch the assorted TVs throughout the dining area. One – in our house, dinner is for family
time, not watching TV; two – they don’t always have the best content for a 12
and 8 year old; three – my 8 year old gets distracted easily enough without the
addition of 4 different TV channels to watch.
But this night’s dinner entertainment was totally to my liking. Sitting outside, the sun was setting, storm
clouds threatened to shorten our outside time… but we were being entertained by
a family of birds. Way better than any
TV show I’ve ever seen!
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