Kamloops couple watch as family of birds grow up and take flight

Kamloops resident Graham Knights has been observing a family of birds this spring who have been eating, growing and learning to fly in his yard.

They are a type of flycatcher, and Knights says catching insects is mostly what the bird parents have been busy doing.

“I think the birds are nesting somewhere on the hillside below our house as they disappear at night and only hang around our yard during the day,” Knights said. “They first made an appearance hiding in one of our fruit trees last week where we saw three of the tiny babies chirping and waiting for mama bird to bring them a steady supply of freshly caught insects. The parents seem to supply the offspring with a continuous supply of insects.”

There are a total of five baby birds. Knights says both the parents and offspring have a simple, single chirp. In the past few days, the juveniles have been learning how to fly.

“We’ve noticed a couple of them becoming more active and practising their flying skills. The adults are remarkable with their ability to hover near walls or windows and pick flies or spiders off the house. I happened to see mama bird chase off a crow the other day then one of the juveniles ended up flying into our neighbour’s garage. I went across the street and coaxed it out and luckily it was unharmed and able to make its way out on its own with a bit of guidance.”

Knights lives with his wife in the Kamloops community of Juniper Ridge. They enjoy the outdoors and exploring trails. After living in Vancouver for twenty years, where wildlife is primarily urban, Knights says they appreciate being so close to nature.

“We’ve become accustomed to living in a wildlife interface zone and have seen deer, bears, coyotes and so many new varieties of birds I’ve never seen before growing up in other parts of Kamloops,” Knights said. "Last night our security cameras captured a deer munching on our flowers, which we found amusing. After living in the city we are happy to be close to nature and wildlife, but I think it is important to maintain a portion of their habitat as development continues to encroach into forest and grassland areas.”

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