Although absent from the Museum for several days, I managed to stop by and check the bluebird nest boxes while in town on Tuesday morning (4/16/13). Here’s what I found.

The “Cow Pasture” nest has two additional eggs since the last nest inspection for a total of five.

The Chickadee in the nest next to the Take Off in Catch the Wind is incubating her five tiny eggs.

It appears that there has been some activity in the nest box behind the Sail Boat Pond, some of the nest material was taken out of the nest and tossed on the ground below. I suspect a House Wren as the culprit. I heard one in the area last week and they are known for such activities.

Male House Wrens have a reputation for completely emptying the nest of another bird in order to build their own within the nest box. The males may build several nests before the females arrive on the scene. Tearing up another bird’s nest is often a waste of a perfectly good nest since the female is the one who decides where to nest, and it is not always in the nest built by the male. She may, in fact, build her own nest in another location.

The nest in the Amphimeadow which last week held 4 eggs now has three hatchlings and one egg.

The Picnic Dome nest still has three eggs. I didn’t see any chikadees in the area so I can’t say what’s going on with this nest. Was it abandoned or have I simply not noticed the adults nearby? We’ll have to wait till next week for the answer.

The Butterfly House nest still has five eggs. If all goes well, they should hatch by next week.

Sorry for getting this out late, it’s been a very busy week.

Till next time….