Bluebird Update 4.2.13

There are only two changes in the status of our six nest boxes since the last Bluebird Update. First, the nest in the Cow Pasture near the Train Tunnel has been completed. It was started by a bluebird, worked on by a chickadee and finished by a bluebird.

The Cow Pasture nest as it appears now (4/2/13).

Notice that the nest has pine needles as a base (bluebird), moss on top of the pine needles (chickadee), and finally it’s topped off with pine needles (bluebird). There were no eggs as of Tuesday, April 2 but I’m betting there will be by the time I peek inside again (next week), maybe even an incubating bluebird.

The only other change to report is that the nest at the Sail Boat Pond has been occupied by chickadees. It was empty on the last update, but the chickadees have been busy and it looks to be nearly complete. When I went to inspect the box there was a chickadee peeking out of the entrance hole sizing up the situation, hopefully the birds are committed.

The nest box behind the Sail Boat Pond looks to be complete. I hope to find eggs in the box next week (4/2/13).

There have been no other changes in any of the other nest boxes including the one which previously had four eggs, it still has four eggs. I saw no birds incubating, no birds in the vacinity when inspecting the box, and as I said, there are still four eggs. The farther along a nest is, nest building phase, eggs laid, or nestlings present, the less likely it is that it will be abandoned. For some reason though, this one appears to have been left alone by the birds who started it. Hopefully I’m wrong and simply didn’t see the birds as I made my inspection, but I doubt it.

The nest box at the Take Off is still empty. The nest box near the Picnic Dome still has a complete chickadee nest inside but no eggs as of yet. And finally, the Butterfly House nest is complete but is still without eggs.

To sum up, we have one empty nest box (no nest material) and five nest boxes with completed, or nearly completed, nests within. One of the completed nests has eggs, but I don’t think that they are viable. Of the five complete nests, three are bluebirds and two are chickadees.

Till next week….

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4/3/13 update

Good news, Ranger Kristin and I just re-checked the nest box that contained 4 eggs and found a female incubating. I obviously need to be more observant in the future.

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