Nest Box Update

Five of our six nest boxes contain nests. Four have eggs. Two contain chickadee eggs and two, bluebird eggs. Two nests had adults incubating, a bluebird and a chickadee. One nest box is empty. The nest box at the Cow Pasture near the Ellerbe Creek Railroad Tunnel has two bluebird eggs within. I expect there’ll be a few more by next week’s inspection of the box. The chickadees that started the nest in the nest box on the service roadRead more

Nest Box Season

It’s nest box season. While that in itself is exciting, only two of our six nest boxes show activity. The nest box at the Butterfly House has an almost complete Carolina chickadee nest inside. A bit more moss, some fur and or feathers to top it off and it’ll be ready for eggs. The nest box on the east side of the parking deck has just a few small pieces of moss. This nest box typically starts off with chickadees,Read more

Nest Box Update 7.23.19

We currently have 8 nestlings in two of our six nest boxes. Four of those are house wrens, the remainder bluebirds. Four bluebirds have fledged and a new nest started atop that nest. There are, as best as I can tell, four house wrens nestlings in the nest box at the Cow Pasture near the Ellerbe Creek Railway Tunnel. There had been five eggs in the nest but as you can see from the photo, it appears only four hatched.Read more

Nest Box Update 7.9.19

There are now, as there was last week, three active nests. Two have eggs and one is occupied by four nearly ready to fledge bluebirds. The house wren nest at the Cow Pasture still has five eggs. I heard an adult calling in the nearby brush as I approached the nest box so it’s possible the eggs are being incubated. I may have come along as the adult was taking a break from that chore.   The Explore the WildRead more

Nest Box Update 7.2.19

There are now three active nests. One nest is full of bluebird nestlings, one with house wren eggs, and another with a fresh bluebird nest. The nest at the Cow Pasture has five house wren eggs. This is the second brood for this nest box as it has already fledged five house wrens. The Explore the Wild and Into the Mist nest boxes are empty. The nest box on the east side of the parking deck has twigs placed inRead more

Nest Box Update 6.25.19

A new nest and four new nestlings are the stories of the day. After discovering last week that the house wrens that had occupied the nest box at the Cow Pasture had fledged, I tossed the old nest, cleaned the inside of the box, and placed a new berry basket where the old one had been. When I opened the box this week it had a completely new house wren nest inside. I was surprised to see the new nest.Read more

Nest Box Update 6.18.19

One bunch of nestlings has fledged while another nest still has four unhatched bluebirds eggs. An empty nest has had nesting material place within. The five house wrens at the Cow Pasture nest box have all fledged. I could hear the birds off in the woods as I went about with my nest box inspections this morning. The Explore the Wild and Into the Mist nest boxes are both empty. For the past five to six weeks the nest boxRead more

Nest Box Update 6.11.19

We have two active nest out of six. One is full of fledgling size wrens the other bluebird eggs. A wren flew from the nest box in the Cow Pasture as I approached the box. It settled on the ground a dozen feet or so from the nest box and made its way towards a group of nearby shrubs. It’s nest mates sat tight as I opened the box’s side door and photographed them. I count five nestlings in theRead more

Nest Box Update 6.4.19

So far this season we’ve fledged 9 bluebirds and 8 chickadees from the 6 nest boxes on our bluebird trail. We currently have 5 house wren nestlings in one nest box and a new nest started for what may be a second brood of bluebirds. Though the house wren nest at the Cow Pasture originally held 6 eggs, only five have hatched. The nestlings look to be healthy but probably won’t fledge til after next week’s inspection. The nest boxesRead more

Nest Box Update 5.28.19

Since last week’s inspection of the six nest boxes at the museum, at least five eggs have hatched, four nestlings have fledged, and a new nest has been started. The house wren eggs that were in the nest box at the Cow Pasture have hatched. The nest held six eggs, but it’s difficult to determine if there are five or six nestlings in the nest. See for yourself at left.   There has been no activity in the nest boxRead more