Nest Box Update 3.23.20

I hadn’t conducted a nest box inspection since 10 march. At that time there was a nearly complete chickadee nest in one nest box and a mere sprinkling of moss on the bottom of another nest box (chickadee). There are now five nests in our six nest boxes here at the museum. Three nest are chickadees. Two are bluebirds. One nest box is empty. There are no eggs. The nest box at the Cow Pasture near the Ellerbe Creek RailroadRead 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

Early Spring

Neotropical migrants won’t begin arriving on the scene for a month or more. However, our local year-round resident birds have the jump on those mainly insectivorous migrants. Some of the locals like cardinals, towhees, brown thrashers, Carolina wrens and others are in full song and some are building or investigating nest sites. American robin numbers are increasing, and keep an eye out for cedar waxwings on any shrubs or trees that still have fruit, like holly or red cedar. NorthernRead more

Spring?

With snow in today’s forecast you might not think it’s spring. Meteorologically speaking, it’s only a little more than a week away. So, it’s no real surpise to see pickerel frogs and blue violets. The violet may be a bit early, but the local pickerel frogs begin their breeding in February. Listen for their soft snore-like calls as you wind through Explore the Wild, take a peek over the rail as you walk along the boardwalk, you may hear orRead 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

Nest Box Update 5.21.19

We currently have two active nests, one with eggs and one with fledgling-sized bluebirds. The remaining four nest boxes are empty except for some scattered house wren twigs in two of the boxes. The nest box at the Cow Pasture still contains 6 house wren eggs. An adult flew out of the box as I approached so it appears the eggs are being incubated and should hatch soon. There’s still the beginnings of a house wren nest at the nestRead more