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

Nest Box Update 5.14.19

The news from the Bluebird Trail here at the Museum of Life and Science is all good. We have three active nests, two bluebird nests and one house wren nest. The bluebirds have nine nestlings which should fledge soon and the wren’s have finally laid eggs. The house wren nest in the nest box at the Cow Pasture near the Ellerbe Creek Railway Train Tunnel now has 6 shiny eggs. A bird flew out of the nest as I openedRead more

Nest Box Update 5.7.19

All eight of our chickadee nestlings have fledged and nine bluebirds are still in the nests and doing well. The two house wren nests have seen no progress in the past week. The house wren who had been building a nest in the nest box at the Cow Pasture has neither laid eggs or added twigs to the nest. I did not hear a wren singing while at the nest site. Male house wrens are known for building more thanRead more

Nest Box Update 4.30.19

We now have 4 bluebird eggs and 4 bluebird nestlings. There are 8 chickadee nestlings. Two nest boxes have the workings of house wren nests. The Cow Pasture nest at the meadow next to the Train Tunnel is filled with twigs, the handiwork of a house wren. There are still no eggs in the nest. House wrens are famous for building nests they don’t use, but I heard the male singing back in the brush as I inspected the nestRead more

Nest Box Update 4.16.19

As of the morning of Tuesday, April 16 there were 14 eggs and 3 nestlings in our 6 nest boxes. Nine of the eggs are chickadees and 5 belong to bluebirds. The 3 nestlings are all chickadees which also had 2 unhatched eggs in the same nest. I believe they’ll hatch later today, but let’s not count our chickadees before they hatch. The nest at the Cow Pasture near the Ellerbe Creek Train Tunnel contained two fresh chickadee eggs asRead more
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The Week in Pictures

A quick pictorial trip back to the past week. Flowering dogwood is in bloom (above). Over the past week I began to see aquatic turtles very near the shoreline of our wetlands, peeking up from the water to the shore. I suspected they were searching for safe places to come ashore and lay eggs. The next day I saw two yellow-bellied sliders walking along the path. It’s nesting time. The tadpoles, products of the American toad breeding spree of March,Read more

Carolina Wren

Carolina wrens are famous, or should I say infamous, for not being picky about where they build their nests. The nest is a clumsy looking dome-shaped mass of leaves, grasses, roots, string, and whatever other debris happens to be lying about. It has a side entrance. They’re officially listed as cavity nesters, building their nests inside a woodpecker hole, rock crevice or ledge, hollow log, or bird box. It seems though, that any fairly enclosed structure will do, flower pots,Read more

Nest Box Update 4.9.19

This week’s trek around the campus to peek in on our 6 nest boxes along the museum’s bluebird trail involved eastern bluebirds, Carolina chickadees, and a bumblebee. All nest boxes contained nest material. Two had bluebird nests and four had chickadee made structures. The nest box at the Cow Pasture, up near the Ellerbe Creek Railroad Tunnel, has a completed chickadee nest. There were no eggs in the nest, and no adult that I could see or hear nearby, butRead more