Top Photo: Eastern bluebird, male.

Five birds have fledged (bluebirds), five eggs have hatched (chickadees), and ten eggs are being incubated (chickadees). One nest box has a partial nest (chickadees) and one is empty.

The nest box at the Cow Pasture remains empty.

The adult chickadee sat tight as the nest box in Explore the Wild was opened for inspection, it flew out at the last second to reveal six eggs.

The sailboat Pond nest box, as it did last week, has four eggs.

The chickadees at the nest box in Into the Mist have rearranged the nest material in their box, but not much else has changed.

I took a bit too long in getting a photo of the five bluebirds in the nest box at Parking Deck East, one of the birds fledged as I got ready. I picked the bird up and placed it back in the box, which did little more than put the rest of the flock in flight. (Caution: when nestlings look ready to fledge it may be worth it to skip the inspection for fear of forcing the birds to fledge prematurely). Fortunately the five “fledglings” were safe when we left the area. As long as they stay in the bushes they should remain safe. Their parents were nearby, in fact, they were buzzing my head.

The nest box on the west side of the parking deck now has five hungry chickadee nestlings.

So far everything looks good. All of the nestlings look healthy, and there has been no house wren interventions.

Till next week, have a good one!

Ranger Greg