To Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We have, as we did last week, four nests with eggs. All the eggs were being incubated, that is, there was an adult bird in the nest sitting on the eggs when the inspection door was opened. Egg counts in the nests were the same as last week indicating the females are done laying. ——————————— The Cow pasture nest box is empty. The Explore the Wild nest has 5 chickadee eggs which were being incubatedRead more
Posts tagged: #bluebird
Nest Box Update 4.8.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We have four active nests, three belong to Carolina chickadees, and one is maintained by eastern bluebirds. One other nest box has had nesting material placed inside by a bluebird but has been inactive for the past month. One box is empty. —————————— There’s no activity at the Cow Pasture nest box. There’s been no sign of interest by either chickadees or bluebirds. An empty berry basket is what we’ve seen each week we checkedRead more
April Is Big
Top Photo: Just out of nest, this yellow bellied slider was headed for the water when it was noticed and picked up by visitors. April has arrived, a big month in the Carolina Piedmont, a transitional month. Turtles that have spent the winter in the ground where their mothers deposited them as eggs last summer are making their way to water to begin the next phase of their lives. If they make it past this first summer they stand aRead more
Nest Box Update 4.1.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We now have five nest boxes with nest material inside their cedar walls. One of those nests contains bluebird eggs. One has a new chickadee nest. One is still empty. ————————— The Cow Pasture nest box is empty with no activity noticed in the area on any of the past five weeks of nest box inspections. Chickadees have built a moss, fur, and feather nest in the box at Explore the Wild. ETW nest boxRead more
Tree Swallows Arrive
Top Photo: Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) sits atop new nest box built with the swallow in mind. Ever since our new tree swallow nest box was installed in our wetland (2.28.25) I’ve been waiting for tree swallows to return from their wintering sites along the North and Central American coasts. For the past several days we’ve had at least two pairs of the insect eating aerialists sorting out who is going to use the nest box. Not only that, they’veRead more
Nest Box Update 3.25.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. There seems to have been a take-over of one of the nest boxes, and one bird, a bluebird, was found dead in the vicinity of that box. I think the dead bird was a coincidence, but am not sure. —————————— The Cow Pasture nest box is still empty. It is untouched. The Explore the Wild nest box is also empty. Historically, chickadees use this nest box but so far no activity has been seen inRead more
Nest Box Update #1
Top Photo: Bluebird eggs from a nest in 2024. We have activity in two of our six bluebird nest boxes. We also moved one of our nest boxes to a new location. The area on the south and west sides of the Butterfly House is currently a construction zone. The nest box that was located behind the Butterfly Conservancy has been moved to an area on the southwest side of the Sail Boat Pond in Catch the Wind. We currentlyRead more
Nest Box Final Count 6.18.24/6.25.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. The last nest with birds has emptied, all the birds have fledged. There are new berry baskets in each of our six nest boxes in case a bluebird, chickadee or even a house wren decides to give it another go. But, it’s late in the season and though we’ve gone into August in years past, it doesn’t seem as though it will happen this year. I see no new nest under construction, though one nestRead more
Feeling the Heat?
Top Photos: Green treefrog peeks out from frog pipe in Earth Moves. It may be hot out there, but at least their’s plenty to look at to get your mind off the temperature, somewhat. If you’re going to take a photo of a silver-spotted skipper, do it fast, they don’t sit still long. You never know what or who you’re going to run into. Yes, it’s hot, but you can’t see any of these things sitting inside with the A/CRead more