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
Posts tagged: #fledgling
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 4.23.19
There’ve been additional eggs, hatchlings and a change in occupancy since the last nest box inspection. Bluebirds, chickadees and house wrens are all involved. Yes, house wrens have returned from their winter quarters and have very loudly made their presence known. I heard the rolling warble of a house wren as I approached the nest box at the Cow Pasture and immediately started to wonder, ”Had the wrens taken over the chickadee nest inside the box, the chickadee nest whichRead 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 4.2.19
All of our six nest boxes have shown activity over the past week. We have eggs in two nests. All but one nest has nest material within. One nest box has sign, if nothing else, that a bird showed interested in utilizing it for a nest. Last week the Cow Pasture nest box contained moss placed inside by chickadees. This week it’s been topped off with fur. Eggs are next. A partial chickadee nest sits inside the nest box inRead more
Nest Box Update 3.18.19
I conducted the first nest box inspection of the season on March 18, and found two chickadee nests well on the way to completion and one just begun. Blue birds have yet to make a claim on any of our 6 nest boxes. One nest box was moved due to impending construction at its former site. Our nest boxes are located as follows: Cow Pasture (near train tunnel) Explore the Wild (service road on back side of outdoor loop) IntoRead more
Blue Bird Season
Meteorologically speaking, it’s spring and the local birds are feeling the urge to nest. Blue birds and chickadees are already checking out the nest boxes. In fact, two of our six nest boxes had nesting material in them as I made the rounds this morning (3/2/19) in preparation for the coming season. Last year we had 33 birds fledged on our modest blue bird trail, 16 eastern blue birds, 12 Carolina Chickadees, and 5 house wrens. The purists among youRead more
Nest Box Update 7.10.18
We have 3 nests that have now, or have recently, shown some sort of activity. One has seen additional construction, one has fledged its occupants, and another has what may be a new beginning. The building of the second-of-the-season house wren nest at the Cow Pasture has continued. I could hear the adult house wrens in the woods behind the nest box. They had started the nest in the nest box last week and it now looks to be nearlyRead more