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
Posts tagged: #nest box
Nest Box Update 6.19.18
One nest box has fledged its occupants and another is waiting for its eggs to hatch. The Cow Pasture house wrens five nestlings have fledged. The nest was empty on this morning’s inspection. Explore the Wild and Into the Mist nest boxes are empty. There are 5 eggs in the bluebird nest at the Parking Deck nest box. An adult female bluebird flew from the nest as I approached it. I expect the eggs to have hatched by next week’sRead more
Nest Box Update 6.12.18
A tree nearly smashed one of the nest boxes, fresh eggs are in another nest box, and an injured or deformed and dead bird in still another. A small walnut tree came very close to landing on top of the nest box at Cow Pasture. As it is, a grape vine that had been growing on the walnut caught the top of the box. The nest box is occupied by house wrens. I could hear and finally saw the adultRead more
Nest Box Update 5.22.18
We now have four active nests, one house wren, two bluebird and one chickadee nest. The house wren nest has 5 eggs. The 2 bluebird nests have 4 nestlings each, and the chickadee nest has 4 nestlings. The Cow Pasture nest which has already added 4 new chickadees to the local avifauna now has 5 eggs laid by a house wren. There are 4 chickadee nestlings in the Explore the Wild nest box that are ready to fledge. I fearedRead more
Nest Box Update 5.8.18
There’s been both hatchings and fledgings this week. Nine birds have hatched and 8 birds have fledged. The number of hatchlings has no doubt increased as I write. Earlier this morning there were 5 unhatched eggs in the nests with newly hatched nestlings. I’m sure more have hatched in the four hours since I checked the boxes. I heard the ominous sound of a house wren as I approached the nest box at the Cow Pasture. House wrens are notoriousRead more
Nest Box Update 4.24.18
This week’s inspection came out all positive. There are hatchlings, new eggs, and two nests have seen a rejuvenation. There were hungry mouths to greet me as I peered into the nest box at the Cow Pasture. Although the nest previously had 6 eggs, I could only make out 5 nestlings. There may have been one chickadee nestling under the mass of blind, naked parids that lay before me but I couldn’t see it. They’ll still be in the nestRead more
Nest Box Update 3.28.18
We’re on the move. All of our nest boxes have seen some sort of activity the past week. Three bluebird nests are underway, two chickadee nests, and one nest box has had been modified slightly by some unknown entity. The nest box at the Cow Pasture which contained some 3” of moss last week has now been topped off with fur and feathers. A well-defined cup has yet to be made to finish off the nest, but that may veryRead more
Bluebirds 3.6.18
This is the first official 2018 status report of our bluebird trail nest boxes. We have six nest boxes located across our 84 acre campus, from the Cow Pasture near the Train Tunnel, through Catch the Wind, to the south side of the campus near the Woodlands Classrooms. I’ve had to make adjustments over the last seven or so years that I’ve been monitoring our nest boxes, allowing for changes in landscaping practices, new exhibit openings, and even parking deckRead more
Final Nest Box Update 8.22.17
The nesting season on our bluebird trail is officially over. There has been no recent activity in any of our six nest boxes. Three species of bird utilized the nest boxes. The last nest, a house wren nest, fledged 1 bird during the second week of August. House wrens were the most successful species with a total of 11 fledglings. Carolina chickadees fledged 9 birds this year. Bluebirds were way down at only 3 fledged. This has been the theRead more