One bunch of nestlings has fledged while another nest still has four unhatched bluebirds eggs. An empty nest has had nesting material place within. The five house wrens at the Cow Pasture nest box have all fledged. I could hear the birds off in the woods as I went about with my nest box inspections this morning. The Explore the Wild and Into the Mist nest boxes are both empty. For the past five to six weeks the nest boxRead more
Posts tagged: #nestling
Nest Box Update 6.11.19
We have two active nest out of six. One is full of fledgling size wrens the other bluebird eggs. A wren flew from the nest box in the Cow Pasture as I approached the box. It settled on the ground a dozen feet or so from the nest box and made its way towards a group of nearby shrubs. It’s nest mates sat tight as I opened the box’s side door and photographed them. I count five nestlings in theRead more
Nest Box Update 6.4.19
So far this season we’ve fledged 9 bluebirds and 8 chickadees from the 6 nest boxes on our bluebird trail. We currently have 5 house wren nestlings in one nest box and a new nest started for what may be a second brood of bluebirds. Though the house wren nest at the Cow Pasture originally held 6 eggs, only five have hatched. The nestlings look to be healthy but probably won’t fledge til after next week’s inspection. The nest boxesRead more
Nest Box Update 5.28.19
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
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
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
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