In my yard yesterday I noticed a black capped chickadee popping in and out of an uncapped metal fence post. It came and went a few times and when I got to that area (removing poison ivy) I heard a lot of commotion in the post. I peeked in and saw another chickadee. It went completely still of course at the sight of my terrifying face.
So I carried on with my work. But I was worried about the bird. He was about 20 inches deep in this pipe. So I walked near the pipe again after I saw the other chickadee leave again. Same commotion noises. I looked in and again it went still.
I googled what chickadee nests usually look like and I was not comforted by what I saw.
Unable to deal with the thought of the bird being unable to fly out I decided to extract him. Not something I would normally consider. Usually I *know* you leave birds and their nests alone. Still, overwhelming and possibly misguided urge to protect this time won out. It took me about 20 minutes to slowly lift him from inside the pole. When he was out I found his foot was completely attached to the nest. I snipped the nest off and placed it and he on the ground in a open container. Before I could even move away he flew up over my head into a maple tree. Where for the next two hours he and two of his people called down curses on my head.
So my observations have me asking so many questions I can't find answers to. The nest was really small compared to the photos I found online. There was one egg shell in the nest.
If Chickadees lay 5 to 8 eggs, where were the other birds?
If they fledged, how on earth had they all fit in there? We're they arranged like some baby bird totem? (Makes me sick to think of it) (of course I'm not a bird).
Might mom bird have had two nests?
How long would she have nourished this baby if he had been stuck longer?
Was I overstepping?
So I carried on with my work. But I was worried about the bird. He was about 20 inches deep in this pipe. So I walked near the pipe again after I saw the other chickadee leave again. Same commotion noises. I looked in and again it went still.
I googled what chickadee nests usually look like and I was not comforted by what I saw.
Unable to deal with the thought of the bird being unable to fly out I decided to extract him. Not something I would normally consider. Usually I *know* you leave birds and their nests alone. Still, overwhelming and possibly misguided urge to protect this time won out. It took me about 20 minutes to slowly lift him from inside the pole. When he was out I found his foot was completely attached to the nest. I snipped the nest off and placed it and he on the ground in a open container. Before I could even move away he flew up over my head into a maple tree. Where for the next two hours he and two of his people called down curses on my head.
So my observations have me asking so many questions I can't find answers to. The nest was really small compared to the photos I found online. There was one egg shell in the nest.
If Chickadees lay 5 to 8 eggs, where were the other birds?
If they fledged, how on earth had they all fit in there? We're they arranged like some baby bird totem? (Makes me sick to think of it) (of course I'm not a bird).
Might mom bird have had two nests?
How long would she have nourished this baby if he had been stuck longer?
Was I overstepping?
