petermxxhd
New member
Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum so this would be my first post here! I am currently managing 4 boxes on my half-acre property and I have a pair of blue bird building/completing a nest in the nest box at the middle of the lawn and a pair of chickadee building a nest near our deck. Now I sometimes saw a pair of chickadees visiting the bluebird nest in the afternoon while the bluebird pair mysteriously disappear for couple of hours in the afternoon almost every day. Sometimes the chickadees just checked out the box, and a few times they even remove some pine needles from the bluebird box! It worries me that they are interested in the box and they would eventually peck the bluebird egg when bluebird lays some. I have seen bluebirds chasing them away in the morning while they are around, but in the afternoon the bluebird just disappears.
Now since I have two more boxes on my property, which hasn't been claimed by any birds yet, I am wondering whether I could move one next to the tree which the chickadee pair usually perch, or flew from. However the question is: I am not sure whether that chickadee pair is the same pair that is already building a nest in my other nestbox. If they are the same pair, then they seem to disallow anyone, including bluebird, to nest in their territory (the two boxes are separated by ~100ft), and then having another box nearby doesn't make much sense. If they are different pairs, then having a 3rd extra box is probably useful. I sometimes seem to witness two pair of chickadee competing for the nestbox that one pair is already building a nest, but I am not so sure since I can't tell chickadees apart
Any suggestions of whether I should have an extra box near my bluebird box to encourage a potential second pair of chickadees?
I am new to this forum so this would be my first post here! I am currently managing 4 boxes on my half-acre property and I have a pair of blue bird building/completing a nest in the nest box at the middle of the lawn and a pair of chickadee building a nest near our deck. Now I sometimes saw a pair of chickadees visiting the bluebird nest in the afternoon while the bluebird pair mysteriously disappear for couple of hours in the afternoon almost every day. Sometimes the chickadees just checked out the box, and a few times they even remove some pine needles from the bluebird box! It worries me that they are interested in the box and they would eventually peck the bluebird egg when bluebird lays some. I have seen bluebirds chasing them away in the morning while they are around, but in the afternoon the bluebird just disappears.
Now since I have two more boxes on my property, which hasn't been claimed by any birds yet, I am wondering whether I could move one next to the tree which the chickadee pair usually perch, or flew from. However the question is: I am not sure whether that chickadee pair is the same pair that is already building a nest in my other nestbox. If they are the same pair, then they seem to disallow anyone, including bluebird, to nest in their territory (the two boxes are separated by ~100ft), and then having another box nearby doesn't make much sense. If they are different pairs, then having a 3rd extra box is probably useful. I sometimes seem to witness two pair of chickadee competing for the nestbox that one pair is already building a nest, but I am not so sure since I can't tell chickadees apart
Any suggestions of whether I should have an extra box near my bluebird box to encourage a potential second pair of chickadees?
