SueO
Well-known member
There is a Social Flycatcher nest in the radome of the boat next to my boat. We have had high winds the last few nights and the nest looks like it is blowing away. I thought maybe they would desert this nest and try somewhere else, but they seem to be okay with the shape of things. The nest must go down deeper than what I can see. I wasn't sure what stage the birds are in, but I have not seen them bringing in more material, so I thought they must be finished building. Neither parent seemed to be staying really close by for any length of time until yesterday. Sometimes, they would perch on the shrouds of my boat to be near, but not next to their nest. I noticed one of the parents perched on the mast spreader next to the nest yesterday and today, so I figured maybe they had an egg(s). This evening I went out to hang some laundry on the lifelines and saw an egg smashed on my deck. It was fairly fresh, so I know it happened within the last few hours. I'm sure the winds didn't blow it over as it was 20 feet away from the nest. Something must have predated the nest. I think the parents chased/mobbed the predator and it dropped the egg. I was below for much of the day today and never heard anything. Maybe it happened while I was out birding this morning, but in this heat, I would have expected the yolk to be much drier than it was. I looked up the description of Social Flycatcher eggs just to make sure this egg was connected to them, and the egg fit the description. I know it would have been highly unlikely to be something else, but didn't want to assume. Poor birds. The nest looks like it's unravelling, and now one of their eggs is gone. Strange thing is they don't seem to be trying to tighten or repair the nest. Maybe it is only superficial damage but looks bad from my angle. I will keep a closer eye on things. There was a Tropical Kingbird perched at the top of the mast head above the nest a few days ago. It was vocal and the parents were very vocal. I wondered then if the Kingbird was a threat, but then I saw it had started a nest three boats down from the Social's nest. The owners of the boat must have put a stop the building because the next day, the nesting material was gone. The people sailed off two days ago. I have to think the Kingbird was the predator although we have Ringed Kingfishers flying around the marina. Would a Tropical Kingbird predate Social Flycatcher egg? I will keep an eye on things, but I leave in two weeks. I will do some reading to find how long it takes from egg layed to fledging for Social Flycatcher.