Typical Chickadee Nest and Habitat (1 Viewer)

[do re meep meep]

I placed a layer of woodshavings in the box and my chickadees have taken it away! I am sooo hopeful o

 

[idelvent]

Nest box selection

Hi to all,
I've had an inquisitive chestnut-backed chickadee showing quite a bit of interest in my back yard nest box over the last three days. The chickadee will fly to the opening, linger there, crane his/her neck to check the surroundings, and often go inside for 10 to 20 seconds at a time before re-emerging. I don't think the bird is building a nest as the visits seem pretty infrequent and I don't see him/her bringing in any nesting material on these visits.
Question: is this normal "house hunting" behavior or is there something I can do to make the nest box more inviting?
Thanks in advance.

 

[do re meep meep]

The female is roosting in the box, yahooooo !!!

o The female is roosting in the box, yahooooo !!! o


Edit: idelvent, I wish you luck! Sorry, don't know what else to say

 

[do re meep meep]

Yippeee, she is brooding, yippeee !!!!

o o yippeee, she is brooding, yippeee o o

I could never see the eggs, she always covered the nestcup with a blanket, smart bird, hid her eggs in the cavity when she is away! Since she has been roosting in the box for 8 nights now, there should be about that many eggs plus she will lay one more, incubation starts with the penultimate egg, yippeee o o o

 

[ChickaD]

I always wondered myself about their nesting patterns, so this thread is great. I will check back here to read up on it all when I have a little more time. Excited for you regarding the nest. So far right now I have two pairs of bluebirds building nests and next door to them, a pair of tree swallows. Spring is such a wonderful time. Have a great weekend all, Darlene

 

[do re meep meep]

2 of the 7 eggs have hatched, yippee yippee yay o

Edit: now #3 has hatched, but I should really stop bothering them

Edit: can't help myself, peeked again, now 4 or 5 have hatched, can't see clearly in the moving mass of pink hatchlings, and one egg has a big crack, so that one will hatch very, very soon. I also watched the mother bird leave the box and in half a minute she is back with food, so fast!

Edit: 6 have hatched, it is not possible to count the number of hatchlings directly, but I can see only 1 egg left

 

[tburke]

This thread has been so cool.
Congratulations.
Is the nest made up of moss?

 

[KnockerNorton]

2 of the 7 eggs have hatched, yippee yippee yay o

Edit: now #3 has hatched, but I should really stop bothering them

Edit: can't help myself, peeked again, now 4 or 5 have hatched, can't see clearly in the moving mass of pink hatchlings, and one egg has a big crack, so that one will hatch very, very soon. I also watched the mother bird leave the box and in half a minute she is back with food, so fast!

Edit: 6 have hatched, it is not possible to count the number of hatchlings directly, but I can see only 1 egg left

I thought you were watching this over a video link? Are you opening a nestbox to look? I'd be very careful at disturbing them around hatching time, as the young are extremely vulnerable and liable to chill (you disturb the microclimate of the nest when you lift the lid), and the adults are also at their most sensitive to desertion. I'm not one of those prissy 'don't disturb the birds' types - I ring lots of nestlings so i disturb them a hell of a lot - but I don't hassle them when they're hatching (or for several days before they're due to fledge) as these are the times when you really can have an impact on them.

If you peek and see they're hatching, leave them for a few days, and then peak again to count the young. Continued hassling at hatching isn't necessary.

 

[do re meep meep]

A terrible accident happened, my fault, all nestlings dead. Don't ask, I can't talk about it. I feel so sad and so guilty. I will logoff this forum for at least some time too.

 

[tburke]

Don't worry too much about it!
I know the feeling.I've been maintaining nestboxes for twenty years.
You lose broods to predation, foul weather and vandalism.
I've been feeding my bluebirds and purple martins mealworms to stave off starvation with the cold weather we've had recently in our region.
Meanwhile I've been losing martins to a cooper's hawk and recently lost tree swallows to raccoon predation.
What really matters is learning from our mistakes and persevering.
So while you're mourning the chickadees I'd suggest building a couple of more nestboxes and hope for better luck next time.

 

[KnockerNorton]

Don't worry too much about it!
I know the feeling.I've been maintaining nestboxes for twenty years.
You lose broods to predation, foul weather and vandalism.
I've been feeding my bluebirds and purple martins mealworms to stave off starvation with the cold weather we've had recently in our region.
Meanwhile I've been losing martins to a cooper's hawk and recently lost tree swallows to raccoon predation.
What really matters is learning from our mistakes and persevering.
So while you're mourning the chickadees I'd suggest building a couple of more nestboxes and hope for better luck next time.

I think do re meep meep is suggesting that they were more directly responsible in this one.

 

[tburke]

I think do re meep meep is suggesting that they were more directly responsible in this one.

I know what you mean and sometimes we can be overexhuberant in monitoring our feathered charges.
Its still very early in the nesting season where we live and though its painful its not the end of the world.

 

[KnockerNorton]

I know what you mean and sometimes we can be overexhuberant in monitoring our feathered charges.
Its still very early in the nesting season where we live and though its painful its not the end of the world.

Chickadees are time-critical in their breeding. If they fail after the late incubation phase then they don't try again til next year, I'm afraid. Later hatched young (even by a few weeks) have a minuscule chance of becoming established and breeding next year, so the parents don't bother trying to rear them. They rely on their 50/50 chance of surviving to breed again next year.

 

[brettski]

I surely hope that d-r-m-m gathers the mental strength and corrals the emotion to post again very soon. It is very important to the rest of us to know and understand not only successes, but more importantly, the failures of our endeavors. This is the learning phase, whether it be joyous or devastating.
drmm should also be reassured that the ensuing discussion will be purely educational, without critique.

 

[do re meep meep]

Thanks, brettski, if you are still there! I have successfully fledged 3 chickadees this year o o o

 

[brettski]

Thanks, brettski, if you are still there! I have successfully fledged 3 chickadees this year o o o

The "highs" of nature's success, no matter how tiny and no matter how much or little we contributed, are always a source of smiles and contentment. Congrats drmm....even tho the kudos arrive some months later.
-
We have been very busy at our LNP project; perhaps completely absorbed might be a better description. If things go anywhere near as planned, we will be able to get back to more enjoyment of nature by next year.