Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) have made a nest in one of our bluebird boxes. It's apparently not an agreeable spot for bluebirds -- none have nested there in three years -- so I'm glad the chickadees found it.
I was surprised at the amount of cedar tips cushioning the nest.
There's a little blue feather on the lower right of the first picture, and I wonder where it came from. Did bluebirds start the nest, and the chickadees just finished it? Or maybe a bluebird stuck his head in to see what was going on, and left a calling card.
The chickadees could have just picked up a pretty soft blue thing as building material. We see swallows picking up duck feathers all the time, so I know some birds "feather their nest" with other species' feathers.
One of the first birdsongs I learned was the Carolina Chickadee's. A friend and I chased all over her property for a frustrating hour before we finally pinpointed the bird who sounded exactly like a rusty porch swing. You can listen to him here.
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Friday Ark is up!
That looks really comfortable...birds sure know what they're doing! Maybe that blue feather is a trophy from a brawl with a bluejay? :)
ReplyDeleteMy goodness...what a sweet little nest...I listened to the sounds as well...so sweet...I've come across your blog quite by good fortune I believe :)...I live on the Gulf coast of Florida...so I am completely fascinated with your world...Love your pictures..Dee Dee
ReplyDeleteNice to see that chickadee nest. I'm pretty sure we have at least one nest box that the chickadees have their eyes on. Here the Violet-Green swallows compete with them like crazy.
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy with chickadees, too!
ReplyDeleteTheir nest reminds me of the princess and the pea--such a high mattress!
I think they are using a new box I put up too.
ReplyDeleteCool interior view.
Wonderful! I've never seen a chickadee nest.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see that.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about birds pulling dog hair from a dog sitting on the porch to add to their nest. Crazy birds.
Today I was walking near a small lake and saw an Oriole nest made out of Christmas tinsel! The boy scouts have a discarded Christmas tree dump there that is set out for habitat.
I'd love to see that Chicadee
Thanks to my Grandmother, she showed me the lots of birds and helped me identify them when I was just a wee-tot. The CC were and still are some of my favorites to watch. Thanks for sharing the nest, I've never seen one before :)
ReplyDeleteChickadee's are one of my favorite birds! I had one eating from my hand about a month ago! A really neat experience! Can't wait to see the babies!!
ReplyDeleteLisa, could be, you never know. :)
ReplyDeleteDeedee, thanks, yes they are sweet-looking, but they sure do like to fuss at you!
Robin, I wish our swallows here would use a box like yours do... but I've never seen them so it.
IRB, thanks, I don't think I'd ever seen a chickadee nest before either.
Nina, I thought exactly the same thing! :)
FC, I don't think ours is facing the right direction for bluebirds, but I'm glad it was put to use (by something other than wasps) finally.
Amy, it makes me wish I had a nest-cam! :)
Pamela, yes they use all sorts of things for their nests! I think they could make 10,000 of them from our dog...
KF, I wish I'd gotten started earlier on bird knowledge! I never paid any attention at all to them until my late 20s or so.
Kerri, I wish these would do that! But the Carolina chickadees are more shy than some of the other chickadee types I guess.
I just love when Chickadee's nest in my box! The nestlings are soo cute!
ReplyDeleteWe missed the babies, but they are all gone now so I'm assuming they fledged ok.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby took this pic. When I saw it in person I realized that what I assumed was cedar tips is actually moss.
A pair of chickadees just finished raising a brood of 5 in my backyard box. I watched all 5 babies fly successfully from the box yesterday. It was enjoyable watching Mom and Dad in action caring for the youngsters. They attacked a squirrel that came too close. Question: Should I remove the next from the box to make the house ready for the next usage?
ReplyDeleteGreat nest, I have black capped chickadees in a bird house on my deck. Have your egss hatched? I listened to the sound recording and the difference between "my" bird and yours is amazing. I guess East Coast and West Coast makes a difference in how chickadees sing :)
ReplyDeleteCheck out "evolution of a bird nest" on my blog
http://hchristine.blogspot.com/
You may have to scroll through a few posts, but the building process is amazing and you will have to note the pink fuzz in my nest and no other feathers, but mine used raccoon fur!!!