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Chickadees (Part 1)Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 17:08:01 EST Hello List. Question. Have any of you had chickadees/titmice nesting in your nestboxes even though you lived at least 500yds. away?? I finally had a chickadee singing for a mate on one of my nestboxes about 2hrs. ago. I always wanted chickadees and titmice in my boxes but live about 500yds. from the woods. Still keep those checklists coming in for GBBC! We are not done quite yet. Kevin Bloom Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 17:36:42 EST Regarding chickadees, my mother has chickadees that routinely nest in her nest box. She lives against the state game lands in Pennsylvania. She has the box hanging on her light pole (actually looks like a telephone pole) which is approximately 50 feet from her house so it is quite close. The first year I think she had 8 chickadees fledge from her box and this past summer four. I was just at her house on Sunday and there were chickadees everywhere. What a dear little bird. I love them. Cindy, South Cent. PA Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 20:26:35 EDT Two years ago chickadees nested in one of my boxes, only about 15 yards from the house, absolutely next to the driveway. It was not near the wood at all, but was shaded by lilacs; also only about 10 yards from the feeders. So cute, the way they hide the eggs under moss, and then bingo, one day you realize you have a (soon to be) family! And delightful to watch a family of 7 grow in that little box! All survived to fledge. Good luck with your singer! Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 21:00:02 -0600 Bill Darnell Ever notice when you peek in on a chickadee, it hisses like a snake? I suppose it is really mimicking a snake! ... Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 22:11:00 -0500 (EST) Joe Huber Venice Fl. Hi Kevin, Yes the Chickadees nested right out side our kitchen window in a hanging box and several times in the nest box under the rear of our rural type mail box. This was in Heath Ohio where we lived until 1994. Several times house sparrows entered the box and one visit caused them to abandon They and the tufted titmouse were successful several years due to my strict sparrow control. Most of these nestings were followed by bluebird nests in the same box. Joe Charter member NABS, Charter member OBS, Life member OBS Joe Huber Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 13:15:52 -0500 Neal, We've had chickadees use boxes for the past couple of years. There doesn't seem to be competition between them and the bluebirds. The BBs select their box and the dees pick from what is left. Their nests are marvelous. They're constructed of moss and lined with fine grasses, hair, etc. The parents tend to cover them with the moss when they're not in the box. Sometimes, it is hard to know whether you have eggs without carefully moving aside the top layer of moss. I've seen them do the same thing with the young chicks, especially if the temps are cooler. I have one box which sets about 15 feet from the woods, dees have used it two years in a row. I have another box at my brother's house which is on a pole too but it is out in the middle of his lawn. Dees used it last year to successfully raise a brood. Others may know better about where exactly to locate the boxes to attract dees but we have boxes in a variety of settings and have equal success. We have Carolina chickadees here, not black-capped. Hope this helps a little. Patty Haught, Fairview, WV Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 19:32:29 -0600 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas In Texas we have the Carolina Chickadee and they will nest in very small cavities. They have chosen log type houses hollowed out with a forstner style bit as small as 2&1/2" inside diameter and 6" deep. Even when there are dozens of 5"x5"x10" tall "bluebird" nestboxes around. I use a 1&3/16" round entrance hole but they can enter 1&1/8" easily. I have found them nesting in the top of broken off bamboo canes no more than 1&3/4" inside diameter. They have been found nesting locally in the chain link fence corner posts which are 2&3/8" Outside diameter. So this leads me to wonder if very small nestboxes were used in areas where the House Wren is a problem would the house wren's be as big a problem at filling say a 3"x3"x6" tall nestbox up with fake nests? What about an even smaller floor area? You folks up north need to help me out on this one because I don't have the house wrens to experiment on! Carolina Chickadees do like to nest near trees or in open park like woods but will show up in boxes up to several hundred feet from trees. What type territory do the Black Capped Chickadees of the north like? I read some research just the other day that mentioned that house Wrens did not attack bluebirds nesting in small natural cavities during 27 years of research with limited numbers of natural cavity nestings in Wisconsin. Probably will not prove effective as House Wren deterrent but at least you will have more boxes up for the wonderful chickadee families! :-) Carolina Wrens: They like a larger box say 7"x7"x8" with the entrance hole about 4 or 5" off the floor. They build a big bulky nest that is domed and enter from the side of the nest not down through the top. They seem to prefer to nest in open carports or shed type buildings in old cabinets or something that gives shelter. Golf birds: What about American Coots? KK Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 09:39:31 -0500 My experience with chickadees (and titmice) in the northeast is that you can place the boxes on forest edges and treelines between fields for them. They'll use boxes in habitat woth more trees than the bluebirds and swallows which prefer the more open field habitat. There's a plan for a chickadee nest box in the Woodworking for Wildlife a book by Carroll Henderson from the Minnesota DNR and also in Cornell University's Birdhouse Network info. You can use a bluebird sized box or smaller. This chickadee box has a 4 x 4 1/2" inch bottom and the front is 11" high. The entrance hole is 1 1/8" diameter. If you make it 1 1/4" you can also accomodate titmice, wrens, possibly a nuthatch. In forested areas in the NE where snags have not been removed and there are lots of good natural cavities, they don't seem to use the boxes as much. Colleen DeLong Date: 25 Feb 00 11:56:52 EST I have good success with attracting Chickadees with my Wren style Nestbox with 1 1/8 opening. Height was between 5' - 8' off the ground and most facing East. ************************************************ Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 08:55:52 -0600 Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 09:29:02 -0600 A chickadee is not dangerous to anything except insects! They can have any bluebird nest box I have if they want. That little bird is a hoot to watch. Bill Darnell Are chickadees dangerous to bluebirds. I have a chickadee beginning to build
a nest in one of the BB boxes today. I have a BB still =hecking out the area.
Thanks for your guidance. Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 13:02:38 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2000 09:58:15 -0800 Marsie Nufer Hi All! I'm mostly a lurker since I don't have a vehicle to get me to proper bluebird habitat, and my main focus is Violet-Green Swallows that readily nest in urban areas. My house has been hosting a pair successfully for three years and I am looking forward to a fourth. This year has been a particularly bad year for HOSP, so I am taking extreme measures to control them, at least locally. In addition to my Trio trap, I have installed a cheap, though functional, "bluebird" house with a Gilbertson trap, specifically to lure in and trap HOSP. I only set the traps on weekends when I can monitor them. This weekend I was horrified to see chickadees investigating the trap box (which is 50' from any cover). Now I have been trying to get chickadees to nest for many years and they have totally ignored my chickadee box and took no interest in the swallow boxes. I leaned out my window (about 15' away) and shouted and waved at them, but they mostly ignored me (were they laughing ;-) ?). ! I went out immediatly to personally shoo them off, but I "un-set" the trap just to make sure). So what do I do? I can't make the bluebird house safe from housesparrows and even if I minimized the hole, the box is not great (thin walls), the location is directly in a southwest exposure (though here it can remain relatively cool through July 4), and it is an area easily disturbed by lawnmowers, this gardener putting up blueberry patch netting, hauling compost, etc. Two ideas I have are 1) let them get caught in the trap - surely that would that discourage them!? and 2) now that the raccoon population has been decimated by distemper, it may be safe to try to lure them to a chickadee box attached to a tree in a quiet area, but they ignored the box in past years. Any ideas from this group? This is one case where discouraging chickadees would be a good thing. Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2000 16:45:01 -0500 (EST) http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1765/bluebird/battle.htm The GOOD news is that this morning I saw my first bluebird ever. We have a Very active pair of bluebirds, in our own yard! The male is such a beautiful bird: I can see why everybody is so captivated by them. The BAD news is that they are intent on driving the Carolina chickadees out of my Peterson nestbox after the chickadee pair has assembled a big, beautiful moss-and-fur nest that took a whole week's work. I hastily put a second house on another pole not far from the first (not a Peterson nestbox, but a pine NABS with an oval hole). I have some hopes that the bluebirds might shift to it, or that the chickadees might adopt it if the bluebirds remove the chickadees' current nest entirely. This morning, the female bluebird was going in to the chickadees' nestbox and flying out to a tree perch and spitting out fur she had taken from the chickadee nest. I saw her do this twice. Maybe by tonight she'll have the box empty and her own nest started. The male bluebird was very aggressively repelling the chickadees if they came close. Though he did Look into the second box, he was mostly using it as a perch on which to sit to guard against the chickadees. Unfortunately I had to come to work, but probably the battle continues even as I write.... Why couldn't these bluebirds have found the nine nestboxes hanging in the 149-acre park http://www.northaugusta.net/Dept_Serv/Parks_Recre/ParkMgt.html adjacent to our yard? I thought they weren't supposed to like being near houses (this box is in our back yard, not 20' from our house in a suburban neighborhood). Such is nature, I guess. Maybe I should make a second Peterson box to go in the back yard next year, and give it a smaller hole. What IS it about a Peterson box that is so attractive? Has anyone ever done a study to see if oval holes are as attractive to other cavity nesters as they are to bluebirds? Yours, Barry =============================================================== http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1765/bluebird/battle.htm My bluebird links page My bluebird pages northaugusta.tripod.com =============================================================== Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 17:36:06 -0600 I have a bluebird and chickadee competing for a box today. Is there anything I should do other than watch to see what happens. Thanks in advance. Steven Marx Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 21:40:55 -0800 ... Put up more nestboxes. Maynard R Sumner Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatian 6:7 Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 22:36:54 -0500 Dear Steve and All, Much has been written about the advantages of reducing competition for nesting sites by pairing nest boxes in areas where both the Bluebird and the Tree Swallow breed. Because Chickadees and other wonderful cavity nesting birds also compete with Bluebirds for nest sites, I believe it is also beneficial to pair or even triple up on nest boxes spaced 25 to 100 feet apart even in areas where Tree Swallows do not breed. Of course this may not be the most efficient approach if the goal is maximizing Bluebird nesting sites, but I enjoy them all. It is quite common for Chickadees to compete with Bluebirds for nesting sites, although I believe the Bluebird, if it makes up its mind to, will prevail in the competition for a nest box. This year I have 16 nest boxes scattered over a 300 yard by 50 yard strip of good Bluebird habitat in my yard. I don't think any nest box is more than 100 feet from the next one, and a few are within 75 feet of each other. It seems that with such a high concentration of nest boxes, competition would be reduced. But, I have witnessed many more skirmishes around the nest boxes this year than during previous years when there were fewer nest boxes. Today I watched two male Bluebirds fight it out for over forty minutes as a female, obviously interested in the outcome, moved from perch to perch to stay near the battle. The two males would fly to about 40 feet in the air, attack each other so violently that I could hear their wings slapping together, fall all the way to the ground still engaged in battle, and not leave the ground for between two and five minutes. Once, while the gladiators were on the ground for about 4 minutes, the female perched on a two foot tall Sumac tree within a few feet of the two males. I can only imagine the fighting continued while on the ground but, unfortunately, I was unable to see what the males were doing as each time they fell into tall weeds or a shallow depression in the ground. But, when they rose from the ground a chase ensued up to the 40 feet altitude and the process was repeated 5 times. After about 25 minutes of these incezzznt attacks one of the males retreated about 75 feet from the power line which runs through the middle of the territory contested. But the female didn't seem particularly thrilled with the male that seemed to have won the battle. Each time the victorious male flew near the female's location on the wire, the female hastily flew off to yet another location on the same line. This was discontinued when the female flew to a nest box whereupon the second male tried again to win either love, territory or both by joining her. I wish I could tell the two males apart because the momentum may have changed more than once but I would not have known. The female apparently bonded to one of the males because over the next 30 to 40 minutes the pair repeatedly investigated the 4 nest boxes in the vicinity while the second male sat on one of the other nest boxes warbling in an apparently unsuccessful attempt to draw the female away from the other male. And, despite all this activity, a Chickadee inserted himself into the conflict three times by entering a nest box while under investigation by the Bluebirds. After all this, both males and the female resolved to rest on the power line, occasionally taking an insect from the ground. But, one male often perched within inches of the female while the second was content to perch within 10 feet of the other two. It may be that there are so many good nest sites on the property that the birds are more interested in the area and therefore more willing to fight for it. Of course this is just conjecture and has no scientific merit but more nest sites may increase the desirability of an area. I wish I could have recorded the vocal aspects of today's activity. In addition to the more common Tur-a-Wee and chatter calls, in between violent skirmishes the Bluebirds repeatedly made a three note plaintive and very sad sound. The first note started high then descended. The second and third notes were identical in pitch and volume. Has anyone else noticed this vocal display before, and if so, does it have a name or meaning? No nesting material or claim straws yet. Gary Springer PS Thank you for all the wonderful Messages and cards. They brought sunshine into my life when all seemed stormy and cloudy.Gary Springer, Writing from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Northeast Georgia,
further north than most of South Carolina and a bit of North Carolina ... Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 10:43:27 -0500 Hello all, Three days ago I discovered a complete Chickadee nest in a nest box. The bird used a 4 inch thick mass of extremely fluffy fur on top of another three inches of loose green moss. The nest structure, if the fluffy mass could be called a structure at all, is more of a dome than a cup. To determine if there were eggs in the furry mass of a nest, I began running my fingers through the fur feeling for the eggs. All of a sudden the Chickadee flew up out of the fur but not out of the nest box. Because I was startled, I jumped back letting the door slam shut with a loud bang. Surprisingly, the bird stood her ground and did not leave the nest box. In the past, I've discovered Chickadee nests in boxes that were never used. They may have been dummy nests or they may have been abandoned for another site before eggs were laid. So, just to be safe, I avoided the nest box for almost 48 hours, only occasionally observing the nest box from a distance. No activity was observed. An hour ago I decided to inspect the nest box again. At first I just watched the nest box for about 30 minutes. Nothing entered or exited the box so I decided to open it. I tapped on it, I whistled a few melancholy notes, I scratched the box, and, when nothing came out, I opened it. I ran my fingers through the fluffy fur feeling for eggs again. After a while I became aware that it was very warm at the bottom of the nest. As I continued to feel for eggs, I touched onto something round, warm, and soft but firm. Then I noticed it was quivering. Well, that had to be the chickadees head. This time it made up its mind it wasn't even going to move. To avoid scaring the bird further, I closed the box and retreated. Any ideas how I can monitor the nest to determine if there are eggs without further disturbing the Chickadee? Gary Springer PS I now have two pairs of Bluebirds jockeying for control over a 100 yard stretch of power line while another chickadee goes about building a nest in a nest box directly under the wire the Bluebirds are competing to control. Writing from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Northeast Georgia,
further north than most of South Carolina and a bit of North Carolina Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 16:44:58 -0500 Dear list members, First I want to thank all of you with the advice on how to handle a stubborn Chickadee unwilling to show her eggs. Actually, I solved the problem before receiving your posts, but they will come in handy in the future as I normally have plenty of Chickadee nests. Wendy, I'd love to see someone gracefully handle a bird the way you describe. I know banders do it and it must look easy. For me though, I'm sure I'd fumble around and scare the poor bird to death. Temperatures are supposed to drop to freezing within the next day or two. So I concluded it would be a good idea to block off the ventilation slots with wood sticks that I make specifically for that purpose. These I connected to the nest box with four screws. Still no Chickadee emerged. I opened the box again and carefully moved a small amount of fur and peered into the nest. I noticed a shiny black eye gleaming back at me. But, wait a minute. That's not a Chickadee eye. That thing's got BROWN around its eye. I've been fooling with a Deer Mouse!! Yuk!! Moral of the story: Don't wait until the nests have eggs in the spring before you freshen up the grease if it's part of your predator prevention system. The grease had turned into a tough waxy substance since last breeding season allowing the mouse to climb right up the pole. I know, Keith Kridler wrote about that twice. I just put off the job a little too long. But, there's more to the story. How did a Deer Mouse build a nest that looks exactly like a Chickadee nest complete with green moss under fur? There's an explanation for that too. I broke up last years chickadee nest from the same box and placed it in the nearby blackberry thorns thinking the material might be used again. Well, apparently that mouse dragged the pieces of the nest back up to the nest box and reassembled it the same way the Chickadee had built it last year. Good grief. So, while you were writing your posts I was scraping and cleaning old dried grease off all my nest box poles with kerosene getting them ready for a fresh slippery coating. I also set out 5 new nest boxes today so my trail has grown to 24 nest boxes. I wonder if I'm ready for the nesting season now? Thanks again for the monitoring tips. Gary Springer Writing from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Northeast Georgia,
further north than most of South Carolina and a bit of North Carolina Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 18:02:02 -0600 Gary: Just say, "I am blessed!" at least three times! That little bird is as lovable as the BB! Did it hiss at you? They can mimic a snake's hiss so closely, it will scare you! Another adjective I use is "comical." I can't look at a chickadee or a Titmouse without smiling. And if either were big as a crow, their strong voices would break windows for yards around! Bill ... Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 17:14:51 -0600 Bluebirds, Chickadees, Purple Martins! What a mix! I have two, and hopefully the third will show up. As soon as I got the Martin gourd tree up, before I could put the tools away, a Bluebird, was sitting on the crozzzrm. I thought, oh no! But all was well. He just liked the perch where he could hunt better from. A few days later, I kept noticing a chickadee stopping by and peering down into the 2 3/8 OD pipe the tree was made of. He would sit and look, and might have been calling, but these thousands of crickets 38 years of noisy work put in my ears make it impossible to hear him. Today, his sweetie joined him there. They went in and out of the vertical pipe several times. It has a horizontal bolt through it about 7 inches down, so nesting is entirely possible. They have other choices, but for some reason, they like the vertical pipe. I hope Chickadees are not fiercely territorial. There may be trouble when the Martins come. I could never evict the Chickadee. We will just have to wait and see. Bill Darnell, Savannah, TN Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 15:17:23 -0500 Whenever a chick a dee or tuffed titmouse nests in my boxes I put make a predator guard 1/2 " thoick by 2 by 3 with an inch hole size of wood doesn 't matter mount with two screws over other guard . Never bother weith a wren the box is full of sticks. This will not bother the birds. Rager N/W Ohio Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 16:03:36 -0500 As a followup, on two separate occasions today, we have seen a bluebird chasing a chickadee away from the box. So far there has been no nest building, though the pair is still hanging around the box. Marilyn Pomeroy, Whispering Pines, NC Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 10:34:47 -0600 I have Carolina chickadees still investigating nestboxes in my yard, but don't know where to find info specific to them, e.g. incubation time, time to fledging, do they nest more than once each season, etc.? I'd appreciate information from those of you with experience with monitoring chickadees, as well as any references. Thanks. Kate Oschwald Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 12:59:03 EDT I found a wonderful source in "The Birder's Handbook", Simon & Schuster, by Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye, ISBN 0-671-62133-5. It cross-references with all the major identification guides, besides telling nest location & type, diet, behaviour, who builds the nest/incubates/feeds, incubation and fledging times, you name it. All this plus ezzzys on all manner of topics. Oh yes-- Carolina chickadee, page 426: Incubation 11-12 days, fledging 13-17 days, both M&F buildnest/incubate/feed; #broods? Now we both know! Have fun! Rhonda Watts Wilton, N.H. (bbs are almost hysterical over the 10 nestboxes in the pasture next to the house! Mr. (not sure if more than 1 pr) is going from one to another, singing his head off, wing waving, popping in & out. Ms/Mrs is hard-to-get just now.) -------------------------------------------------------------- I have Carolina chickadees still investigating nestboxes in my yard, but don't know where to find info specific to them, e.g. incubation time, time to fledging, do they nest more than once each season, etc.? I'd appreciate information from those of you with experience with monitoring chickadees, as well as any references. Thanks. Kate Oschwald Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 14:27:51 -0800 (PST) Hi Kate and all other "chickadee'rs!" Bird Watcher's Digest has two booklets, that you'll be interested in checking out for chickadees; I'm sure there are several others, as you browse your local bookstore and/or wildbird store. Are you referring to the black-capped chickadee (BCCH) or the carolina chickadee (CACH)? You'll want to refer to following website for all the alpha codes (used frequently on the BLUEBIRD-L interchange): http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/manual/aspeclst.htm The black-capped: approximate incubation period, 12 days; common nesting period, 16 days; 1-2 broods per year; 6-8 eggs per clutch; major adult food = insects. The carolina: approx. incubation, 11 days; nesting, 17; 1 brood per year; 6 eggs per cluth. food = caterpillars. BCCH will use a nesting box (when in Indiana a few years ago, one pair built in a "wren" box; and it had the "peek" lid, so it was a pleasure to see those six little black heads before they fledged. I was surprised with the moss lining; where they got the moss I'm not sure, but anyway... Though I haven't seen it in a long while, a few years ago, I bought a "P.B.'s QUICK INDEX TO BIRD NESTING...really neat; it slides up/down to display specific information about a number of birds. Think I found it in a Wildbird store. BCCH will also (if in the area...must be in the area, to hear it, of course) will respond to the "Chickadee" cassette tape, available in Wild bird stores. When I first experimented with it, I thought I heard a chickadee in the distance; and I had a pair of chickadees come to our deck within a matter of minutes (3 to 5, at the most) of playing the chickadee tape. They like medium chipped sunflower seeds (probably also the black-oil sunflower, but I feed the medium chipped, to eliminate cleaning up the hulls); peanuts (I get the "peanut parts,"--don't want too fine or drop through feeder); and suet cakes. I have all three of these--plus other seeds (shelled corn, thistle) out for the birds, and also grape jelly (for Orioles) and nectar (for Hummingbirds). Though I have wren/chickadee houses out, no luck recently in their building in my nestboxes. If you're buying a house, you might want to invest in the nesting/roosting box now available; with entrance hole at the top for summer nexting--then flip entrance hole to the bottom for winter roosting. I enjoy the chickadees in the summer; and, although they do stay throughout the winter in Minnesota, the birds in general usually are not seen in our immediate area. Why not, I'm not sure. Any other questions, feel free to e-mail me. Stan Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 20:58:26 -0800 I am not sure about incubation time but you probably have the same black-capped and Carolina chickadees there that we have in eastern Oklahoma (the Carolina is a bit smaller). In this area they have only one brood, and often the bluebirds will take over the box for their second nest. Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 22:51:58 -0500 Hi Kate and Others, I've read the many posts about chickadees. We've had "dees" checking out some of our boxes. Today I noticed our resident male bluebird "dive bomb" the dee who was sitting on one of the boxes. This happened several times. The interesting thing is that this is not the box that the bluebirds have selected. Mrs. bluebird is building a nest in another box in the back of our house. The dee was sitting on a box in the front of our house. For the past couple of years, we've had Carolina chickadees nest in one of the three boxes in our immediate area. Any ideas why Mr. is so aggressive? Thanks, Patty in WV ... Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 21:06:22 -0800 Suggest you stay with the 1 and 1/2 inch hole. A starling may not bother the larger hole, but it will encourage the brown headed cowbird. Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 13:12:47 -0800 (PST) Kevin Bloom Hello List, I am ashamed to say that my male EABL is having a affair. On my trail today I noticed that my one of my nesting pairs was sitting on a tree only HE had two females at his side. I also caught him mating with both. Another thing that struck me was the two females were getting along great. In fact they were even nuzzling each other! Sisters perhaps. He looks happy. I wonder what box sis will chose. Hope soon. Now also, on the topic of chickadees and titmice. We have talked considerably about them but one thing I have not seen on this list nor any of my books that I have read is how far to place boxes for both species so a chickadee won't fight with other chickadee pair. Same with titmice. Does anybody have any thoughts? We are expecting 1-2 inches of rain tonight. Thankfully not snow. Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 18:07:28 -0500 Dear Kevin, I believe you have the Black Capped Chickadee in your part of Pennsylvania while we have the Carolina Chickadee here in Northeast Georgia so my observations may differ from yours. In my experience, the Carolina Chickadee prefers to nest about 300 feet from its nearest nesting neighboring Chickadee. In several instances, within 100 feet of nest boxes with active Chickadee nests, I have discovered a second box with an incomplete Chickadee nest consisting of only the green moss base between 1 and 4 inches deep. The furry lining characteristic of a completed nest was never added to these. These dummy nests may have been built because the bird is fickle in selecting a nesting site, because it had some good reason to move, or, may have adopted a strategy to prevent other birds from nesting near it. I wouldn't know which is the case, if indeed one of these is the correct explanation. Has anyone else experienced this? Gary Springer The rain missed us again. Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 00:15:10 -0500 (EST) On Wed, 29 Mar 2000, Robyn L. Kells wrote: Hello! I just joined the list today, and I'm writing from Welcome! male carry a fat beakload of moss out of the box. I know EABLs generally This competition may be pretty common, at least in the southeast. The year 2000 nestbox camera (NC, see the year 2000 Archive http://birdsource.cornell.edu/birdhouse/camframe.html) shows both chickadees and bluebirds bringing nesting material into the box. On my small first-year trail (SC), two chickadee nests were started (one nearly finished) then taken over by bluebirds who put pine needles and other fibers directly on top (no eggs in these nests as of yesterday). But in another case, there was the beginning of a bluebird nest on Friday but by Monday there was a very deep moss chickadee nest built on top of the pine needles. In addition to these three competition boxes, I have one pure chickadee nest (moss and lots of fur) and one bluebird nest (almost pure pine needles) that have 6 and 4 eggs being incubated. Please keep us informed of the progress of your competition! In case you might like to have a look, there are some early photos of the competition at my first Peterson nestbox online at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1765/bluebird/battle.htm Yours, Barry North Augusta, South Carolina ================================== Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 06:42:16 -0600 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas 120 miles East of Dallas TX, 60 miles southwest of Arkansas. There is NO competition between chickadees and bluebirds anymore than the competition between a pee wee football player and a NFL football player. The chickadee's stand NO chance at raising young with the bluebirds wanting their box! As soon as you see a moss nest being constructed place a 1&1/8" hole restrictor over the larger entrance hole. PROTECT our other native birds! Install more boxes when this competition takes place! Chickadees and bluebirds have nested on the same pole within a foot of each other IF they have different size entrance holes here for me. Bluebirds will kill young chickadees and carry them from the nest boxes (I have watched this happen). They will build over active nests of chickadees. All areas of the country are having the forests fragmented with human houses, roads & logging operations making millions more acres available to the bluebirds each year and forcing the forest loving chickadees out of the woods and into direct competition with these bluebirds and house sparrows. Chickadees normally only nest once a year, where it is common for the same pair of Eastern Bluebirds to nest and successfully raise four broods in the south. (Research done with banded adults). I have seen where at least 69 "moss" nests have been taken over by bluebirds on this list in the last week alone! Titmice, chickadees, and other smaller cavity nesters MUST be protected with their own uniquely sized entrance holes! A well monitored trail in an area of the south can easily quadruple the number of bluebirds fledged over the year before if boxes are added to allow each pair of fledglings a nesting box to nest in the next year. I went from 36 fledged young bluebirds to 1,235 in just four years (19741978)while chickadees and titmice barely doubled their output! Which species needs more help? If you saw a chickadee or titmouse drowning in your lily pond would you reach down and save it? Installing the 1&1/8" predator block made from a 3"x5" 3/4" board over the 1&1/2" "bluebird" entrance hole is all the "lifesaver" the smaller birds need to survive in a vicious environment! Come on folks I don't see another Noah coming along very soon! It is up to all of us to become "Keepers of the Ark". It is not about how many bluebirds we will raise this year but how many species we will help make it to the next century for our great grand children! KK Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000 21:22:11 -0500 It looks as if I am going to have to invest in some smaller hole opening blocks for when chickadees start a nest in a bluebird box. I have not done this in the past, but I am losing them to house sparrows and I have also had chickadee nests taken over by bluebirds this year. I have read that the hole size for these should be 1 and 1/8". Is this correct? Thanks. Bluebird Bob, NE Oklahoma. Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000 22:38:43 -0500 Yes, 1 1/8 inches is correct! Marisa ... Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 08:20:00 -0500 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 10:29:21 -0500 KK and all: Bill Darnell, Savannah, TN Date: Sat, 06 May 2000 19:01:44 -0400 Date: 7 May 2000 20:05:55 -0000 Hello Everybirdie! I'm curious about Katherine's situation...to you experienced birders, given
this situation: IF she were to put up another box (for the wrens), would they
"co-habit" peacefully with the chickadees? Or still remain a threat? Anxious to
get your thoughts? Thanks! Stan, St. Paul, MN Date: Sun, 07 May 2000 17:50:41 -0400 I actually do have another box about 20-30 feet away, with a chickadee/wren-sized entrance hole. It is clearly visible from the chickadee house, so if a wren came looking they would certainly see it. This is the second season I have had it up, but nobody has used it either last year or this year to date. So I am planning to take it down next year and put it somewhere else. Wrens may apparently claim up to 7 "dummy" nests before deciding which one to use, so you'd have to put up lots more boxes, not just one, and hope that they didn't choose the nest the 'dees or 'mice were in. As of this morning, the 'dee eggs had not yet hatched (there are 8 eggs, I
had mistakenly counted 7) but they should start hatching any day, and the 'dees
were still in firm possession. I am heartened by the several people who assured
me that wrens won't attack nestlings - and there ... Katherine Date: Sun, 7 May 2000 20:07:08 -0400 Hello Katherine and All: I noted you mentioned you had been assured House Wren will not attack 'dee nestlings. That may be true; however, I had a House Wren throw newly hatched 'dees from the box. Found them on the ground. It might be wise to keep a close eye on your vigilant pair of dees at hatching time. I couldn't sit by and have to read a Message where you lose your hatchlings! Betty Nichols, Middletown, MD Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 13:54:04 -0400 Does anybody know whether and to what extent weather fluctuations influence hatching dates? Also, is there any time-of-day preference, or do they just hatch any old time? I'm a little concerned about my chickadees, because this is day 13 and none of the eggs have hatched. Today is a dreary, drizzly cold day, temp down about 30 degrees from yesterday and the day before when we were in a steam bath. I know people will tell me to sit back and relax, but I'm beginning to wonder whether (no pun intended) all these fluctuations could delay the hatching or harm the eggs to the point where they wouldn't hatch at all? Katherine Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 14:20:57 EDT Katherine, I'm not sure about chickadee's but Bluebirds incubate their eggs
for 14 days or longer depending on the weather, If it is real cold could be a
day or 2 longer, I read somewhere that someone once had a clutch that hatched
after 21 days. I will say that the first clutch of Bluebirds I had this year
hatched right on que 14 days on the money even with VERY cold weather here in NJ
and 6" of snow the day the last egg was laid!!! If Mommy bird is doing her job
then you should have babies very soon!! Hope this Helps. Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 18:22:42 -0400 Hi All, According to the birdhouse literature which recently arrived,
Black-capped Chickadees incubate eggs for 12-13 days and Carolina dees incubate
for 11-14 days. Both have only one brood per season. Patty in WV Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 14:29:46 -0400 The chickadees are finally hatching. I checked the box at about 12:30 and I could see two unhatched eggs and an indeterminate number of tiny pink bodies. I will count again tomorrow in the hope of getting a more accurate count. Today for the first time I saw one of the house wrens (I assume the female) bringing something to the nest that was not a twig - it looked like a piece of dry grass. So I am now pretty certain they are actually going to use that nestbox. If that's the case, I would imagine the 'dees are now no longer in danger from the wrens and we will have peaceful cohabitation. I checked the titmouse box too, and the nestlings were huddled together, they are now 5-6 days old, a little bigger and acquiring grey down on their wings. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, and I hope to begin planting nasturtiums.
Off now to the nursery to buy a couple of fuchsias for the hummers. Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 20:20:25 -0700 Hi all; Well, it appears that we fledged 6 of our 7 CBCH (Chestnut-backed Chickadees) during the week. Regretfully, we found one dead in the now deserted box. We bagged it (chick and all), and have it in the freezer at the moment as we gather them for sending to Terry. That was the good news. The bad news was that we lost all 6 of our WEBL (Western Bluebird) chicks! Today was the day they were supposed to fledge. So I was going to NOT bother them. But I noticed no parents about. When I scratched the box, I got no response. As I opened it, the flies and an increasing level of stench told me that the news probably wasn't going to be good. It wasn't! All 6 were dead. There appeared to be no marks of other obvious causes of death visible to casual inspection. My guess would be the weather. We didn't do our mid-week monitoring on Wednesday because of the wind, cold, and sprinkles (Rain? In May? Here in central California? How rude!). We didn't do Thursday either, because of the weather earlier in the day at decision time (unfortunately, it got better towards evening). So we skipped Friday, and visited them today. Found 'em all dead. Kinda threw a damper on things. We had to drive back into town because the bags I brought were too small. So the day got really long as we trekked all the way out there again--sigh they were still dead. So it didn't make us feel any better. The rest of our guys were okay. Our only bright spot today was that we've got over 50% occupancy. We'd moved a box the previous week in an effort to pair up between a couple of known TRES boxes; and found a couple of WEBL's checking it out. Since we can't seem to entice any banders our here, we have no real way of deciding if they're the same couple of birds or not. But they did leave a small pile of grass in the box, it looks like they're going to build there... Now for a couple of questions. I know the spacing we should observe between Bluebird boxes; I pretty well keep 'em 100m apart. But does anybody know how close CBCH and TRES boxes can be to each other? I know that WEBL and TRES boxes s/b be paired in the 3-8m range. But I don't know how close they like to be to each other. In another month or so, I'm probably also going to find some ATFL's (Ash-throated Flycatcher) using boxes--they've already been spotted around here. How about them? Anybody have any ideas on the space that they're going to need? Oh yeah. The box with the dead WEBL's is on fence post at the top of a short
(but steep) grassy slope. I fell on my can 3 times trying to get the nest out
and bag closed before all the 6-legged critters in there flew or crawled away.
Got snagged on the barbed wire twice. Monday I'm going to go in for a long
overdue Tetanus booster. Today's just been a bummer all around... Thanks guys, Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:57:26 -0400 Here's an interesting question: Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 18:01:46 EDT Hi all, At my golf course trail there is one box occupied by Black-Capped Chickadee (BCCH) . The eight eggs were due to hatch May 11 - 13. Today there were five lovely absolutely minute hatchlings and 3 unhatched eggs. I really can't tell by looks exactly how old these babies are and I left the eggs in the nest assuming that it is just possible that they might still hatch if hatching was delayed by the cold weather we had early on in incubation or something else, and because I have read that either the parents will remove the eggs or they can stay in the nest without harm. I'm sure I've even seen a picture of older BCCH nestlings with two infertile eggs remaining in the nest. Do you agree that I should leave the eggs there? Thanks Date: Sun, 21 May 2000 17:31:59 EDT Hello to all, After 17 straight years of Eastern Bluebirds (EABL) nesting in 1 of 3 nest boxes in our yard, this is the first spring they haven't used the #1 box. A bachelor male EABL has staked out the yard as his territory but has not as yet been able to attract a mate. He's been around for 2 months and I've seen females maybe 4 times but they have left him for reasons unknown to me. At least we have the pleasure of seeing him many times a day on his favorite feeding perch sites around the yard. Well, one pair of Black-Capped Chickadees (BCCH) has built their nest in the #1 box and at least 6 eggs should be due to hatch in about a week. I've had a hard time monitoring the nest because of all the cool, rainy days, plus I'm not as familiar with their habits, I will learn! We added 2 new nest boxes this year in more open areas as 2 of the older ones are starting to get more shaded and wooded over the years. These new ones are the 'Cadillacs', made by my husband out of mahogany. Last forever and fade to soft gray. Today I found a second BCCH nest, almost finished, in one of the new boxes. What a beautiful nest they make, a bed of moss with a blanket of fur to cover the eggs. Really neat! This is only the second time in all these years that the BCCH's have nested in our boxes. I consider myself very lucky to have these birds nesting and haven't given up on the bachelor EABL for later on in the season. Wish him luck! Laura, Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 15:55:23 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA I promised my dear friend I would ask all of you experts the following: My friend has a chickadee nest with infertile eggs. Male and female doing their thing her incubating, him feeding her, for about 4 weeks. I couldn't absolutely convince her it was time to remove the eggs, etc. So I said I would ask you all her questions:1) what is the longest date in which they might hatch 2) how can she remove the eggs and nest to be the least invasive 3) what makes eggs infertile. Thank you for being kind enough to answer... This dear friend had chickadees abandon the nest and eggs after 8 days of incubating last year (all eggs in one basket - no other boxes), so she is quite upset and wants expert opinion... THANKS. H :-) Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 18:14:42 -0400 ... Hi Haleya: In reply to your friend's concern about chickadee incubating over a long period of time - I can only recall my episode with Mrs.Earlybird. She incubated 2/19 to 3/23/00. At that time she abandoned the nest which I removed &had eggs tested by Vet proving infertility. I am not familiar w/chickadee habits but feel they are close to that of the Eastern Bluebird. It was difficult to see the Bluebird sit there day after day but there are times we should not interfere with the nesting process when we are not in full knowledge of the circumstances. Fertilization occurs early in the egg laying process, very similar to humans. Since your friend is not positive the eggs are infertile it is best to leave them alone as I did with Mrs. Earlybird who did indeed have a second clutch in her own time, within her own breeding cycle. ( Mrs. Earlybird abandoned the NEST, Not the BOX!) I wish I could be of more help but feel it is prudent to observe and wait until Mrs. Chickadee makes her own decision. Thanks for caring. Betty Date: Sun, 28 May 2000 11:09:04 -0400 I am forwarding this emergency post from a person on Loons & Larks. If anyone can help her, even though it's not the 31st, please e-mail Mary directly, and send a copy to me so I can forward it to Loons & Larks since others will be interested. TIA. -- From: "Mary Schwartz" mtschwartz"at"ix.netcom.com While I'm on the computer I like to watch the chickadee parents flying back and forth to their nest box, taking care of their babies. This morning there is much more activity than usual!!! One chickadee parent has been staying inside the box. First, I saw the other having an aerial fight with a House Sparrow. That skirmish lasted a few minutes and then a Bluebird arrived and has been hanging on to the front of the box - one foot at the hole, looking in. It stood on the top of the house for awhile and then went back to hanging on the front. The chickadees are very upset!! Originally, when I made the box, I was hoping I might get bluebirds to come to my yard, but I was very happy when the chickadees decided to move in. I think someone else was asking if bluebirds are often aggressive. I don't want anything to happen to those little chickadees. I peeked in last week and they were feathered but still very tiny. I think there are 6 - it was hard to tell, they were so scrunched in together. I know there are guards to put on the box for blue birds - can I do anything to help the chickadees? Mary The URL for our group is: www.egroups.com/group/loonlark Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 19:10:21 -0400 Three hours later: there is now moss in the box, on top of the shavings. Those 'dees just fledged this morning!!! I can't believe I'm really going to have another chickadee nest. How do I protect it from House Wrens? ... -- Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 23:34:23 -0500 Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 01:31:20 -0500 Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 08:25:46 -0400 We live in a wooded area, and we never see Bluebirds in our yard. But I always have a Bluebird house out back, just to see what happens, and Chickadees always nest in it. My strong impression is that they'll nest just about anywhere, as long as it's not too far out in the open. If I place my Bluebird houses too close to a tree-line, say, the Chickadees will take it, if the !"at"#$! wrens don't beat them to it. Speaking of wrens, we've had a Winter Wren nesting within earshot of our house this summer. They have my vote for the most beautiful song in all Birddom. (sp?) Bruce Burdett, NH Bluebird Conspiracy, Sunapee NH blueburd"at"srnet.com ... Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:02:24 -0400 Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 06:54:52 -0700 Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 12:57:11 -0400 Not bragging, but here's what worked for me: BCCH and house wrens are supposed to be the only
birds that will choose a hanging birdhouse, although I have read on this list
that bluebirds use them too. This one is too small for bluebirds, and the wrens
don't arrive till after the BCCH are well on their way to a family, so..... Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 18:59:49 -0400 I had Chickadee's nest in an old pole in the
middle of a shrubs we have. They raised 3 babies and all have been coming to the
feeders and birdbath. One little fellow seems to be just a tad slow. The others
picked up the Chickadee song and progressed rather quickly but he just couldn't
quite get the hang of it for a while. He sang "Cheat Did, Cheat Did, Cheat Did
Did" then started over again. Once in a while he would throw a little trill in
there. I continue to see and here him and believe he will eventually make out
all right as lately he seems to be improving on his song.
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 21:27:41 -0500 Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 07:59:32 -0400 To: Patricia, et al, Yes. The Chickadees here are all black-capped. Occasionally a Boreal Chickadee will stray this far south, but only rarely. I've never seen a Carolina. - Bruce Burdett ... Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 11:08:39 -0400 Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 06:16:32 -0800 (PST) Hi everyone...In 1 of my Bluebird boxes which has had EABL checking it out
over the last few weeks, I'm finding the start of a Chickadee nest in it, & of
course have seen them checking the box out, also. Question to anyone
experiencing this situation in the past....Did your Bluebirds end up building
their nest right on top of the starting Chickadee nest or did your Chickadees
end up building their nest & subsequently raising their young in the nestbox? ===== Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 10:19:11 -0600 Horace Sher wrote: ... This year I will put a hole restrictor on the existing nest and put a
Peterson bluebird box 15" south of the chickadee nest. I would love to have a
nest of chickadees. Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 11:37:19 -0500 Yes, my bluebirds also evict the chickadees. I finally hung a couple of boxes with smaller entrance holes, and chickadees have been using them successfully. My chickadees have also moved successfully to another bluebird box after being evicted, as I only have one bluebird pair in my yard most years. Still, all their nestbuilding time has been wasted, and it really does take lots of time to gather all that fur and moss. Mine seem to be learning to choose the hanging boxes with smaller holes and not waste time on bluebird boxes. I have those boxes stained a different color to help them choose wisely, as I suspect most of my chickadees are returnees. My books say chickadees will not use hanging boxes, but they apparently didn't read those books! Dot Did your Bluebirds end up building their nest ... Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 12:02:06 -0500 Carolyn, Horace and all. If my memory serves me right, for a chickadee the hole should be 1&1/8 and for a titmouse 1&1/4. I have heard many stories how the Bluebirds will take over from a chickadee if not restricted to 1&1/8. Hope this helps... Fawzi ----- Original Message ----- ... Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 12:27:42 EST Horace, Carolyn and All I witnessed Carolina chickadees start (line with moss) a nest in one of three boxes. A bluebird pair evicted them. The chickadees moved on to another box. The second box was still in the territory of the bluebird pair which resulted in the chickadees getting evicted a second time. After that, though a third box was avaiable, the chickadees departed. Also, after the chickadee departure, it seemed the blues could not decide which of the three boxes a nest was to be built. The female seemed to favor one box while the male seemed to like another. I eventually removed two of the boxes. Nest building began almost immediately. After their first brood fledged, one of the original boxes was remounted. The blues moved into it, raised a second brood, then moved back to the first site for a third brood. The three boxes had been mounted at the corners of a 20 foot by 60 foot triangular area; all were within sight of each other. I'm wondering if, as Carolyn Hall suggests, the use of a hole restricter would decrease bluebird harrassment enough for the chickadees to successfully nest in the territory of a pair of bluebirds. I believe, by the way, that a hole restricter size to protect Carolina chickadees is 1 and 1/8 inches. However, recent inquiry at a wild bird store indicates they are selling one inch hole restricters for chickadees in this area. Tom Heintzelman Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 13:32:55 -0500 (EST) On Wed, 31 Jan 2001, Horace Sher wrote: Hi everyone...In 1 of my Bluebird boxes which has had ... This must be fairly common. In a backyard Peterson nestbox last year, the chickadees had a good nest started. The bluebirds put pine needles on top and raised their babies in the chickadee nest. http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1765/bluebird/battle.htm Both chickadees and bluebirds have been investigating this box already this year. I had a different box with a good start of a bluebird nest, on which a tufted titmouse finished its nest and raised its babies. As others said, when the chickadees have started a nest, you can replace the guard with a new one with an entrance hole only 1 1/8" in diameter. Then the chickadees don't have to worry with the bluebirds taking over. Yours, Barry Barry Whitney ... Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 13:12:59 -0600 I also am interested in chicadees, can you tell me the habitat to place a
nest box in? Also, I'm sure most people will figure out that you meant 15 feet
instead of inches, am I right?!! Dear Horace and listers, ... Check out our family web site at It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then
don't say it. Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:40:02 -0500 Chickadees seem to prefer an inch and an eighth to an inch and a half for manmade nest boxes. Alicia Craig Be a Citizen Scientist, visit http://birds.cornell.edu/citsci/ Watch BirdWatch on PBS, visit http://www.pbs.org/birdwatch -----Original Message----- ... Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 17:04:36 -0500 Hi Carolyn, The tree we had the house hung in, died and we had to cut it down last year. We moved the little house just 7 feet away, same height and facing the same way, but last year they never used it. I hope they will this year. Good luck attracting the Chicadees. Joyce Sobey, Central Virginia Carolyn Hall wrote: Horace Sher wrote: ... Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 15:21:25 -0800 (PST) Hello to all...The other day I said that I was finding the start of a Chickadee nest in 1 of the bluebird boxes. Well, sure enough, Mr. EABL has been removing some of the Chickadee nest (a beak full today & yesterday) while Mrs. EABL looks on. So what I'm observing.. is Mr. EABL doing this & not Mrs. EABL. To those of you who responded to me about my Chickadee nest question the other day...is this what you have observed or have you ever seen the female also remove some or all of the Chickadee nest? Curious...Horace in NC. ===== Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 19:25:13 -0600 Hi Horace and all, I've only seen the male removing the chickadee's nesting material! Molly Jo Miller ----- Original Message ----- From: Horace Sher hjsher1"at"yahoo.com Mr. EABL has been removing ... Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 19:25:20 -0800 (PST) Hi Tom & thanks for your reply..Guess what..The day after I asked whether anyone ever saw female EABL remove any of Chickadee nest...I actually saw my female remove some of the Chickadee nest. So, I saw my question being answered..Both male & female EABL can & do remove moss from the Chickadee nest... Horace in NC. --- TomGaryH"at"aol.com wrote: Hi Horace, ... Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 11:35:08 -0500 Marietta, GA...Sunny...65 F Dear All, I have 2 bird houses in my backyard area. One is designed for EABL with 1 1/2 inch entrance hole and about 6 1/2 inches from the bottom of the entrance hole to the floor. The other is for Chickadee/Wren which also has 1 1/2 inch entrance hole, but only 4 1/2 inches from the bottom of the entrance hole to the floor. Today, I saw male and female EABL checking the smaller house (intended for Chickadee). My question is, what if these 2 EABL decided to use this box to build their nest, will they have any problems raising their youngs in this tiny little house? Thanks, Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 13:26:04 EST We have "housed" chickadees for several years. We put up a standard BB house but with a 1-1/8" entrance hole. Sparrows and BB cannot enter so they are left in peace. They still must be protected from predation, however. Chickadees are site specific so will return every year to "their" box. Just set a box aside specifically for them with a smaller hole. They nest in a more "tree" like area than you would find a BB, so their house is placed at the edge of the farm, at the tree line. But, they even nest at our home in the suburbs, which is just a normal lot size but we are under a grove of pines. This is not as mind boggling as what people are making it out to be. India Chickadees (Part 2) |
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