|
Welcome to
The Bluebird Box
since 1995 |
Chickadees (Part 5)Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 08:18:18 -0400 Stan, I wasn't aware that Black-capped chickadees eat meal worms? Do they go to a meal worm feeder? I have a pair of chickadees nesting in one of my boxes and never thought of offering them meal worms. Still haven't seen any blue birds yet. But they didn't show up around here
last year until mid-May. Please let me know about how you offer the Jan ... Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 08:48:48 -0400 Jan: As I said a few weeks ago, my EABL were coming to my back deck to try to find me to let me know they were hungry. I placed a small glass bowl on the floor of the deck with some mealies in it and whistled like I normally do when I feed my EABL out in front in their feeder and they learned to come to the back deck too. The Chickadees decided to check it out and found that they like the mealies too! So the Blues and the Dees both feed out of my little glass bowl (the kind like chefs use for their spices when they cook on those cooking shows!) I found my Nuthatches help themselves to the feeder out front too when I feed the Blues out there. Everyone loves mealies! Barb DeLong At 08:18 AM 4/29/2003 -0400, Jan Oakes wrote: ... Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 08:25:34 -0500 (Central Daylight Time) Hello Jan! Yes! Black-Capped Chickadee's do eat mealies. I discovered this when I found
them feeding at my bluebird fly-through feeder. I also have Red-Bellied CJ Hazer
From: jfo1"at"psu.edu Stan, I wasn't aware that Black-capped chickadees eat meal worms? Do they go to Jan At 08:24 PM 4/28/2003 -0500, you wrote: Oh, Haleya, Haleya! So KK's EUST do NOT "fly" out the entrance holes? How else do you explain his "starlets" flying from TX to MN, Happy birding, EveryBIRDie! Stan P.S. Spring is finally arriving in MinneSNOWta! The Tree Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 21:10:06 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA We went to check today and to our surprise, both boxes have........... BCCH! What a thrill & surprise. These 2 boxes are about 25' apart. One had a full nest but no eggs (no wasps - didn't look abandoned), the other had a BCCH sitting. 1) Do BCCH nest this close together???? From: hubertrap"at"webtv.net (Joe Huber) Haleya ,House wrens have a habit of dropping other birds nesting material out on the ground so it doesn't mater if eggs are hid or not. Joe Huber,Venice, Fl.... From: crystaljhill"at"msn.com I have read most of the post in the archives of the Bluebird L on Chickadees. Now that I know they are nesting, should I monitor as I would my Bluebird boxes? Seems they are a little different............... Don't want to scare them off.............. I read one post asking similar to what I asked, that you can monitor but do quickly as they do not tolerate as well as the Blue's........... From:
Jim Elliot, j_bird717"at"yahoo.com Carolina Chickadees have individual personalities just as Eastern Bluebirds. Some will sit snug on the nest. Others will fly to a nearby perch and scold. Still others just perch and watch. On the trail I monitor all boxes on a weekly schedule without any particular problem. I have a dozen boxes that the chickadees use heavily where the bigger problem has been with House Wrens which prefer the same dozen boxes. A few years back I had chickadees nest in a box mounted on my back porch. This was a high traffic area for a family of four plus a dog and the parking area. They tolerated quite well. Terrific birds! From: Judy Carver, njcarver"at"siu.edu Hi, Everyone, I have two boxes out in my yard for my bb pair to choose from. They've been out there almost every day for the past few weeks. Sometimes I see them checking out the boxes, and sometimes they just have a few mealworms and leave. Yesterday I saw Mr. Blue chasing another bird, but didn't notice who it was. One day a second female showed up while my pair was out there. Mr. Blue looked thrilled, but Mrs. Blue had the "other woman" on the ground in a flash. There was an ugly battle which the original Mrs. Blue seemed to win. Today I didn't see my blues at all, but when checking for the beginnings of a nest, found that a chickadee has a nest in one of the boxes...it is the one that my blues usually don't use, and I usually take it down after they start their nest. The problem is that it is only about 15 feet from the box they like. I'm surprised that the Blues allowed this chickadee to move in. Now I'm concerned that they've chosen another nesting site...and come to think of it the last few times I've seen Mr. Blue, I have not seen Mrs. Could Mr. Blue have taken up with the "other woman"? If so, would they be likely to nest elsewhere? Is it typical for a bluebird to allow a chickadee to nest so close, and if not, will it discourage my blues from building their nest, or will the blues just drive the chickadees off? I'm wondering whether I should move the chickadee box, or just remove it entirely. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks, Judy S. Illinois From: Kate Arnold, bbnestbox"at"1starnet.com Chickadees and bluebirds can nest near each other, although sometimes the bluebirds chase the chickadees away. I would leave both nestboxes where they are for now. And definitely not interfere with the chickadee nest. They need housing, too! If the bluebirds like the other nestbox, they may very well use it and leave the chickadees alone. ... To double your pleasure and provide a home for another native cavity nester, why not put up another nestbox 25 feet away or so to allow both bluebirds and chickadees to nest? Please note, I am not ignoring your actual question, I am assuming someone with experience greasing poles will answer it for you. But I couldn't ignore the chickadees being chased away by your bluebirds :-)) Kate Arnold Paris, TX From: Horace Sher, hjsher1"at"yahoo.com Hello..In all prior years to this year (about 4 or 5 of them), I've always observed our Carolina Chickadees starting their nest building & egg laying before the Bluebirds start theirs. For example in prior years, the CACH generally started his nest around here anytime after mid-March or so (March 15-20). Whereas our EABL started their nest usually in the last week in March & later & egg laying sometimes well into 1st week in April. But this year I'm noticing a difference & I'm wondering why? For example.. one of our boxes had a EABL nest started 2 weeks ago.. March 10-11 & 1 egg laid a week ago. As of today March 27, there are no CACH nests started anywhere in our neighborhood which has about 10 boxes. Of the 10, 1 has EABL eggs being incubated, 2 have completed EABL nests, 3 others have EABL nests started & 4 are empty. What I'm wondering about is ... why aren't there any CACH nests being started? Like I said..CACH start building nests a week or 2 before the EABL does around here. Anyone have any ideas or similar experience? Please let me know..I'm very curious..Thanks... Horace in Durham, N. C. From: Michelle Martin, shell7"at"cox.net From: Okatsam"at"aol.com From: Michelle Martin, shell7"at" cox.net Sent: Monday, March 29, 2004 10:15 AM Subject: Help not needed any Longer :( Michelle Martin Central Louisiana Well my friend went out to check the box since she scared off TWO male and one female Bluebird , and all FIVE , not three eggs were gone. So now, she's taking the box down and maybe she won't put up any...Thank you all for helping, atleast now, she knows to go buy a reducer hole when & if she keeps up all of her boxes. ... From: Burnham, Barbara [mailto:Barbara.Burnham"at"zzz.zzz] Michelle, Many people on this list manage nestbox trails with lots of nestboxes. They have some losses too. But when you can only offer one nestbox or two, the losses seem harder to deal with. Al so, these losses are often much more devastating to us humans. (The birds recover much quicker, they move on and try again.) We can't fix everything, but we learn, get better at it, and are more prepared for the next problem. And there will always be problems to fix (or prevent)! Encourage her to keep trying. Don't give up. The birds won't. And it's never too late to try again. I say these things because someone with more experience said them to me, after such a tragic loss from my single backyard nestbox. If I had given up (and I did!) there would be a lot fewer bluebirds today. The joys eventually outweigh the losses. Barbara Burnham, Ellicitt City , MD From: Kate Arnold, bbnestbox"at"1starnet.com Although I have several boxes up in my yard (in addition to my "trail") I had no luck getting a chickadee nesting until I put up a nestbox with a smaller hole (1-1/8") which excludes bluebirds. Some people put a hole restrictor on a nestbox when a chickadee has chosen it, especially if a bluebird is harassing them. Keep in mind this can cause them to abandon the nest, especially in the early stages when they are not so "committed" to it. Having eggs or babies inside often makes birds braver about "interference". Offering a choice of nestboxes, some near better chickadee habitat and some in more open bluebird habitat may lessen some of the competition. Having more nestboxes may mean not all get used, but having a choice may keep bluebirds (and other native birds) in your yard instead of checking out a single nestbox, then flying on to see if there is something better out there! Kate Arnold Paris, TX 100 mi NE of Dallas 33.6853N 95.6293W From: Maynard R Sumner, m-r-sumner"at"juno.com [in response to question about Carolina Chickadee incubation period] 11 to 14 days. Nestlings fledge when they are 13 to 17 days old. Maynard Sumner Flint, MI From: KCBSP"at"aol.com From: Chickie From: Dottie Roseboom [mailto:rosedot"at"mtco.com] From: Anne-Marie Palermino [mailto:ampalermino"at"msn.com] From: plkldf"at"comcast.net [mailto:plkldf"at"comcast.net] What we do is: as soon as we realize there's a chickadee (we have Carolina) building a nest, we put on a 1-1/8" hole guard. This won't keep HOWR out, but it will keep bluebirds and HOSP from taking over the cavity. BTW, this year we have four boxes in a diamond shape, 22' per leg, and in those four boxes we had, at the same time, active nests of: EABL; HOWR: CACH; and TRES. Not completely successful, as nestlings disappeared at rate of one per week in the CACH box --very mysterious-- and one dead baby that looked ready to fly left in the box -- don't know what happened there -- there's a nice "ladder" inside the box -- I suspect WNV. Still, although HOWR will kick out inhabitants when there's an empty box quite close by, in this case HOWR was willing to take an empty box and leave CACH to the one he'd already chosen, and EABL and TRES took the other two. I love this hobby! :o) Hate the death part tho. Anyway, so far we do pretty well in having some successful CACH fledging by putting several 1-1/8" hole guards in each monitor kit and asking the monitors to put them on when they see moss. My latest NABS-style box has a revolving hole guard, so you can just flip it over for chickadees, and then flip it back once they've fledged so second nesting bluebirds can again use it. Paul in Baltimore From: Mary Beth
Roen [mailto:mbroen"at"hotmail.com] Paul and All, When the Black-capped Chickadee laid 2 eggs in the nest, I did put a hole restrictor on, but it was 1 1/4", not 1 1/8". If I ever get another Chickadee nest in one of my boxes, I'll put a smaller hole restrictor on it. Thanks for the advice. Mary Roen, River Falls, WI From: plkldf"at"comcast.net [mailto:plkldf"at"comcast.net] Hi, Mary, [Cable went down, hope this isn't a duplicate...] Something doesn't compute. Trying to find a table which shows different species and their sizes, but can't find it right off. Anyway, as I recall, it's 1-1/8" CH and HOWR 1-1/4" HOSP (and some native species that I can't recall, TUTI?) 1-1/2" EABL and TRES 1-9/16 WEBL, MOBL And since there's nothing that can get into 1-9/16 that can't also get into 1-1/2, lots of people (including me) use 1-9/16 for EABL. However, that doesn't answer the question: how did EABL get into a box with a 1-1/4" hole restrictor on it? Sounds like the hole in the restrictor is bigger than you think...? More info at _Bluebird Monitor's Guide_ :o) best regards, Paul From: Dottie Roseboom [mailto:rosedot"at"mtco.com] Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 10:02 PM Subject: Re: Bluebirds and Chickadees Mary Beth, Sorry to be so late in posting on this. I have 2 or 3 chickadee nests every year and have never seen the bluebirds bother them. (Others have posted that they have witnessed blues attacking chickadees.) However, I have seen plenty of HOSP annoying the chickadees. Now, I always use a 1 1/8" hole restrictor that prevent blues & HOSP from entering the nestbox. If you have house wrens, you still might want to use the wren shield. Dottie Roseboom Peoria IL (central - zone 5) From: Haleya Priest [mailto:mablue"at"gis.net] I was told to put the restrictor hole on AFTER the BCCH start laying eggs. One box I put up specifically for BCCH I put and left a hole restrictor on and sure enough – my calculations were good and a pair of BCCH took the box and haven’t had trouble with HOWR (which is a miracle). Anyway –this box is on a golf course and could easily have had EABLs in it if not for the restrictor hole. :-) H From: Dottie Roseboom [mailto:rosedot"at"mtco.com] Re: Bluebirds and ChickadeesHaleya, Thanks for the clarification about WHEN to place the hole restrictor. Depending on the habitat and which species one wants to attract, determines when to restrict the opening. The nestboxes that I have placed in "chickadee territory" will also attract titmouse, warbler, bluebirds, etc, so I usually place the restrictors on AFTER the nest is about finished, so as not to eliminate the larger birds from having a chance at nesting. As we have oodles of chickadees, I don't set up a nestbox specifically for them. If the area population ever nose-dived, I would probably leave the restrictor on permanently. Your example of the golf course shows how badly nesting areas are needed by all native species. How sad that we have to chose which species will have nestboxes. Lucky for the golfers that you are bringing beautiful birds to the course. Dottie Roseboom Peoria IL (central - zone 5) From: brian [mailto:stonebridgedesigns"at"rcn.com] Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2004 6:10 PM Subject: Re: chickadees: careful when peeking near fledge day ... Last year we were about to go away for a week and wanted to say goodby to our 6 chickadee babies who were close to 2 weeks old. I carefully lifted up the hinged side of the nest box and before I could think, one after another, each baby bolted of the front entrance hole like little black and white butter balls. They all had excellent flights to the various shrubs and were squeeking and yapping like little kids in a school yard. Then momma arrives and flies directly to my face to within 12 inches of me(I don't blame her) and sharply veers off. My friend and I looked at each other incredulously as if to say "what just happened?!!!". It was so cute and funny but almost scarey untill we realized that it was their time to fledge. I will be more careful next time monitoring when getting close to growing up day because there is always the chance they will drop to the ground if not developed enough to make it to a safe branch. It was times like this that I kick myself for not having the camcorder and tripod set up to capture this rare sequence. Brian...Boston Suburbs. From: Megan Whitman [mailto:mlw57 "at"cornell.edu] Actually, if they were still in the nest, it was not quite time for them to fledge. I strongly encourage you to keep track of the age of nestlings that you monitor to avoid 'early fledging' others. Megan Whitman The Birdhouse Network Cornell Lab of Ornithology From: Sharon Kersten [mailto:sak"at"tlab.net]
While doing routine maintenance on our nestbox trail yesterday, my husband discovered two new Carolina Chickadee nests approximately 1200 yards apart, one with an egg! This is only the third year for our trail, but our earliest nest building records for CARCHI's has been Jan 27. Does anyone have information about why these early nesting attempts occur? Thanks, Sharon Kersten XE Ranch Nature Preserve East-Central Texas Lat. 30.9471 N Long. -96.8122 W From: Elizabeth Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Wow! What have the temperatures been there? Are there any more eggs since your pre-Christmas post? I would think that nesting attempts would be triggered by day length and temperature.... Bet from CT From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Friday, March 11, 2005 9:44 AM Subject: Chickadee in pipe Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Anyway this guard is worn out and the upright bracing shakes back and forth violently when you drive over the crossing. I happened to be out there just at dark a couple of days ago and just happened to be looking out my window and down into the pipe from my truck when a Carolina Chickadee SHOT up and out of the pipe, flying off in a panic into the trees beyond the gap. I'll check it out later this week but I expect to find eggs, possibly scrambled when I check the nest. Three drivers cross this cattle guard several times a day. There are three good "bluebird" nestboxes within sight of this guard, another 20 within 70 acres. KK Man is the only critter who feels the need to label things as flowers or weeds. Subject: GA~Nesting Behavior~No Nest
Building Yet Today the CACH pair was checking out a box, the most I have seen so far. Both going in and out and sitting in a nearby perching spot for minutes at a time........I figure they will start building any day now............ My neighbor reports a male EABL checking out a box they have................Did not go in. I have noticed that the CACH did not like the smaller hole size, they would not go in the 1-1/4 size. Maybe used to the 1.5 sizes I have on all the boxes. I removed the smaller hole size until nest building begins. I would like to replace it for safety.......Any thoughts on this? I am so ready................. Crystal Hill From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4 "at"charter.net] At the place I keep my horse, I believe a CACH nest has been complete in one of my boxes for almost a week. Today, I was very surprised to find a BLUE egg in it. Do EABLs kick CACH out (hope not)? I didn't see any dead birds. Did see a male EABL sitting on the box, and a female on a wire about a foot away from it. Do CACH build and abandon nests, and have any of you seen EABLs use CACH nests (maybe these EABLs are new at it, or lazy)? Shawn in Sevierville, TN Shawn, My guess is that something similar happened to your box--the CACH probably didn't abandon it by choice--I've never read anything to suggest that they build "dummy" nests like wrens often do. Whether it was the bluebirds themselves that ran the CACH out, or another bird that the EABLs ran out in turn, it's hard to say. They're such little birds, I bet just about any larger bird (especially one so much larger, such as an EABL) could easily run them off, no matter how hard they try to defend the nest. I was also thinking that there is the perhaps less likely possibility that a predator got one of the CACH pair, and the surviving mate decided to go somewhere else & look for a new mate (since it didn't have any "investment" in eggs or nestlings yet), and then the EABLs saw the vacant nest & took it over. IN any case--you have EABLs in there now, and hopefully they'll all hatch & fledge successfully. From: Kate Arnold [mailto:koscharn "at"cox.net] Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 11:42 AM Subject: RE: Curious If the bluebirds have taken over, you might put up another nestbox for the chickadees, with a 1-1/8” hole so the bluebirds cannot enter and harass them. Since their first nest attempt failed, they may very well try again, especially if you put the chickadee box nearby in the habitat they seemed to like, about 25 feet away or so. I have two chickadee nestboxes for just this reason, and they are the only ones where I have had successful chickadee nestings. The bluebirds look inside early in the season, but can’t get in, so they go to one of the other nearby nestboxes with a more accommodating entrance. Kate Arnold From: MJShearer [mailto:eshearer "at"comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 1:25 PM Subject: Fw: Curious I'm forwarding this post for Evelyn because she is unable to send posts to the List, although she does receive posts with no problem. MJ From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4 "at"charter.net] Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 1:08 PM Subject: Re: Curious The funny thing to me is, 300 feet or more away, is another box, closer to trees. I saw EABLs building a nest last Sun., and as of yesterday, it looked complete but no eggs (I'm wondering if they moved to the CACH box. If it is the same pair, it would be nice if the CACH move to the EABL original nest. I plan to take another box and put it 10-20 feet away from the one the CACH originally chose. ... Shawn in Sevierville (I lived in TX for 25 years, until last May) From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper "at"bayou.com] I have two CACH babies. She laid 3 eggs. They are 4 days old. The bluebird has 4 eggs in the nestbox paired about 15 ft. from it. I am so thrilled! Evelyn, Dehli LA From: Lynn Emerich [mailto:lemerich "at"epix.net] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:15 PM Subject: Re: Carolina Chickadee Babies I have CACH coming out my ears but can't entice them to nest. Plenty of boxes available. Any suggestions? Lynn near Bernville, PA From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4 "at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 9:18 PM Subject: Re: Carolina Chickadee Babies I wish I did, but I'm new at this. As of today, I found 3 eggs in the CACH nest in a backyard box of ours they claimed. Do you offer a birdbath? Black oil sunflower seeds? We do, and they eat seeds all day, and visit the birdbath quite often! I put out the cat hair when I comb my cats (I have 3 strictly indoor cats), too, and found it lining the nest! From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper "at"bayou.com] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 9:16 PM Subject: RE: Carolina Chickadee Babies My trail is 8 years old and up until three years ago, they never nested in the bluebird boxes. I saw them around all the time and am sure they were using natural cavities. I do have many natural cavities and I am sure the Bluebirds were nesting there too before I started my trail as I saw them ... Yes, Shawn, I think the third egg is a dud (infertile). I have never had one hatch the fourth day. It is still there. I've been sick and could not monitor and my husband with his large hands just opens the door and checks it for me. I don't want him touching the eggs. He minds me pretty good. :<) I laughed at him. He came in and told me he checked one box. He knocked on the door and nothing, he opened the door and she flew out barely missing his face! I assured him she would be back. My CACH do not ever eat at the feeder. I saw them this winter, but they never came to eat. Does anyone know what they will eat at the feeders? The only time I ever see them half way sociable is in August when it is scorching hot and I am running the hose down the gravel driveway making puddles for all the birds. That's when I see them closest to my house. Oh, that is a fun time of the year!! One CACH nest had some deer hair from an old hide that was thrown away this year during deer season not far from the nestbox. My husband looked at the material in the nestbox and told me about it. .... Evelyn Cooper From: MJShearer [mailto:eshearer "at"comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 9:51 PM Subject: Re: Carolina Chickadee Babies Congratulations on your CACH babies! Mine CACH love sunflower seed -- especially hulled sunflower seeds because they don't have to struggle to open them. In fact, the EABL like hulled sunflowers seeds. Mary Jane Shearer; Tucker, GA From: bookfanaticef-bluebird "at"yahoo.com [mailto:bookfanaticef-bluebird "at"yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 10:40 PM Subject: Carolina Chickadees--feeding & nesting I have been reading the posts about Carolina Chickadees lately, and find them very interesting. A couple friends of mine have feeders which regularly had CACH coming to them in winter--I believe they serve both mixed seed & sunflower seeds (I don't know anything more specific than that). However, many birds switch to another food during other seasons--while CACH and titmice do eat seeds frequently (here natural foods are usually acorns & pine nuts), they are also insectivores, and I suspect that's what they'd be eating themselves now, in addition to feeding insects to their nestlings. Probably the insects are more nutritious than the seeds alone. Feeding something like mealworms, though, wouldn't necessarily ensure the birds will feed there--one of my friends put some out & the birds ignored them, preferring to look for their own insects instead. From: Kate Arnold [mailto:koscharn "at"cox.net] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 11:39 PM Subject: Feeding Chickadees I only feed safflower seed and have found that it is not as appealing to house sparrows and blackbirds, but that cardinals, various native sparrows, juncos, titmice, finches and chickadees all like it. In fact my chickadees and cardinals will scold me if the feeder is empty. I don't keep it full, but add seed in smaller quantities. Otherwise when the flock of blackbirds, grackles and starlings goes over in the winter, they would clean me out-I counted over 100,000 flying to their evening roost a couple years ago, and it is not uncommon for 500 or so to stop for awhile and check for something I still get a few house sparrows, and two or three red-winged blackbirds, but not as many as when I fed sunflower seed. Kate Arnold From: Tina Wertz [mailto:tinawertz"at"bellsouth.net] In addition, I think that it also has to do with the availabilty of nesting material in the area of the nestboxes, since CACH layer their nests with moss and then line their cups with a soft fiber material, ie. animal hair. From: Humbirdhill"at"aol.com [mailto:Humbirdhill"at"aol.com] Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 2:12 PM Subject: Re: Carolina Chickadees--feeding & nesting & Prothonotaries Tina, From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Oh, too bad. Sorry you've been sick. Sounds like he is well trained! I had the same thing happen with a female EABL, I hope she will be back! Mine eat at the feeder all the time. Black oil sunflower seeds and Bluebird banquet! They do like my birdbaths, too! ...Shawn in Sevierville, TN From: Jimmy Dodson [mailto:rocks_and_flies"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 11:37 PM Subject: Re: Carolina Chickadee Babies CACH's visit my feeders all the time. They frequent the sunflower seeds, Jimmy Dodson From: Chris&Crystal Hill [mailto:crystaljhill"at"msn.com] My Carolina Chickadees eat mealworms, safflower, suet, black oil and drink at the bird bath........They used material from a nesting ball last year when they nested..........They feed all year.................. From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Elizabeth, From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] I just received a call from a lady in the central part of our state with a question for me that I certainly did not know how to answer. She says she has 4 bluebird babies and a Carolina Chickadee has taken over feeding them. She has been feeding mealworms and she says the parents are sitting on the line watching. She is afraid the Chickadee cannot carry enough food for them. Has anyone ever had an experience like this or seen a Chickadee even help feed them? She was pretty distressed. If anyone can give me some answers, I will call her back. Kenny will go on TV in Baton Rouge tomorrow to tell our bluebird story. He has some wonderful things to tell about the brand new Kleinpeter Farm Dairy Trail and the Woods Trail. Good luck to Kenny. Evelyn Cooper From: Jimmy Dodson [mailto:rocks_and_flies"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 10:43 PM Subject: RE: Chickadee Feeding Bluebird Babies Evelyn, et al. -- Wow. This is an interesting issue. For one, that the parents would allow David Lack and others did some incredible studies into the feeding frequency I don't think the issue will likely be whether or not the chickadee can The effort has a direct effect on the genetic fitness of this chickadee, as You might contact Cornell directly and see what they have to say. You may It would definitely be fun to watch and see how things play out. And people --J From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 7:45 AM Subject: Re:Chickadee feeding Bluebird Babiess Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Last year I had Tufted Titmice and Chickadees laying eggs in the same These birds lose nests to predators, storms and other events. The I have found an adult Carolina Chickadee killed by a titmouse or at least Bluebirds very often build their nests over the tops of chickadee and Anyway if a pair of bluebirds will not defend their nestbox from another The hardest part of nestbox monitoring is allowing one native species to The longer you monitor nestboxes the more things you will find that force From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 8:25 AM Subject: RE: Chickadee feeding Bluebird Babiess Reading back over my first post, I failed to mention that the lady found one Evelyn This is the answer I received from Dr. Simons tonight. I just talked to the lady and she told me that the bluebird parents had started feeding again this morning. She said she did not know if the Chickadee is helping, but did see it sitting not far away. I asked her if she had anymore boxes close. She said she did not. I advised her to put one up and pair them and see what happens. She said she would do that tomorrow. I do remember last nesting season that the Chickadees took the one bluebird nestbox in my granddaughter's backyard. The Bluebirds would come and sit on the fence every day looking at the box. I told her husband to pair it and sure enough, the bluebirds were looking for a home! Evelyn Cooper From: Ted Simons [mailto:tsimons"at"ncsu.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 6:01 PM Subject: RE: Chickadee Question Hello Evelyn, Thanks for the interesting question. I have not heard of this behavior before and can’t offer a simple explanation. In many species of birds, especially those limited by the availability of nesting sites, males will act as helpers at the nest of more dominant individuals in the hope of inheriting a nest site when it becomes vacant. This chickadee may be interested in taking over the nest box when the Bluebirds have finished nesting and he is simply exhibiting an instinct to feed begging chicks. I can’t explain why the Bluebirds have stopped feeding their own chicks. I would be very interested to hear the fate of this nest and if the Chickadee initiates a new nest once the Bluebirds are gone. Best regards, Ted Simons Professor USGS Cooperative Research Unit Department of Zoology Box 7617 NCSU Raleigh, NC 27695 From: Jimmy Dodson [mailto:rocks_and_flies"at"hotmail.com] Hummers and some other birds can enter a state of torpor that helps them slow down metabolic needs in cold temps to conserve energy. We didn't have the freezing and below temps here last night, but the wind kicked pretty hard -- breezy conditions are typically more difficult for birds to handle b/c it causes difficulty when attempting to "store" a "temp moderated" air layer in their plumage. Funny though that more birds were out singing harder this morning than in either of the past two warmer days. May be that many of the mig's took advantage of the wind currents last night to move. You'd think with the colder temps they wouldn't, but there again, we still are speculating about when they decided to "go". Need to take a look "at" the radar/doppler info available to see if there are any signatures that show up suggesting if they did move or not. The hummers, warblers, vireos, and residents were out in force this morning singing and feeding. Two female chickadees in boxes I monitor were still hanging tight when I peeked in this morning. The boxes were so warm I could feel the heat radiating in the nest material when I placed my hand near. Each has 5 and 7 eggs respectively. Females didn't budge when I checked in, but watched and quietly chirped when I said hello. CAWR female likewise didn't bolt when I checked in on her nest, located under a buildling awning near my house. Tonight is suppose to be a little colder than last, but not out of the ordinary for temp swings this time of year here. From: Schneid, Kurt J LRB [mailto:KURT.J.SCHNEID"at"lrb01.usace.army.mil] General question about timing species nesting. I apologize for not stating where I lived in the original post. I am trying to determine if there is still hope for a bluebird nest in my yard, there are still 4 empty boxes :) Kurt J. Schneid From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 11:03 AM Subject: Re: Chickadees looking to nest, no bluebirds Hi Kurt, A lot of the timing is going to depend on how far north you are. I'm in southern Michigan (almost exactly between Chicago & Detroit). Here, if the winter's mild enough, we'll have EABL nesting in late March. (Not this year. This year things started in mid-April, which is normal.) They'll nest thru July. TRES arrive in April & generally start nesting in May. What's typical here, if you drew out a graph, is for there to be a spike of EABL fledglings in May, a larger spike of TRES in June, then a more drawn-out hump of EABL afterwards. I hardly ever get BCCH, so i can't say anything about when they nest. I did see a pair excavating a nest in a rotten stump last May. Hope this helps. Torrey Moss From: KimMarie Markel [mailto:auroramn"at"verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 11:58 AM Subject: Re: Chickadees looking to nest, no bluebirds Kurt, In years past we have had Bluebirds start nesting in mid to late May and have a second brood in July so you still have plenty of time. kimmarie :) From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Kurt, From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 11:35 AM Subject: Re: First nestings: Bluebirds Kurt, From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] We have a pair with a nest in a nest box. They must be the best avian parents ever, just about every time I try to check the box (even after watching for a while, and thinking both parents are away), a parent is on the nest! So, I politely close the box (haven't heard them hiss at me, they have been very patient with my brief intrusions). I was able to count five eggs April 17. Haven't been able to see if more since has either been below 60 degrees, or one of the parents is on the nest. That was the case May 1 (parent on nest), and tonight. I did hear peeps, so some eggs have hatched (didn't hear peeps May 1). Hatching timing is about right according to "The Bluebird Monitor's Guide". I'm beginning to wonder if they'll fledge before I know how many hatched! Any suggestions, and has anyone else encountered this? From: Trish [mailto:trishkcully"at"earthlink.net] Shawn...I read somewhere that you aren't supposed to open the door to check on them for a number of days between hatching and the babies ready to fledge, otherwise they may fall out of the nest too early. Can anyone confirm this? From: mfpino"at"comcast.net [mailto:mfpino"at"comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 9:30 PM Subject: Re: CACH question From what I have been told, you can check them for 10 days after they hatch but no longer. From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 9:43 PM Subject: Re: CACH question Trish, From: bookfanaticef-bluebird"at"yahoo.com [mailto:bookfanaticef-bluebird"at"yahoo.com] If you know about when the chicks hatched, you can estimate a range of dates of when they could possibly fledge. For CACH (according to The Birder's Handbook by Erlich et. al.) time to fledging is ~13-18 days. Therefore, I would not open the box after ~11 days, or about 2 days before the earliest possible fledge date to avoid force-fledging them. And still be careful if you open the box that late, to be on the safe side. Put a hand in front of the entrance hole when you open/close the box, and don't remove it until they have time to settle when you close it. Make sure you watch the box from a distance after you close it to be sure none jumped out after you looked in. If they do jump out, replace them in the nest, and repeat the process again. FROM: Evelyn Cooper I checked mine right up until the day they fledged. You just have to be very careful and know what you are doing. They stayed in there 21 days. It was only two of them. I crack the door so very slightly and if they are still I gradually open it more. If they are startled and start moving a lot, I close the door and move on. I do this with Bluebirds too. If you don't check them after day 13, how do you know if they are all still alive? I certainly would do it with utmost care not to excite them. Don't walk up and pull the door completely open as that would certainly be asking for it. My backyard babies fledged early Tuesday morning and one of the babies stayed in the box all day until nearly sun down. I checked on him several times, cracking the door slightly. Mom and Dad knew he was in there and dive-bombed me fiercely. I see them all in the tree next to the house being fed by the parents. What a wonderful sight! Evelyn Cooper...Delhi, LA From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 6:30 AM Subject: Re: CACH question Evelyn, I will try! Was the mama or daddy there quite often? I check every couple of days since they are such diligent parents, but almost every time, even if I think they are both gone, one parent is there. I do open the door slowly, enough to see the parent, and close it. Wow, 21 days! Good point. I am certainly trying not to excite them, and I don't just walk up and open the door all the way. Neat! I'll bet they dive-bombed you, I'm waiting for that. Yes, it sounds like a wonderfule sight! Thank you! Shawn in Sevierville, TN From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Yes. I don't plan to open the door during the "danger-zone". I am careful and open the door slowly. Thank you for the entrance hole tip! From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 6:43 AM Subject: RE: CACH question The Mama CACH was never on the nest but in the trees fussing at me. Yep, I It was Bluebirds in my backyard that dive-bombed me Tuesday. However, once a Evelyn Cooper From: Chris&Crystal Hill [mailto:crystaljhill"at"msn.com] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 7:36 AM Subject: Re: CACH question Shawn, my nest I had last year always had one of them on the nest. I would tap on the side and whistle to let them know I was near. She would always fly out, they would watch me check and then I would leave and back she went. They fledged five. I have heard though that CACH are not tolerant to nest checks, so I guess it would depend on the pair. Mine did not dive bomb or anything like that, but I did on occasion get their scolding calls...They got used to me after a while and I could just walk towards the box and whistle and out she flew... From: Kate Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:50 AM Subject: RE: CACH question I never disturb mama on the nest, whether she is incubating eggs or brooding newly hatched babies. I heard of one experienced bluebirder who lifted a mother bird to count eggs, and her legs tangled in the nesting material. As the babies get a few days older, mama and papa will be busy feeding them, so you will be more likely to catch the birds off the nest. So try again in a day or so, and meanwhile, observe the nestbox. You are monitoring when you observe parents feeding, even if you don’t open the nestbox. Kate Arnold From: Dottie, Hickory Hollow, Brown County, Indiana [mailto:yumyumkatts"at"voyager.net] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 11:17 AM Subject: Re: CACH question You can get a dental mirror at a car repair store for about $.99 cents. I use that and a flashlight to check BB babies after day 12. Dottie, Hickory Hollow From: Lynn Emerich [mailto:lemerich"at"epix.net] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 12:27 PM Subject: Re: CACH question If I feel the babies may be too active, I put my hand over the hole and wait about half a minute before looking. I keep my hand over the hole for a short time after closing the box. This is to make sure they don't get frightened into fledging too early. They usually relax and are ok. Lynn near Bernville From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 8:26 PM Subject: Re: CACH question Crystal, From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] A new LBBS member in South LA wrote me this morning saying "Help, a House Sparrow is running my bluebird off. What can I do? From: David Gwin [mailto:David.Gwin"at"cityofcarrollton.com] Howdy, all: From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"verizon.net] David, From: rob barron [mailto:rebel1956"at"comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 3:26 PM Subject: RE: Carolina Chickadees Hey David and group, I just sent this to one of our resident scientists, Jimmy Dodson and didn’t think it was worth boring the group with, but now that you mentioned it:. Jimmy, No need to respond to this. David, I haven’t seen a single elm, American or any hybrid in Georgia, but the Carolina Chickadees are finding bright green moss somewhere. They haven’t gotten past bringing moss in yet, and if you didn’t have a good set of binoculars you wouldn’t notice that they are bringing in anything because they bring in such a small quantity at one time. Thanks, From: David Gwin [mailto:David.Gwin"at"cityofcarrollton.com] Hi, Bruce: From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 4:44 PM Subject: Re: Carolina Chickadees David, my Chickadees use only the green moss off the trees. From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Mountain Chickadees at a trail in Big Bear, Calif. use fur, not moss. From: Dereth Vardaman What size box are you using with your Chickadees and size of hole? Last year they used one of my BB boxes but I would like to know their preference. From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"verizon.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 3:41 PM Subject: Re: Chickadees in NH Dee, From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] I responded to Dee's Chickadee question offlist but since Bruce brought it to the forum, my response is below: From: rob barron [mailto:rebel1956"at"comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 5:15 PM Subject: RE: Chickadees in NH Hi Linda, I totally agree with you about tight boxes, larger interior space (for any kind of BB) and think if anyone did the math they’d see a second entrance/exit would probably equal the ventilation of a lot of ventilation holes. With that said, in different parts of the country there aren’t pine trees next to a mature and dense national forest of pines and oaks. Your nest boxes are excellently designed and constructed and show a lot of thought and concern for your Western Bluebirds. I just wonder if a second entrance/exit hole higher than the primary entrance might increase ventilation by convection/ rising warm air or whatever the proper physics term is. Also, since warm air rises and cold air falls, please tell us what your rational is for no drain holes. The holes in my 6 Carolina Chickadee nest boxes are also 1.25” round. Otherwise they are identical in interior space to my standard EABL boxes. The CACH seem to prefer standard EABL boxes with 1.5” round entrances or the overlapping 1&3/8” Petersen style entrances, but the N. Georgia EABL’ s seem passive and just let them take over all the boxes. We’ll see if they change their minds. We never stop learning from these exchanges of experiences. Thanks, From: plkldf"at"comcast.net [mailto:plkldf"at"comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 8:24 AM Subject: Paul Kilduff If you want to preserve those boxes for CACH you can put on a hole restrictor - you can look up the diameter - I think it's 1-3/16" -- won't keep out HOuse WRens but will keep bluebirds from evicting the chickadees. Paul in Baltimore From: Kathleen Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 9:41 AM Subject: RE: Hole restrictors/metal hole protectors I use 1-1/8" hole restrictors on nestboxes for chickadees. This allows them in, but keeps out both bluebirds and house sparrows. Since I have plenty of nestboxes for bluebirds, I have a few of the smaller nestboxes designated specifically for chickadees. Rather than a small square of wood with the appropriate sized hole, I use a 6" length of cedar picket, figuring the extra length gives the bird something to brace their tail on as the cling to the front of the nestbox. This year I have added metal hole protectors on many of my nestboxes which have suffered from woodpeckers, after either replacing the front or adding a restrictor. I purchased the metal hole protectors from Bird Watcher's General Store. They come in several sizes, including the 1-1/8" and 1-1/2". Kate Arnold From: Kenny Kleinpeter [mailto:kpkmajk"at"cox.net] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 8:05 AM Subject: RE: But don't forget to add the restrictor (1-1/8") AFTER the eggs are laid. -Kenny From: plkldf"at"comcast.net [mailto:plkldf"at"comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 12:26 PM Subject: RE: chickadee hole size Interesting. Thanks Kenny! I think I chose 1-3/8" because I don't have any boxes in chickadee-friendly areas that have much chance of HOSP intrusion. I'm trying to exclude EABL, and 1-3/8" will do that -- heck, if I can find 1-7/16" I could use that. If I do want to exclude HOSP as well, if I could find one I could use 1-3/16, which would exclude HOSP. I hear from you saying the hole size is 1-1/8" but not to put it on until the eggs are laid -- hmm. I take it if you put the 1-1/8" on after they've started nest building, but before egg laying, they'll abandon the box rather than go through that small a hole. Only having eggs in there will force them to use a 1-1/8" hole...? I'm thinking I should give them as much space as possible while still not allowing in EABL, or HOSP in HOSP territory. So I think I like 1-3/8" for chickadee boxes, and not 1-1/8" . I'm going to see if there are any Forstner bits at 1-7/16" From: rob barron [mailto:rebel1956"at"comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 12:57 PM Subject: RE: chickadee hole size You guys lost me on all this hole size stuff. I have 6 boxes with 1&1/4" Kenny, are you saying that female Carolina Chickadees are slimmer after they have the eggs out of their system? My C. Chickadees are industrious and opportunistic; they're even building in my Flicker box 30 feet up in an oak tree. I'd rather let nature take its course and learn from what I observe than use hole restrictors. There are plenty of nest boxes the Bluebirds were defending. I think (but don't know for sure) that if the Bluebirds want to reclaim a nest box they will be able to drive off the smaller Carolina Chickadees. Interestingly,(is that a word?) the Tufted Tit-mice and Brown-headed Nuthatches have been going in and out of my boxes also, but the Bluebirds have disappeared again. I've never had a Carolina Wren enter any nest box yet. Thanks, PS I bought a Forsnter bit set at Lowes that has every size from 1/4" to 2&1/2" for less than 3 individual bits bought singly. Hecho in China and probably painted a titanium color, but they work fine for boring entrance holes. From: Kenny Kleinpeter [mailto:kpkmajk"at"cox.net] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 1:05 PM Subject: RE: chickadee hole size Hey Rob, this is what I wrote to Paul: I have had bluebirds enter 1-1/2" holes. I would be worried that if sufficiently motivated, smaller bluebirds might even get in holes smaller than that. I'm not quite sure why the wait until after egg-laying. My guess is that chickadee's being so timid and vulnerable, have adapted the behavior to vacate a box or area at the slightest change/danger. I do know that I have had boxes with the reducer on it and no chickadees would ever take them. From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 2:01 PM Subject: RE: Chickadees in NH Rob wrote: The holes in my 6 Carolina Chickadee nest boxes are also 1.25” round. Otherwise they are identical in interior space to my standard EABL boxes. The CACH seem to prefer standard EABL boxes with 1.5” round entrances or the overlapping 1&3/8” Petersen style entrances, but the N. Georgia EABL’ s seem passive and just let them take over all the boxes. I put a hole restrictor on AFTER a chickadee starts building a nest. I find the couple of boxes I see with a 1.25" hole restrictor on them in advance (not carefully monitored by owners, so I put the restrictor on to keep HOSP out) are not used by chickadees. Bet from CT From: mrtony8 [mailto:philip.berry"at"mchsi.com] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 2:12 PM Subject: Re: chickadee hole size Just as an aside, I utilize the 7/8" restrictor when I have Brown Headed From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 2:05 PM Subject: chickadee hole size My notes say 1.125" to 1 3/8" for black-capped chickadee. Bet from CT More chickadee nesting info here: http://www.sialis.org/chickadee.htm From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 2:16 PM Subject: oops clarification on hole restrictors for chickadees vs HOSP Hole Reducers: For the smallest cavity nesters (e.g., chickadee, titmice, nuthatch) use a hole reducer smaller than 1.25 to exclude almost all HOSP and protect eggs and birds in the nestbox. (Again, I put these on AFTER the chickadee starts building). Frank Navratil determined that for entrances: ROUND 1 1/4" diameter allows HOSP entry. (Kridler has had HOSP nest in boxes with an exact 1 3/16" hole.) 1 1/8" diameter stops entry. HORIZONTAL SLOT 1 1/2" x 1" slot allows entry. 1 1/2" x 7/8" stops entry. VERTICAL SLOT 1" x 1 1/2" slot allows entry. I had an interesting discussion about this issue with Floyd Van Ert. He noted that most experiments about what size hole restrictor is appropriate to exclude HOSP or starlings rely on putting a bird inside the box and seeing if it can squeeze its way OUT. He felt that birds are MUCH less likely to squeeze their way IN to some of these holes, so the measurements are too conservative. Bet from CT From: Kathleen Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Several people questioned why you would wait to install a hole restrictor. There is probably no need to use a restrictor at all if other birds are not competing with the nesting chickadees. However if bluebirds or house sparrows start to harass them after they have laid their eggs, a restrictor is a good way to protect them. Since they are already committed to the nestbox with their eggs in it, they are less likely to abandon the nestbox if a restrictor is added at this time. Kate Arnold From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Saturday, March 25, 2006 5:44 PM Subject: RE: chickadee hole size I too have a few boxes pre-fitted with hole reducers that do not get used by black-capped chickadees. I only put the hole reducer on after they have claimed the box, to protect them from competition since they are unlikely to prevail. Unfortunately house wrens often kick them out. I have to get better about using wren guards as soon as that first egg is laid, BEFORE the house wren discovers the box (http://www.sialis.org/wrens.htm#guard ) I can't remember, but I think I have put up hole restrictors BEFORE an egg is laid without the chickadee leaving, but I'm not sure. I have a great crested flycatcher box on my chimney outside my office window. So far, a starling, chickadee, house sparrow and pair of bluebird have checked it out. Maybe part of the attraction is the height (16 feet) or maybe the larger hole size. I'm interested to see who actually tries to use it. Bet from CT From: Jimmy Dodson [mailto:rocks_and_flies"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 7:05 PM Subject: RE: chickadee hole size Carolina chickadees here are using any box with a hole size of 1" or larger. Bet, I wouldn't be surprised if your GC flycather box gets used... the flycatchers may not get the chance to do so with all of the others around and since they likely haven't arrived yet. Where I have flycatcher boxes up, other species are there, but the flycatchers are the most prominent species (still they haven't gotten here yet). Let me know what happens. Take care --J From: David Gwin [mailto:David.Gwin"at"cityofcarrollton.com] Howdy, Gang: I just wanted to report in on my "bumper crop" of CACHs thus far this season. As of yesterday, I have 24 boxes occupied by some of the most industrious CACHs that I have ever observed. Of those, 8 boxes have 7 nestlings each (1 from a clutch of 8 eggs!) and 7 have 6 nestlings each! This is really impressive since here in North Texas we are still locked into a substantial drought! Take care, P.S. - I am still waiting for my PRWAs ... Please let me know if you have them yet. From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] If you look on our website at www.labayoubluebirdsociety.org you can see in our "Pictures" section where Chickadees and Bluebirds were raised together. It seems one species took over the nest with eggs already in it and laid and raised all the babies. From: Pauline Tom [mailto:ptom"at"austin.rr.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 11:11 PM Subject: Titmouse feeding Chickadee fledglings Oh, the sights one sees with backyard - and front yard - nestboxes! While preparing for the NABS 2006 Convention, I noticed a Carolina Chickadee and a Black-crested Titmouse coming and going from a nestbox with eggs. Yesterday chattering chickadees begged for food from a titmouse, and the titmouse fed them. Throughout the day today the titmouse fed the chickadees. I've not determined if an adult chickadee is also feeding the chicks. Very interesting! Pauline Tom From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] That reminds me of a call I received from an LBBS member last year when the Carolina Chickadees took over feeding some Bluebird babies in her back yard for two days. The BB parents just sat on the fence and watched but decided to take over after two days. Makes you wonder what in the heck is going on! From: John Curran [mailto:webjc"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 10:26 PM Subject: Can I remove Chickadee nest now they have fledged? Can I remove Chickadee nest now they have fledged today? So the Bluebirds can use it for the second brood? The male was always checking this box out while chickadees were in it. They are nesting in my other bluebird box already. Since Chickadees fledged, I can remove it now, correct? I removed chickadee portal as well so Bluebirds can fit into it now. I didn't want to remove it so fast in case that some of the babies would go back and roost in there. But I'm pretty sure they don't. Just wanted to be super safe though. Thanks, John Curran P.S. Got 5 bluebird eggs. Should hatch any day now. From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 11:00 PM Subject: Re: Can I remove Chickadee nest now they have fledged? John, Bruce Burdett SW NH From: John Curran [mailto:webjc"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 9:08 AM Subject: Re: Can I remove Chickadee nest now they have fledged? Thanks to everyone who replied.I will remove the chickadee nest by the end of the day. I did however see a parent or offspring, not sure, go to the bird house early this morning and study it and look into it for a while but never went in. Then flew away. Maybe it was the last goodbye for the birdie. ;-) I have photos of this (not posted yet), but thought I'd throw this out in case someone does know this to be true. This is only my theory/question. Would chickadees in this instance, created a flap/cover to cover up the corner where the babies were staying for protection from other invading birds? Because when I first looked in, it was all flat, almost to the bottom of the entrance hole. I couldn't believe how much material was in there. Then I flipped up the top and could see a large hole/indentation in back right corner where the babies were obviously sitting. It seemed like a door for them to hide under. Is this just coincidence or am I on to something here? I ask this because these poor chickadees had to fight off Eurasian Sparrows and House Wrens quite often. Even bluebirds landed on the house. I thought maybe it was a defense mechanism for protection. John Curran From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"verizon.net] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 11:32 AM Subject: Re: Can I remove Chickadee nest now they have fledged? John, Bruce Burdett SW NH From: melissa fox [mailto:meberle2"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 3:44 PM Subject: Re: My first nest!! Dean wrote: You will find that most bluebirders consider themselves to have been blessed when either a a BCCH or a TUTI happens by their boxes and decides to make a nest in any one of them. So...you are one of the lucky ones....enjoy it....it doesn't happen often.....dean sheldon, greenwich, OH Really? Wow, I feel honored now :) I need to start looking up some books about them. There isn't a "Chickadee Monitor's Guide" out there is there? ;) -Melissa from Columbus From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 12:44 PM Subject: chickadees Mucho info about chickadees (nests, monitoring etc.) here: http://www.sialis.org/chickadee.htm Gary Richison did a Wild Bird Guide on chickadees - Good overview of nesting and flocking habits, Bet from CT From: plkldf"at"comcast.net [mailto:plkldf"at"comcast.net] Paul Kilduff From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2006 9:58 PM Subject: Re: Nest Destroyed :( Maybe the nest was not destroyed. I have seen Carolina Chickadees build a From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Hi John, I'm behind again on the archives, but didn't see an answer to your question. Are you referring to the "blanket" that chickadees often place over eggs and nestlings? The ones You refer to chickadees fighting off Eurasian Tree Sparrows - have you seen them be aggressive Bet from CT From: John Curran [mailto:webjc"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 10:44 PM Subject: Re: Chickadee blankets and also Eurasian Tree Sparrows Yes, I saw and photographed the Chickadee blanket. I had no idea. I thought it was awesome because of the harrassment from the Eurasian Tree sparrows. It was made of the neighbor's dog. Thanks for answering. I used your text to describe it on my Blog. Let me know if this is a problem and I'll remove it. http://rubythroat13.blogspot.com/ Pugnacious? I don't know what the best word is. The Eurasians would constantly be at the entrance of the box looking in and cheaping at the babies or parent inside of the box with baby birds. They would sit on the house like they were taking over. They would keep pestering the chickadees. Doesn't sound as agressive as the House Sparrow, but definitely putting a lot of stress on the chickadees. John Curran From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 8:03 AM Subject: RE: Chickadee blankets You can blog anything from my website :-) More on black-capped chickadees here: Bet From: Susan Wenzel [mailto:siouxzieq_0"at"cox.net] Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 8:26 AM Subject: Speaking of Chickadees My Chickadees have been bringing their three babies to the feeders. I think they are trying to wean (is that the term for birds?) them, as they only fed them the occasional seed. The adults take their feed over to the trees to eat undisturbed, but the babies stay on the feeder begging to whomever will listen. They even begged when the female Cardinal and one of the Tufted-titmice flew down to eat. I thought it was funny that they thought those two might feed them. By the way, these guys nested naturally in the woods. We were able to see them just after they fledged and every day since them. Boy are they noisy! Susan Wenzel, Virginia Beach, VA From: BowmanMail"at"aol.com [mailto:BowmanMail"at"aol.com] Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2006 9:01 AM Subject: My little chickadee This story has a happy ending. The fledgling was unharmed. Two days ago I watched my chickadees fledge (there were only 2 fledglings) but the second one to fledge was dangling from the box because his foot was tethered to the nest by a strand of hair. The first time I saw him hanging on to the box, he retreated back inside so I thought he was just reluctant to make that big leap. But when it happened again (and he wasn't retreating), my heart started to race. I thought maybe his foot was caught in a crack in the nest box. As the baby was dangling, a blue jay flew within an inch of the baby, the baby gave out the distress call and I scared the jay away. When I got near the nest box, the baby gave a distress call again, and Momma dive bombed me so I backed off but the baby was still dangling. That's when I got the ladder. I gently supported the dangling baby with my left hand as I pulled down the nest box with my right hand. The baby retreated back into the box through the hole, where I was able to help him. After lifting off the roof of the nest box, and seeing the problem, I broke the hair with my hands. I then put the roof back and rehung the box, and waited. Momma Chickadee was right there all the time. It took about 10 more minutes of Momma calling, and bringing food to him, before I saw him perching on the hole and within seconds I saw him fly ever so gracefully up into my maple tree. I watched Momma take him from tree to tree in my yard and across the street where Poppa and sibling were. Since then all four have been back several times to partake of sunflower hearts from my feeder. My friend, the bird rehabilitator, said the baby would have no trouble picking off the hair I left on his foot. So far, from what I can see my little chickadee isn't impeded in any way. When they were gone I took down the box and looked inside more carefully. Nancy Bowman From: Kathleen Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2006 7:07 PM Subject: RE: My little chickadee How wonderful that you were able to help your little chickadee. Had he hung there too long he would have died. I experienced that this year. One bluebird pair had a nest of 4 eggs, only one of which hatched. After giving them plenty of time to hatch I removed the unhatched eggs and discovered they were infertile. So the parents had only one baby to feed, plenty of insects and good weather. I thought the baby had it made. I wasn't around to observe the fledge attempt, but found the baby dead hanging by some kind of thread that was extremely difficult for me to break, but I would have cut it had I been there when he tried to leave. So again, how great that you were able to save this little one! Kate Arnold From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 2:03 PM Subject: second chickadee brood? What a weird year it's been so far on my trails. Tree Swallows are all out of synch - some still incubating while others have already fledged. Weird Fortunately all bluebird pairs except one are doing second broods. Hoping for a third afterwards Late titmouse nesting that was abandoned (in the box with my nestcam, waaaaaaaah). And NOW, a second chickadee nest? I've had chickadees in this little NABS box by a stream every Anyway, the first egg of the first brood was laid 4/28, appears all 8 fledged, and I cleaned out the According to Birds of North America online: Replacement broods, begun after loss of a first brood, We've got loads of chickadees here.... Of course it's not possible to tell for sure that it's the same female/pair without banding. But Bet from CT From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2006 5:38 PM Subject: chickadees and Peterson boxes Has anybody had chickadees nest in a Peterson box when they had other choices? I have a mix of boxes, but chickadees always seem to pick standard or small NABS wooden boxes, or in one case a Gilberston (round PVC) box. I usually have 3 or 4 chickadee nests each season, this year I only had one. BUT I do believe it had two broods (which would be practically unheard of?) as both were the same style nest in the same box, one right after the other. (Chickadees have nested in this box for several years in a row.) The first nest had 8 eggs, all of which hatched and fledged. The second had 5, 3 of which hatched and fledged. The first batch was started on 4/27, the second batch was started on 6/26. Of course no way to be certain without banding. Bet from CT From: Maynard Sumner [mailto:m-r-sumner"at"juno.com] Bet, No, I have not had chickadees in a Peterson box. Maynard Sumner From: wensuz"at"isp.com [mailto:wensuz"at"isp.com] Hi everyone, this is Wendy, in Wakeman,OH. Today was an exciting day for me, as my very first BCCH came to my feeders, and I spent the entire day observing it until it left around 4:10pm for it's roosting site. It was alone, and it had a very odd throat patch. It was not the typical triangle, for it was broken up by white at the bottom of it's bill, and the black area I swear was shaped just like a bow tie! This little guy looked like he/she was wearing a tuxedo! From: Peter Kwa [mailto:kwapeterca"at"yahoo.ca] Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 6:05 PM Subject: RE: Danger signs PRIOR to a predator attack - HOSP HOWR HO HO HO Now what am I supposed to do to my poor BCCH pair?
First, I am supposed to invite them to a box with a 1 1/2" hole.
Then, after the first egg is laid, I am supposed to mount a 1 1/8" hole reducer as a precaution against an evil HOSP that might come out of the blue sky. At the same time, I am also supposed to mount a Wren Guard as a precaution against a swift egg-puncturing HOWR.
Hohoho!
The poor BCCH pair returns to a box that looks all of a sudden completely different to them! Will they not abandon the box, even if there is already an egg in it? From: Cher [mailto:bluelist"at"localnet.com] I wouldn't do both at once. First one, let them get used to it, then the other. Cher From: Peter Kwa [mailto:kwapeterca"at"yahoo.ca]
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 8:50 PM Subject: Attracting BCCH I am taking advantage of the hospitality that bluebird-l extends to all cavity nesters, hope that's OK. The BCCH is the one and only cavity nester that comes to my backyard feeder.
I have never felt more helpless when I read somewhere: "To attract a Blue Jay, begin with an oak tree." How the h^#! shall I all of a sudden have a mature oak tree in my backyard? Luckily, the BCCH does not require an oak tree. I have done the following to attract the BCCH, and invite comments from the list.
1) Correct box: NABS-style bluebird box with 1 1/2" hole. Not sure whether the wooden predator guard helps with attracting the BCCH to the box or on the contrary tends to repell it. The hole size will be reduced with a metal plate after the birds are committed to the box, e.g. egg laid.
2) Wood shavings in the box, which allegedly fools the BCCH into 'excavating' the wood shavings. I use a 1" to 1 1/2" layer of pine shavings usually used for hamster bedding and the like. How do I compact the wood shavings as is sometimes suggested? My pine shavings are loose!
3) Correct height: entrance hole at 7' which is the average height of a natural BCCH cavity (and coincidentally, consistent with avoiding the neighbour's cat)
4) Correct orientation of entrance hole: North-East. However, the entrance hole is not really visible from the house with this orientation of the entrance hole. The box can be rotated and fixated in any direction with a box mount described in a parallel thread. The best view from the house is with an East orientation. The best orientation for fledging is North in full view of trees. Can I on occasion rotate the box between East and North or will there be problems?
5) Correct siting: in the edge region between mowed lawn and shrubs/trees, 'somewhat' inside the lawn. What exactly is 'somewhat'? I can easily move the location of the box as described in a parallel posting.
6) Fake entrance holes: patches made of black adhesive tape on roof, and sides, to arouse curiosity and lead the bird to the real entrance hole
7) Paint the baffle as a fake bark? What does the BCCH like here?
8) Nesting material: moss and fur. One of my neighbors has an Old English Sheepdog (the breed that you can't see the eyes of because they are covered with fur), he will collect the shearings at the dog groomer's. I plan to present it in a box with a wire mesh cover (1/4" mesh size). The (fur) box can be hung on the fence not far from the (nest) box. Or is there a better way to present the fur? How to obtain and offer moss?
9) Water: there is a recirculating bird bath in my backyard that I keep well, it is in fact a little hobby of mine
10) Food: behind the houses across the street is a kind of regrowth forest with undercover (I am not sure what it actually is but it does not look like a mature forest to me). I think the insectivorous BCCH can forage there.
Again, comments more than welcome!
From: Kathleen Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"suddenlink.net]
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 4:20 AM Subject: RE: Attracting BCCH It sounds like great habitat to me. The only thing I can suggest now is patience! It took me several years before I had a nestbox used by a chickadee. I know chickadees have nested nearby because I see young chickadees with their parents each year. So I guess they prefer “natural” housing somewhere. Still it was a thrill to have them as tenants. The nestboxes they prefer here are near multiple trees or wooded areas rather than completely out in the open or near only a single tree, at least in my case. Incidentally, “my” chickadees are Carolina Chickadees, which are every bit as endearing as their Black-capped Chickadee relatives! I didn’t realize chickadees liked to “excavate”—I know woodpeckers have a great need to do so, being primary cavity nesters. Kate Arnold, Paris, Texas From: Peter Kwa [mailto:kwapeterca"at"yahoo.ca]
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 9:48 AM Subject: RE: Danger signs PRIOR to a predator attack - HOSP HOWR HO HO HO Can you describe your particular hole restrictor and wren guard on BCCH nest boxes in more detail? From: Paula Ziebarth [mailto:paulaz"at"columbus.rr.com] Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 1:27 PM Subject: Re: Danger signs PRIOR to a predator attack - HOSP HOWR HO HO HO Peter, Birds become very dedicated to their nest once that first egg is laid. I doubt they would abandon a box once they start their clutch. Cher's advice of doing one change at a time is a good one. The hole restrictor should keep the HOSP out and a HOWR guard that blocks the HOWR's view of the entry hole (see second one on Bet's site: Another good tip is to provide more than one box in your yard to house other native birds that might want a home AND to intercept the non native HOSP by using inbox trapping when he shows up. Paula Z From: Mary Beth Roen [mailto:mbroen"at"hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 1:45 PM Subject: RE: Danger signs PRIOR to a predator attack - HOSP HOWR HO HO HO Peter and all, I have pieces of thin wood about 3x3" with a 1 1/8 inch hole on hand in my supply box that I carry with me when I monitor my trails. When I find a moss nest started by a BCCH, I immediately place it over the 1 1/2 inch hole to restrict it to 1 1/8 inch. I use screws and a cordless screwdriver so it only takes a minute to apply. The same goes for my wren guards. I have pieces of wood about 4 inches by 4" connected at a right angle. When a BCCH has laid one or more eggs, I screw one edge to the |