Who’s in My Nestboxes?

A few weeks ago I wrote about putting up two bluebird nestboxes at our Wisconsin cabin in “Putting Up Eastern Bluebird Nestboxes“.  I couldn’t wait to come back and see who might have moved in!

We came back up two weeks later and checked out the boxes. The first one clearly had a new resident, but it wasn’t a bluebird.  After a little investigation on the sialis.org website, I figured out it was a black-capped chickadee nest.  Not a bluebird but definitely a keeper!

chickadee nest
5/7/16 Base layer of chickadee nest in Box #1

Black-Capped Chickadee nests can take up to 2 weeks to build.  The base layer is coarse material like moss, pine needles or bark.

chickadee nest
5/7/16 Nothing yet in Box #2

Then it’s lined with softer materials like animal fur, downy plant fibers or feathers.  The nest cup is about 1 inch deep and found towards the back.  Sometimes they can even cover the cup to hide the eggs as they are being laid.

The next day some of the softer material was being added to house #1
5/8/16 The next day some of the softer material was being added to  Box #1
chickadee nest
5/8/16 and maybe someone is starting a nest in Box #2!

We left for a couple of weeks, so very curious what we’d come back to…

Chickadee eggs
5/27/16 Six eggs were laid in Box #1

Six little tiny eggs were in nest box #1!  These little eggs are only about 2/3 in x 1/2 inch in size and typically 6-8 are laid.  They are laid 1 per day, and then the female lays on them starting the day before the last one so they all hatch within 24 hours.  Incubation lasts 12-13 days.

chickadee nest
5/27/16  Looks like a finished nest but no eggs yet in Box #2.

Box #2 looks ready for eggs, but nothing yet. But boy was I fooled!  I went back to check on them the next day and this is what I found…

5/28/16 This little momma has been busy!
5/28/16 This little momma Chickadee has been busy!  I count 11 eggs in Box #2.

There must have been a little nest plug over them when I peeked in the day before.  She’s going to have her work cut out for her with all those eggs.

Depending when I get back, I may or may not check on them again.  The hatchlings will spend almost 2 weeks in the nest being fed mostly by the male at first, and then equally by the male and female as they get older.  They typically fledge on day 16, but they are very prone to early fledging if disturbed after day 11.  I definitely don’t want to do that!

On one visit I had a little fun sneaking up on the #1 nestbox.  It’s always a good idea to tap on the house when checking, otherwise you might get a bird right in the face 🙂

black-capped chickadee

black-capped chickadee

black-capped chickadee

black-capped chickadee

black-capped chickadee

Then off she went to a nearby tree to tsk me.

8 thoughts on “Who’s in My Nestboxes?

  1. I loved this post Stephanie! That little chickadee head poking out, like “Who’s at my front door?”!!! Will be very interested to see who hatches from the other one! Thanks!

    1. Thanks Wendy! She was so cute looking at me. The first time I saw her she did almost fly right into me so I got better about being stealthy and staying to the side.
      The other nest is also chickadees based on the construction and appearance of the eggs. Haven’t seen the female at that one though.

    1. I was surprised too, especially since I thought there was none until that day! She’d been hiding them.

  2. Stephi, I love your pictures and The Chickadees. Thank you for some pointers on placing a Chickadee nest. You’ve inspired me. Beautiful.

    1. Thanks! I was hoping for bluebirds, but I’m perfectly happy with chickadees. Hope you have good luck with your nest boxes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.