They abandoned the top of the dead tree trunk, and then moved down to a crook in the tree. A lot lower, and more accessible to our whiskered critters, and I was worried!I caught a photo of one of them with sawdust in its mouth. One would climb out, and let it fly off in the wind. The other was careful and flew to another branch to ensure the wind took it far away. Hard to tell which was the male and which the female!
Oliver was quite keen on the whole affair. Here is is on the rock from which I took the photo. His tail is about a foot from the the tree trunk!
The nest had a lovely view of the lake! They didn't seem to mind me taking photos. I could creep quite close. I put a stick in the empty nest, and measured how deep they had gone. It was about 8" at the end. They dug about a 1/2" per day.
They have now abandoned this site totally, and while I looked forward to seeing the babies, I don't know if I scared them off, but I am glad they *did* take off.Visit more Camera Critters (#106) here.
13 comments:
Hi Jenn
I didn't know chickadees would dig a nest out! You can learn something new every day.
We had snow here this morning so I'm sure you got it too in the far north.
Judith
No snow, maybe last night, but so far none today. Thanks for visiting!
I didn't know that either! Very neat! We have had snow on and off all day. Not staying though.
Oh, I do love the little birdies!
Pearl
Cool post and photos on the birds nest. I love the chickadees.
I love chickadees and we used to have them often at our feeders (back in Oregon). Always wondered how they survived as they must use more calories up than they take in as they dart in and out for one seed at a time. They're so cheerful and not showy at all -- they just make me happy!
Yes, they need a more secure spot to nest, so if you scared them off, it's a good thing!
It's all so wonderful when the birds come back. Each and every familiar song and sighting is a joy!
Great photos! I was amazed to find out that chickadee's dug nests inside old trees. I was invited over to dinner and outside the window next to their dining room was an old trunk, and all through our meal I watched the chickadees do exactly the same thing. Amazing little nesters.
What a fascinating post! Chickadees are my favorite little birds but I've never seen where they nest. Thanks for sharing!
BTW
Our 3 cats are too busy with mice and moles and the birds are too smart to hang around long. Muskoka critters are pretty well trained and understand about Muskoka pets. The cats have a deal with the raccoons, too!
I had a front row seat on chickadee nesting when they nested 3 m from my back step. First, a couple of BCs diddled around a few days and dug out some tree. They then disappeared and a couple of boreals worked and fussed a few days and then left. Later 2 black caps. ...and so things continued . After about 6 weeks a pair nested and young were fledged . I forget whether it was boreals or BCs . I have no way of knowing whether it was the same pairs of birds who visited, but they all worked on the nesting cavity. Quite an eye opener for me.
Jenn: Neat shots of the busy little critters.
Wow, what a neat experience to watch them excavate like that. I didn't know chickadees did that. My guess is that it wasn't you that frightened them off. They most likely noticed the cat and thought better of the location. Thanks for sharing this series of photos!
Post a Comment