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Guess who's nesting in my basket.......

12 years ago

There's usually a carolina wren who likes to nest in this basket hanging on my front porch, but this year a chickadee is using it. There's about 6 eggs in there. Can't wait to see the little ones.

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Comments (11)

surya55_gw
12 years ago
How utterly adorable. I look forward to future postings with these fluffballs.
bluebirdbabe
12 years ago
How lucky can you get???? That is adorable!! I hope to see more pictures :)

Karen
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I came across this information http://www.sialis.org/chickadee.htm . It mentions that they can be prone to premature fledging if disturbed. They usually fledge at 16 days. They usually nest in a cavity so they wouldn't be able to fall out. All eight of the ones in my nesting box seem to get along and I never noticed the first born picking on the ones hatched later. Maybe something got at them.
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oceana, I posted this because I think all creatures are beneficial including the blue heron. Netting can be placed over Koi ponds to discourage blue heron from predating ornamental ponds. I have also heard that heron will not wade into deep sided ponds, but only shallow sided ones - not sure if this is true but worth a try. They are very beneficial and worth protecting. I never would have believed it either, but I saw it myself. I kept watching the blue heron because I saw them walking silently over the grassy areas on our property and couldn't figure out what they were looking for. Then last year a blue heron speared a gopher and swallowed it whole in our back yard. They catch it and keep flicking it up in the air till they get it just right and then they swallow it whole. Another time a blue heron speared a gopher and carried it off, pesumably to feed it's young. Later I told locals about the hunting habits of blue heron like I had discovered something new. All the locals knew about the blue heron and their hunting habits. There is a sycamore tree close to us near the river where blue heron have nested in the same spot for the last three years. The babies are in the nest for many months before they fledge - baking in the sun and rain and all kinds of weather till they are strong enough to fly away. We live in southeast central CA along a river coming out of the Sierra - we are so lucky to see all the different wildlife here. Today I was painting the side of my house and saw a huge preying mantis and relocated him to a bush so I could finish painting. By the way great horned owls and barn owls also prey on gophers. A nesting pair of barn owls can eat up to 1200 rodents in a nesting season feeding their young.
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Konrad___far_north
12 years ago
Cute!..didn't think they nest in the open.
catherinet
Original Author
12 years ago
They've built it fairly closed in the basket.
I peeked this morning, and there are at least 4 of them, I think.
bluebirdbabe
12 years ago
I don't know how the basket is hanging, but I would make sure it would not come down from the wind...I can't get over how cute that is!!

Karen
dzyg
12 years ago
Wow, highly unusual for them to not nest in a cavity. There must not be any natural or manmade cavities around to their liking. How cute!
catherinet
Original Author
12 years ago
LOL dzyg........we've got 35 acres, most of which are trees with LOTS of holes........so I'm not sure why they chose this basket!

At dinner in the dining room the other night, we were eating and watching the mom and dad chickadee come and go with food for the babies. (The basket is about 12' away from the dining room windows). Then, 2 deer walked across the yard. Better than any movie! :)
opphop
12 years ago
Can we adopt them? Please?
JordanWalker
12 years ago
You are lucky Catherine since most chickadee does not nest in an open area. Plus you can see them from your dining room windows while the parents are busy getting food for their babies. I just want to know if they are still in your basket or they have moved out?
catherinet
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi Jordan,

Well, I think only 2 of the babies made it out alive. One day I looked out and there was a larger baby and a smaller one on the porch floor. The smaller one was barely alive. I put them both back in the nest.
A couple days later, I think the smaller baby was dead on the ground. I found another bigger one on the porch floor, and put it back in. The other day I looked into the basket, and there were 2 bigger babies and one dead one. The very next day the bigger ones were gone. I hope they fledged. I'm thinking it might not be the best location for a chickadee nest. Seems like more of them should have survived.........but you never know.
JordanWalker
12 years ago
I think it's not the right place for them. Let's just hope that they will find a better nesting ground next time but I'm glad to hear that at least 2 babies that survived. I think they have flown away since you have not seen them or their body on your porch.

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