You are so lucky to have had chickadees nest with you!!! I keep hoping :) good job on getting the HOSP!!!!! I agree with Lisa it sickens me too, but I know first hand the hosp. have to be eliminated. Karen

Congratulations! The dees are my favorite nest box guest! I just love 'em. I will tell you that in my experience my dees are just as, if not more, tolerant of monitoring as my bluebirds are. I've been lucky enough to host them for the last 5 (maybe 6?) years and they seem to communicate with me more than any other bird in my yard. I have several dee stories over the years that tell me they know I'm there to help and would not harm them, their eggs, or their babies. Having said that, I've read many times that chickadees are not as tolerant of monitoring and might even abandon a nest that is monitored. Truth be, not nearly as much research has been put into nesting chickadees as nesting bluebirds. I never monitor unnecessarily but there have been times (like this season with my dees) when monitoring saved one little dees life. His/her foot was stuck on some of the nesting material and there was no way in the world he would have been able to fledge (this, btw, was day 22!!!! Way past time to fledge) had I not removed him, the nest, and soaked the foot that was stuck to something in the nest. I returned him, nest and all, and he fledged with in an hour. I have no doubts that the adults knew I was helping him and were happy that I checked. His siblings had likely fledged 3 to 4 days before him. My Carolina Dees usually are on a similar schedule as the bluebirds and Brown Headed Nuthatches, the other species that has nested in my boxes. They usually hatch on about the 13th day and usually fledge on the 18th or 19th day. I think only the female incubates.

Perhaps you could put up a second house somewhere near just like the first and give them an alternative. I've had good luck with this when I get birds battling over a box. Of course that's a slippery slope and why I have so many bird houses. Maybe you shouldn't listen to me.

My phoebes had skipped a year of nesting in their usual place (above the porch light fixture near my office door). My mirror set-up had scared them away. I should have realized that birds do not "like" mirrors -- but I didn't think about it at the time. I did see a bird pecking all day at the mirror, looking behind it, then pecking angrily at it when seeing the "intruder" again. That bird came back the next day to peck at the mirror again. I felt sorry for him wasting his time. But, I didn't think about the phoebes reaction being the same. So, they never nested there last year. I removed the mirror, but they still did not return to nest there this spring. Instead, they nested on another side of the house -- under our raised deck (same as last year). But, after the 1st brood was fledged -- THEY MOVED BACK TO THEIR OLD NESTING SPOT! So, the phoebes apparently got fed up with the disturbances created by our toy poodle (who is let out onto our raised deck several times a day.) The poodle would be walking directly over their nest, and possibly pissing over their nest. The nest building started May 25, 2021 and completed on the 30th or 31st. The mother was sitting on the nest on May 31, and there were 2 eggs in the nest. So, the first egg was likely delivered on May 30. By June 3, there were 5 eggs. All the eggs hatched on June 17 -- so, exactly 2 weeks after the last egg was laid. Interesting that all eggs hatched on the same day, even though each egg was laid a day apart. When I peeked, all the shells were gone. So, even tho I didn't see it, I assume that the parents removed all the egg shells. I also see the parents flying away with baby-bird poop. The poop looks like worms, and the parents carry it away from the nest. They either drop it or eat it (it is undigested food). Today is June 23, and the parents are often very busy bringing food. The bay birds are still too small to see without using a mirror over the nest. Here is a link to a very interesting article from 1937, detailing the observations of nesting habits of phoebes as studied over a 3-yr period. A few interesting details: Female does all the nest building. Incubation starts at varying times - sometimes after 3rd egg, sometimes after 4th, sometimes after 5th. The male apparently does none of the incubation. After fledging, the young birds remain close to the nest, getting farther way as the days pass. Both parents still feed the young after they fledge -- feeding them for periods of up to 18 days. Reliance on the parents gradually decreases. The parents may eventually show harsh treatment of the young to get them to go out on their own. Interesting. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v059n03/p0410-p0417.pdf