this was great. I once witnessed close up, 3 baby chickadees learning to fly. They would leap from a branch about 10 to 15 feet of the ground and then scurry back to the closest tree and climb back up until they once again worked up the courage. By the time they did this for a few hours they were getting pretty good at flying. I spent the whole afternoon just watching. It was a delightful day. I now feed them by hand daily. They're so clever.
This is just beautiful. I live in South Mississippi and my husband build a birdhouse which we checked yesterday, to our surprise, there are 3 tiny blackcapped chickadee chicks in there and the parents are busy going back and forth. Such tiny little mites. We're so excited. Can't believe all this was going on right outside our door and we had no idea. Just love it.
The first thing my local chickadee parents do when the chicks fledge is to bring them over to my peanut butter pine cones hanging by the sunflower seed trays and educate them as to where that source of peanut butter came from that they were fed in the nest. Last summer we had two nestings and this winter I had more nuthatches and chickadees at the feeders than anytime in the past 39 years here. Besides the suet and seeds, the peanut butter is the number choice for them, even when its frozen at 20 below zero, they will peck away to break off small chunks. They were going through one pound of peanut butter per week.
One of the coolest things I've seen in a nesting box was maturing brood, I looked in side the hole and they were all up and looking back. Little round top heads with dark round eyes all looked at me.
I have a pair of these beauties nesting in my backyard. I try my best not to disturb them and I will not mow the grass so that they can raise their chicks comfortably. They nested in a vase in the middle of my backyard! :))
What a perfect video! Chickadees come to our feeders in winter. They come from the mountains of Colorado into the flat land, once the weather gets cold. I'll likely never witness Chickadees raising a family, so I sure do appreciate your excellent video. Thank you so much!
what a fascinating video! i'm so fond of chickadees, i have a pair nesting again in our bid house and this was so interesting to see! had no idea that she eats the shells but it makes sense probably lots of nutrients and it's from her so it's safe.
Thank you so much for posting this! I was really hoping to see them fledge but this was great! Chickadee's are my favorite wild bird and I have a nest box they return to a couple times a year. I am currently waiting for these little bugs to fledge and should be any day now...I think a couple of them died however and only 2 birds by the sound are active and chirping. I talk to them :) they respond back so really hoping I get to be there when they do leave the nest
I have put up a couple of swallow nest boxes on my apartment balcony (of only 12 ft long) a couple of years ago. No broods but this spring a nest of chicks in one box. They are about to fledge but some interesting observations during this nesting from late April to now May 18 (during Covid19- hanging out a lot) Parents are very used to me now sitting only 4 ft away but Warning : if you like the Dees and when you know their is a nest happening beware of the Wrens and Nuthatches, they will often sabotage the eggs of other birds (pierce the egg with their bills) as a way to have more food around for themselves. Had to ward off on a number of occasions to help eggs hatch. Also playing the soft harmonica on the balcony ...with suet, maybe I get a front row audience in the winter :)
I like chickadees. They are not skittish at all and are the first to check out the feeder after I've refilled it. I didn't know birds eat the empty egg shells. That was shocking!
Did I move at an apartment complex yesterday saw a duck underneath one of the stairwells less than 15 feet away from the apartment door he was sitting on 11 eggs.
Cornell University Nestwatch says that Black-capped chickadees need a minimum of 650 feet between nest boxes. nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/birds/black-capped-chickadee/ Nuthatches are a little more tolerant of their neighbors and competition but the spacing is still 150 feet between nest boxes. nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/birds/red-breasted-nuthatch/
Did you put nesting materials in the box, or did the parents gather it themselves? I keep reading that chickadees like to excavate a nesting site. Thanks for your video!
Hi Jessica, Thanks for your support. They built the nest themselves. They also did this year but I had the BirdCam in a "Tree Swallow" nest box. If you're interested here is a link: www.hummingbird-guide.com/live-bird-cam-streaming.html. I haven't put the video together yet but there are photos of the whole process of nesting building to when the chicks fledged the nest.
What size entrance hole u made? Also how big is the inside of the box? 4"x4" ? Or bigger Been finding different info on internet. Some say use a 1 1/4" hole some say 1 1/8"? Some say 4"x4" base some 51/2" x 51/2"
