CHICKDEE NEST BUILDING

    Four or five posts ago I wrote about chickadees  building a nest in my yard. I described a nest I'd watched before and how the couples changed.

    Well the couples have changed here. Yesterday I noticed a pair of nuthatches working on the nest hole.

    Now I didn't get any photos. You'll just have to believe me. I think this is one topic that will see small updates.

A Sure Sign of Spring in Central Alberta

       This morning I was out just a few minutes before 7 AM and I heard a chickadee "fee beeing." It was minus 26 C(minus 13 F). Now people will all know what I'm talking about if chickadees are resident in your area. The fee bee call is one that catches your attention right away. This chickadee  was doing his call constantly which indicates he's pretty serious about spring and mates.

  

My snowy bird feeded this morning.

       The male chickadee selects a territory which has suitable nesting habitat and a good food supply. Then he sings his little heart out to all the females in the area to come and have a look at him and the fine territory he has chosen. The interesting thing about chickadees is that they sometimes really rush the season and give a few calls in January. These are usually just one or two calls. So when I heard the call this morning it was a very good indication of serious mating activity which really says that spring is here.

      A few years ago I happened to be surrounded by three male chickadees doing their call. One female was in the area. These little guys really called with all the vigor they had. The female went and took a look at all three callers and then flew out of the territory. She could probably hear anther male calling which my ears were not able to detect. The three males she visited all called after her as if to say come back and take another look at me.

     So some people see robins as the perfect indicator of spring. Others see first green plant shoots of some kind as their sign of spring. Other people have a favorite blossom which to them indicates that spring is here. For me the little chickadee is all I need to hear for a sure sign of spring. 

Bird Bonanza

     Yesterday Sept. 21 was a record day for birds in my backyard! I watch birds out of my back windows all year and keep tally of what I see. I usually count 30-35 species a year. It's quite predictable. I can check the calendar and say well, chipping sparrows should be here. Then there are my faithful year round residents who visit my feeders.

      I have also noted in previous posts that the migrating season can get very interesting. Suddenly birds that just go through for migration appear. They make for an interesting and challenging time to watch birds. In the fall migration the birds can look quite different compared to the spring migration when the birds are in breeding plumage.

      So yesterday between 12:45 and 1:15 I had 15 species in my backyard! For me that's a record and the half hour was very exciting.

      So what did I see? Wilson's warbler, Tennessee warbler, orange crowned warbler, yellow rumped warbler, house sparrow, white crowned sparrow, white throated sparrow , chipping sparrow, pine siskin, red breasted nuthatch, black capped chickadee, flicker, downy woodpecker, blue jay and robin.

     So at this time of year I find Sibley's guide to birds very helpful as it illustrates the adult and juvenile colorings. Ordinarily I like birds of Alberta by fisher and Acorn as you only have Alberta birds covered. Lately I've started using on line sources and one I recommend is the Cornell ornithology site. This site will also provide the various calls ans sometimes provide video so that you can see the flight pattern.

     So yesterday for a brief half hour I had a real birding bonanza!

Front Row Seat for Chickadee Nesting.

        At this  time of year it is appropriate to write about birds breeding . My last post was on Chickadees and their behaviour. Many chickadees have begun setting up nests which are usually a cavity dug into a tree trunk. Sometimes they will find an unoccupied nesting cavity. Sometimes they will find a suitable location behind large pieces of bark which are hanging on a tree. Chickades will also readily take up a nest box in your yard or way out in the boonies.

       A few years ago I was very fortunate to have a front row seat to watch chickadees hollow out a cavity in a tree and then raise youngsters. A dead birch tree was 3 m from my back step. The tree was over the fence and in my neighbor's yard.

       First I noticed a couple of black-capped chickadees pecking away on the birch trunk. I thought , "You poor little beggars! A birch has such hard wood!"  The chickadees knew more than I did. The wood inside the bark was quite rotten so it wasn't the challenge I thought. After a few days these two birds disappeared so I was disappointed and thought that they had abandoned the project.

       A few days later I noticed two boreal chickadees working on the cavity. I was happy again. It's amazing how much time they spend hollowing out the nesting cavity. They bring out a tremendous amount of saw dust. Well, the two boreals disappeared after a few days and I was saddened again.

       Well, you guessed it, black-capped chickadees showed up again. I have no idea if it was the same two birds. The hollowing out of the cavity seemed to take forever and I thought these birds would never nest. Things did cease on the construction scene and I still had birds. It was hard to tell if they were really nesting as they seemed to be continually coming and going. Finally, a change. The birds were carrying food into the nesting cavity. Now activity really picked up. Little baby chickades apparently have a huge appetite. Then they started peeping especially when food was brought to the nest so they were saying, "We're really hungry!" More feeding and noise and finally little heads appeared at the cavity entrance. More days of feeding, peeping and looking out of the cavity. Finally, one day four little feather puffs were fluttering in my lilac hedge. It didn't take many hours and the parents and youngsters were out of the area.

       Watching this take place was a thrill and and education at the same time. Not often do you get a front row seat for a few weeks. I took pictures of this event but they are not on digital.

It's Chickadee Fee Bee Time

         Anywhere there are chickadees, people will be familiar with the clear drawn out Fee Bee sound that chickadees make when they are indicting an interest in mating. Alberta has 4 species of chickadees, but the most common one in our area is the black capped chickadee. We have some boreal chickadees and the odd time we will see a mountain chickadee. The other chickadee we have is the chestnut backed chickadee.

       This morning as I was delivering papers at 6:30 AM, a couple of chickadees were doing the fee bee thing and it was a bit of a competition. They also called at the same time so there was a slight harmony. I stood and listened and enjoyed the pleasant morning music. I did not see either bird.

     I have watched chickadees in the same situation. They seem to be saying to any female chickadee who will listen, "Come over here and see my house." I observed this one time as two were calling and a female came by and looked at the first situation. There was fussing by both birds. She then left and went directly to the second bird and looked at his potentials. She also left him. The males seem to pick a nest loction, start excavating a nest cavity and then say, "Oh I need a mate to help me with this."

     All the activity and pleasant sound make for  pleasant part of spring. People who have lived all their lives in chickadee habitat are very familiar with the sound, but maybe not so familiar with all the activity. Next time you hear the pleasant sound take time to see if you can watch what the birds are doing.