Chickadee Nest Cam 2016
We are excited to get to watch our Chickadees nest for the second year in a row! Keep checking in for regular updates and be sure to come in to the store to see all of the nesting activity for yourself.Here is a link to last year's timeline for comparison.
Early Feb - The nest box was taken down for cleaning: the old nest was removed and a layer of wood shavings (about 1 1/2 inch thick layer) was placed in the bottom of the nest box. (Last year we used aspen shavings, and this year we used pine and birch shavings).
Mar 22 - We first noticed the pair of Chickadees investigating the nest box pretty intently.
Mar 29 - Excavation finally begins! One (or both) of the Chickadees was observed on camera removing the pine and birch shavings.
Mar 31 - Excavation is nearly complete, and we can see the bottom of the nest box. Hopefully nest building will start soon!
April 7 - The chickadees continue to chip away at the bottom of the nest box. No evidence of nest-building yet.
April 10 - The first bits of nesting material were finally observed in the nest box!
April 13 - Over the past three days the chickadees have been bringing in beak-fulls of lichen and Pippa's fur to make up the bulk of the nest. They've been hard at work wriggling around and shaping the the nest in preparation of the eggs.
April 14 - There is now lots of Pippa's fur inside the nest box. Those eggs and chicks are going to have a very soft and luxurious nest!
April 24 - As of opening on Sunday morning there were 6 eggs in the nest! The mom is sitting on the eggs and rotating them diligently and dad keeps bringing her food.
May 6 - At about 1:00 pm one of the eggs finally hatched! Then around 5:00 pm a second egg has hatched!
May 7 - This morning there were at least 3 chicks (maybe 4) visible in the nest and by 3:45 pm the final egg hatched!
May 9 - The chicks are constantly being feed a steady diet of insects by mom and dad. They are growing bigger by the day and some of their feathers are starting to grow in.
May 11 - Wow, are these babies ever getting bigger and bigger! As soon as the parents fly into the nest box, six giant hungry beaks reach for the sky and receive a juicy morsel of food. Even more feathers are growing in, including pin feathers on their stubby little wings. We can't wait for their eyes to finally open!
May 15 - Today we watched as one of the parents flew from our Bark Butter feeder straight to the nest box with a beak full of yummy, calcium-filled Bark Butter for the rapidly growing chicks. They're so big we can't even see all six on camera anymore!
May 16 - Their eyes are starting to open and they are really starting to grow in their feathers!
May 19 - The chicks are pretty much fully feathered now and are really starting to look like actual Chickadees!
May 20/21 - The little ones are two weeks old today! They should be leaving the nest any day now!
May 23 - A quick check on the nest and they are all still there. Come in and see them before they're out of the nest for good!
May 26 - This morning we arrived at the store to find all six chicks have fledged! For the next little while they'll be learning how to fly and will still depend on the parents for food. We'll keep an eye out for them at our feeders soon.