Chickadee Nest Cam 2015
Once again, our Chickadees are utilizing the nest box in front of the store. This time we have installed a wireless nest box camera so we can watch all of the action! We will continue to post updates here, but for a better view stop by and watch them up close on our big screen TV.
Late Feb/Early March - We replaced our old Chickadee nest box with a brand new one and installed a wireless nest box camera. We also lined the bottom with a thin layer of aspen shavings for the chickadees to excavate.
Late March - The chickadees begin to remove the pine shavings.
Early April - After all of the pine shavings have been removed the chickadees continue to excavate. They chiseled out a series of grooves right into the bottom of the nest box itself, possibly for drainage or to help secure the nest within the nest box.
April 11 - Chickadees are starting to bring in nesting material consisting of what looks like mosses and/or lichens.
April 15 - Nest building continues at a furious pace and the nest appears nearly complete!
April 19 - We adjusted the camera angle so as to get a better view of the centre of the nest. Hopefully we'll see eggs soon!
April 20 - Minor adjustments were made to the nest as we watched one of the chickadees pushing down on the nesting material and shaping the centre of the nest.
April 27 - At store opening there were no eggs visible, but by noon there were 6 eggs in the nest! The chickadees have since been incubating and periodically rotating the eggs.
May 6 - We are keeping a close eye on the eggs and are hoping to see chicks before Mother's Day!
May 10 - We arrived at the store this morning to find 3 eggs have hatched, most likely earlier in the morning. As we watched, a fourth egg hatched leaving two more to go! We've been getting great looks at them as mom leaves the nest occasionally to bring them food.
May 14 - There are now 5 rapidly-growing chicks in the nest. They are constantly being fed, cleaned up after, and kept warm. They are also starting to grow some feathers, but have yet to open their eyes. Keep checking in on them before they're out of the nest!
May 19 - The chicks have started to grow in their feathers and seem to be getting bigger by the day!
May 29 - Two of the chicks fledged this morning! Three are still in the nest and are still being fed by the parents. The remaining chicks even poke their heads out of the nest box from time to time.
May 30 - In the morning we arrived to find the remaining three chicks have flown the coop! Now we're all dealing with empty nest syndrome. We will be keeping an eye out for the chicks at and around our feeders in the days and weeks to come.
June 22 - We are starting to see the whole chickadee family at our feeders! They are really devouring our Bark Butter suet.
Fun Facts about Chickadee Nesting
- Once the female has chosen the nest site, both the male and female chickadee will excavate the cavity.Chickadee with nest material
- They typically excavate cavities in dead snags or rotten branches of alder or birch trees.
- When using a nest box, Chickadees prefer to excavate wood shavings or sawdust rather than an empty box.
- Excavation and nest building usually takes between 10 to 14 days.
- Nests are built out of mosses and other coarse material and then lined with softer materials such as plant down, feathers, and animal hair.
- The female will lay between 1 to 13 white eggs with reddish-brown spots.
- Once the eggs are laid, the female will incubate between 11 to 13 days.
- If the female is disturbed while on the nest she will make a snake-like hissing sound.
- Both the male and the female will tend to the young after they hatch.
- Chicks typically fledge within 14 to 18 days after hatching.