Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

Carolina Chickadee

Nest Box Competition – Chickadee versus Downy

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Every once in a while, I get caught up in a nest box competition drama — aware that the moment of conflict is inevitable.

One particular nest box has been used by the Carolina Chickadees for several years.  Late in February, a Downy Woodpecker began to spend the night in this box — a practice called “roosting”.  I waited curiously — to see if the Downy would continue to roost into March — to see if the Chickadees would, once again, choose this box for their nest site.

On March 16, the plot thickened.  The Downy was still roosting the night of the 15th.  The Chickadee began building her nest on the 16th.  By the end of the day on the 16th, the Chickadee had established a substantial nest foundation.  I waited to see how the Downy would react to HER roosting box being filled with moss.  Like clockwork, just after 7pm, the Downy scooted into the box.  If she noticed the “mess”, she didn’t react.

I then expected a similar scene on the 17th — but — the Chickadee was in and out of the box late that evening — right up until the time the Downy usually showed.  It was going to be a difference of seconds which would determine who would be in the box when the other showed.  In the Chickadee went — and out she’d go.  Would the Downy slip in while the Chickadee was out?  If she did … then what?!

The video will tell you how the final drama unfolded …

Nesting Challenges: Sibling Rivalry

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As in our human kingdom, sibling rivalry is quite apparent inside a birdhouse.  Primarily, rivalry is about food.  Nestlings jostle for position.  Getting closest to the door, and reaching highest with gaping mouth, seems to be the alpha pose.  I truly do not know what cues the parents use to determine whom to feed next, but they obviously have it figured out.  Rivalry, or not, everyone eats.

I remember having a furnace replaced.  I had a small computer screen connected to the bird camera’s recording device in the area where the technician was working.  The tech couldn’t help himself.  He was caught-up in the world of the Chickadee nestlings; remarking on how taken he was with the fact that the parents made sure to feed each and every one.

Occasionally, rivalry takes a different shape — who gets to look out the door and see what’s going on outside.  Every once in a while, pushing and shoving leads to an “oops moment” … an accidental fledge.  Such is the case with the Chickadee siblings in the video.  (FYI — the nestlings were old enough to fledge.  I expect all went well in the world outside.)