Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

Nesting Challenges: Nestlings Grow Fast

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Nestlings grow fast -- really fast.  It makes sense that minimizing the time before nestlings are able to escape predators is linked to survival of the species.  To fuel this rapid growth, it takes a LOT of food.

Imagine having to feed your family-of-five every 30 minutes during daylight hours.  Further imagine that you and your spouse have to go out, hunt, capture and return home with these meals.  Finally, imagine that each hunting trip only yields food for one.  You can trust me on this one:  nestlings do not share!

At the time of year the Chickadee lays eggs, there are about 13.5 daylight hours/day.  So ... that's about 135 hunting trips per day.  Chickadees are smart.  They produce only one brood per year.

So here you go ... watch them grow ...

(If you are into counting, you will notice these pictures are from two different Chickadee nests.  We can sympathize with the parents of the family of 6!)

Day 1

Day 2

Day 9

Day 10

Day 13

Day 17

Northern Cardinals: It’s Just Breakfast

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It seems appropriate to schedule a Valentine's Day post featuring a pair of Cardinals sharing breakfast at the feeder.  Although filmed in January, I have noticed the various birds on the property showing up in pairs more frequently.  It is nearing time to select a mate for spring nesting, but mating won't occur yet -- so "It's Just Breakfast".

As an aside, I captured the photos below to illustrate a point about the Cardinals.  If you note the time stamp on each photo ... Cardinals are generally the "first in" and "last out" at the feeders.  They appear for breakfast just-before daybreak ... and are often the last to grab a beak-full at dusk.

Cardinal - First In

First In - Northern Cardinal

Cardinal - Last Out

Last Out - Northern Cardinal

I'll segue off of this early-mating-behavior post to return us to the final six posts in the Bird Parenting Series.  Until then ... Happy Valentine's Day ... even if "It's Just Breakfast".