Nesting Black-capped Chickadees

Black-capped chickadee

This is our third Spring at Sunflower Ranch and we've had tree swallows nesting over the front door, juncos under the back porch and robins in the trees nearby but we've never had a pair of chickadees nest on the front porch. Until this spring.

These cheeky little birds have built a nest in the birdhouse on the West end of the front porch. Can you spot the bird on the railing? Do you see the cedar house above it?

click to enlarge

The parents are quite busy and even with our recent and prolonged bouts of heavy rain, they've made continuous trips out to the trees for insects and back to the their house to feed the hatchlings. The babies make quite a racket in the nest at feeding time, but once a parent leaves to find more food, they quiet down quickly. I think in the next week or ten days we will watch them take their first flights.

At the old Sunflower Ranch our chickadee house was set on a branch of a tall and brushy French lilac hedge. We loved watching the parents coaxing the chicks to fly. And teaching them the songs. The youngster's voices had a fuzzy edge -- it took them some practice to sound confident and clear.

I've included some links for more information. The Bird Jam songs are on a continuous loop and fun to just play in the background.

For more information: chickadee overview from Wiki, Cornell Bird Lab, Washington State chickadee study, Bird Jam songs & calls.

Have a chickadee-dee-dee day!