And The Winners Are … Chickadees

Bluebirds As Year Long Landlords

For the past few years, I’ve had my bluebird pair that comes back from time to time to make sure the nesting box is in good repair and hasn’t been destroyed by squatters.  They spend up to thirty minutes about once a week looking at and in the box to make sure it will be ready for them when nesting season comes.

Usually in late winter they start increasing the frequency of these visits.  This year was no exception.  However, about this same time some chickadees also take an interest in the property.  This is when the fun begins.

Chickadees As Nesting Season Tenants

Like vacationers getting ready for their annual retreat, the chickadees will start coming around when it’s still way too cold to even consider a nest.  They’re doing research and making sure the old retreat hasn’t fallen into disrepair.  If they like what they see, they will probably start placing small bits of moss in there to make their reservation.  If the bluebirds haven’t made any effort to move in before that, they’ll have to wait until the chickadees’ first clutch of eggs have fledged the nest.

Some years, the chickadees have dilly-dallied and the bluebirds nest before them but that’s not what happened this year.

They Came, They Saw, They Moved In

No fooling around this year.  Perhaps they were still stinging from losing the early season nesting competition to the bluebirds last year.  I don’t know for sure.  What I do know is within about a week of showing interest in the nesting box they started building their nest and have almost completed it.

I will make sure to keep you apprised of the progress and hope to get a shot of the finished nest(they are a thing of beauty)for you to see.  This year I’ll be following their progress with blog posts and pictures so you can get a better feel for my experience with these wonderful little birds.

Make sure to check back often and subscribe to my RSS feed for updates.