Eastern Phoebe Chicks

For a few years we had one pair of Eastern Phoebes try to nest along the ledge inside our porch roof. We tried to discourage them by continually knocking down their nest before it was built. One year, we put a piece of wood in the corner to give them a bigger area. That year, the mother laid four eggs, but abandoned it before they hatched.

This year, we were gone while they built the nest. The ledge is one to one and one-half inches in width. We thought there was no way they could build a usable nest there. But, sure enough, they did. The mother laid four eggs and sat on them until they hatched this time.

Now there are chicks in the nest. I can see only two from my lower vantage point, so there is no way to know if the other two hatched and survived.

We've been waiting for them to start their peeping, but have heard nothing. I was told they probably would not begin peeping until they were fully fledged (never knew that was a verb, but it means to develop the feathers necessary to fly).

It has been fun to watch the mom sitting on the nest every night. I learned that if we did not look directly at her, she would not fly off if we came out the front door. If she is frightened, she flys away, but not so far that we cannot see her. My guess is that she is trying to lead predators away from the nest to they don't grab her babies (I never did finish my zoology degree, so I don't know for sure ;-)

From what I've read on the internet, the Phoebe will raise two to three broods during the year. They are monogamous. They will likely return to the same nest every year and can live as long as nine years. I also read that the female is the one who picks the nesting spot.

Everyone should have a birdfeeder

I finally refilled both birdfeeders this past weekend. One is outside the dining room window.

Everyone should have a birdfeeder. A birdfeeder is like the watercooler in an office. Everyone gathers around. The past few days we've seen all kinds of birds and animals, including mice, squirrels, and raccoons.

If I woke up around 11pm, I could look outside the dining room window and see a raccoon eating the leftovers from the ground. I once looked outside late at night and saw two raccoons and a possum eating what the seed the birds had dropped on the ground. The two raccoons got into a fight and the possum slowly backed away from the raccoons, but continued to eat.

Pictured here are an American Goldfinch (and some other curious bird), a Harvest Mouse, and a White-Crowned Sparrow.