2010 Nest BlogSignificant Dates:
11 June 2010
The first 5 chicks left the box quickly and the last chick took some coaxing. After the first five were gone, the remaining sole chick stayed in the box, often taking a low posture next to the deceased chick. A parent would frequently make trip[s to the box to coax the hold-out, while at the same time trying to keep those that fledged together and safe outside. The fledge times were (PDT):
Once they were outside the nest box the parents were both sounding constant alarm calls. I went outside to see what was occurring and there were 6 Starlings that were following the chicks from branch-to-branch on an apple tree that is within 30' from the nest box. I scared the Starlings away and in the process also scared a house cat that was below the tree under a shrub. Once the intruders were gone the Chickadees ceased the alarm calls and were quickly joined by a flock of Bushtits. Myself, I left them as I needed to leave for the weekend. The chicks now begin their lives outside the protective confines of the nest box. If they remain in the area, I will enjoy their songs, calls and presence throughout the coming year. Ages
Weather
10 June 2010
I was surprised that the remaining chicks did not fledge today, but it may be for the best, as like the last few days, the weather has been wet, windy, and cool (tomorrow and through the weekend the weather is forecast to be sunny and warm). Dee Dee and Peppi continued to bring meals to the chicks all day, from the morning into the early evening. The chicks spent more and more time looking out through the entrance hole as well as exercising their wings. One note about the mortality - I reviewed the video from late yesterday, before the image went to black, and one of the chicks was not vigorously trying to get meals as they were delivered to the entrance hole by the parents. It would open it's bill, but not stand up to compete for the meal. This could be the chick that ended up dying during the evening. When I came home from work today I saw that there was a UStream error that ended the feed sometime in during the day. My apologies to all the viewers, but this was out of my control, and I could not rectify the error until I returned home in the early evening. Hopefully there will be no more streaming errors! Ages
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09 June 2010
Ages
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08 June 2010
Ages
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07 June 2010
On several occasions there was a hissing sound either emitted from one of the chicks, or the parents outside of the box. I never could determine what was making this sound, but it did sound like the hissing Dee Dee used when defending the nest from House Sparrows last month, When the sound was heard the chicks would settle down huddled under the entrance hole, become quiet, and hardly move. No fledging occurred today, but I would except it to be tomorrow morning, or perhaps Wednesday. The web site also made the Top 100 in the Birding Top 1000 list. Ages
Weather
06 June 2010
Like yesterday, much time was spent preening and stretching and exercising wings. Both parents continued to bring in the constant flow of small caterpillars. It should be any day now that they depart the nest. I would look for it during the morning hours as I believe this is often when fledging will occur. Ages
Weather
05 June 2010
This was the first fully sun-filled day we have had in some time, with back-to-normal temperatures. The chicks did some moving around the nest box, but for the most part stayed close together. There is still a form of a nest-cup that is deep enough that some chicks can get temporarily trapped along the sides and the weight of the chicks above. All chicks were very actively preening today and were
often stretching and exercising their wings. Dee Dee
and Peppi made fewer trips inside the nest unless coming in
to remove fecal-sacs. Instead they were often feeding
the chicks by reaching through the entrance hole. Now that the chicks are able to be seen on an even level there are two chicks that seem smaller than the rest, though not by much. It is likely these two were the late hatchers, Peppi and Lilly. By the end of the day no chicks fledged and there was little interest exhibited by exploring the entrance hole. Ages
Weather
04 June 2010 Toby, Poppy, Chip, Chirp, and Mushi are one day shy of 16 days old. Black-capped Chickadees can fledge at 16 days, but I think they have a few more days before leaving the nest. They still seem noticeably smaller than Dee Dee or Peppi, and have more primary and tail feather development before appearing full grown. It is possible to differentiate some of the chicks, at least the bigger from the smaller. Now that they are standing next to each other at a similar level there is some difference visible, albeit not significant. The chicks have also mostly outgrown the nest-cup and stand to the sides, but do prefer to huddle around what is left of the cup. They also are spending more time preening and exercising their wings. Ages
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03 June 2010 All seven chicks continue to grow, fill out with feathers, and take on the appearance of the parents. They are now looking more like the parent birds than younger chicks. Ages
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02 June 2010 Yet another stormy day. For only a few days before estimated fledge date, I think it more likely they will fledge a bit later than estimated. They still have growing to do even though they are at taking on the characteristics and mannerisms of adult birds. They are all preening often as well as spend a fair amount of time exercising their wings.
Ages
Weather
01 June 2010 This morning the first chicks have visibly open eyes! They still continue to take on the coloration of the adults with white cheeks and breasts and black caps and bibs. The day was especially stormy and wet, yet Dee Dee and Peppi continue to secure enough meals to sustain the appetites of all seven chicks. The chicks remain within the nest-cup as it continues to grow with their increasing size. The neighboring House Sparrows attacked the nest box today as well. He is having his windows replaced at his home and as the HSOP nest boxes are hanging in front of his windows, they are staying away from their respective boxes as the window-installers do their work. Seems like they have decided to re-initiate their harassment of the Chickadee's nest box. I chased them off several times. Ages
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31 May 2010 Yet another stormy and wet day, although this is one of the warmer days the chicks have experienced during their short lives thus far. The chicks continue to grow more feathers while losing visible pink skin. Ages
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30 May 2010
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29 May 2010 A seven chicks are now at, or past, the half-way point to fledging (in number of days, but not in size and mass). The weather continues to be unseasonably cool with a high of only 54, yet Dee Dee and Peppi continue to secure meals for the chicks as well as themselves. Ages
Weather
28 May 2010 Another windy day for the Chickadees. It did reach 60 degrees though. Peep and Lilly reached one week today, and all seven chicks continue to develop and appear healthy. A testament to the fortitude of Dee Dee and Peppi. Ages
Weather
27 May 2010 Toby, Poppy, Chip, Chirp, and Mushi are one week old today. There is no discernable difference in size between any of the chicks though. They all are developing more short feathers along their spine, as well as on their head. Each chick also has noticeable long wispy feathers above their eyes that do take on a comical appearance. The central part of their bills are becoming longer and darker. One characteristic that became quite noticeable today was that there are visible small primary wing feathers growing out. They are only black stubs at this time. The nest-cup is beginning to lose the near-perfect circular shape and has grown in size considerably as the chicks push into the sides as they grow. The weather remains cold and wet and Dee Dee still spends time brooding over the chicks, but can no longer not cover them all. I have been asked about the nest cleaning behavior of the parents, and what is occurring when the parent birds take away the feces of the chicks. After a chick is fed the parent bird will remain for a few seconds to watch for the chick that was fed to produce a "fecal sac". The chicks do not do this with every feeding, but it does seem that the feeding stimulates them to release fecal material. The chick produces the sac by lifting its rump up, usually right after swallowing a meal, and pushes the sac out it's anus. The parent bird will then take the sac and remove it from the nest box. Dee Dee and Peppi usually carry them off to a tree about 60 feet (18 meters) to the west of the nest. Ages
Weather
26 May 2010 Today was another wet and cool day. Unfortunately the camera was offline most of the day. There was some excitement around 7:30 in the morning as a pair of European Starlings were investigating the nest box. All chicks still seem healthy and continue to grow, as does the nest-cup. The dark ridgeline along the spine of the chicks is becoming more apparent and the tops of their heads are becoming black with small feathers as well. The wings are beginning to take shape too. Ages
Weather
25 May 2010
The weather during the past couple of days has remained cooler than normal and Dee Dee continues to periodically brood over the chicks. When she does this she will push her breast feathers out and to the sides to completely cover the nest-cup. At times a chick or two will lift their head through her feathers to the rim of the cup. All seven chicks seem to be continuing to grow at a quick rate and are beginning to take on a more avian form everyday. Ages
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24 May 2010
The nest cup continues to hold onto it's near perfect circular shape, but this to will begin to enlarge as the chicks grow. Ages
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23 May 2010 Peppi and Dee Dee continue to forage for meals for the chicks, and their has been much activity today. When Dee Dee is not foraging she will periodically brood over the chicks while Peppi continues to deliver meals. All chicks are still mostly featherless and pink, but are actively feeding, resting, and growing more and more. Peep and Lilly are still noticeably smaller than the other five, but the difference is becoming less noticeable, and they continue to compete with their older siblings, while the parents continue to make sure they are getting meals too. They adults have much invested in these seven chicks and it makes sense that they would make the effort to provide for all of them if sufficient food is available. Ages
Weather
22 May 2010 Early in the day little was seen of Peep and Lilly when I was watching the video. As I would periodically view it over the course of the day it was apparent that they were managing to obtain meals as they were becoming more visible, gaining strength, and growing. So far it seems these two are going to be able to compete with their older siblings, as long as Peppi and Dee Dee are able to bring in enough food. Again, it is always amazing to see just how much they grow over the course of a day! They are all still predominantly featherless with eyes closed, but the total size of each chick is noticeably larger just between morning and afternoon. Ages
Weather
21 May 2010 2nd day of hatching and nestlings! Again a cool day saw more hatchlings. It was remarkable how much the 5 that hatched just yesterday had grown (they are twice the size as those that hatched today)! They also have much better control of movement within the nest-cup than the new hatchlings, creating an advantage over the younger chicks in regards to obtaining meals from Dee Dee and Peppi. Often the youngest two were not even visible as they would be underneath the older chicks. This is nature though, and it does ensure more healthy chicks to populate the local Chickadee population. I recall the nest from last year and at the time was thinking that some chicks were definitely getting more food than others. As the season progressed I could see that when a chick was satiated it would not lift it's head up for a meal when the parent bird arrived into the nest box. This did help guarantee food for all chicks. Peppi spent most of his day delivering food to the chicks directly, or to Dee Dee to feed them. Dee Dee spent her day both feeding the chicks and brooding over them. She also spent the night brooding. Hopefully the same will be the case this year as it would be great to add 7 chickadees to the neighborhood population! Ages
Weather
20 May 2010 1st day of hatching and nestlings! It was a cool day today (~10 degrees cooler than normal) and by the end of the day five of the seven eggs have hatched. The 1st two eggs hatched from 7-7:15 AM. The second group of three hatched around 2:30 - 3:30 PM. After the hatching Dee Dee would eat much of the eggs and carry some fragments out of the nest. Chickadee chicks are hatched altricial meaning they are hatched with eyes closed, with little or no down, incapable of departing from the nest, and fed by the parents. The chicks were hatched entirely pink and featherless, and had insufficient strength to hold up their heads without falling over. By the time the 2nd group were hatched, the 1st group already were visibly larger, able to control their head more, and both chicks had a small feather above each eye. Hopefully the final two will hatch successfully tomorrow! Ages
Weather
19 May 2010
15-18 May 2010 9th - 12th day of incubation. The past four days Dee Dee has continued to tend to her eggs while Peppi has kept her satiated. The 12th day of incubation has been reached without a hatched egg, thus it is likely eggs will hatch tomorrow or the next day. This also marks the 12th day of an absence of House Sparrows harassing the nest box. On 16 May there were European Starlings at the nest box but they were unsuccessful in doing damage as they were chased off. 12-14 May 2010 6th - 8th day of incubation. Not much change in activity. Dee Dee still diligently tends to incubating her eggs and arranging her nest. Peppi makes frequent trips to the nest box, especially during the 1st half of the day, to feed her. 4-5 days until the eggs hatch - hopefully all 7 eggs are viable! 10-11 May 2010 4th and 5th day of incubation. The female Chickadee still diligently tends to her eggs. Most of her time is spent sitting on. and occasionally rolling, the eggs. She also spends a fair amount of time preening and makes the occasional trip out of the nest box to retrieve a meal from her mate. I am confident that the Sharp-shinned Hawk did prey upon the more aggressive male House Sparrow as he is not next door tending his nest box (in fact that box seems to have been abandoned). The timing of his disappearance could not have been better, as it would have made incubation difficult for the Chickadee pair. 08-09 May 2010 2nd and 3rd day of incubation. The female Chickadee has set into an incubation routine, while the male has been foraging for her during the day. During the feeding interactions he will stick his head through the nest box entrance to pass off the meal, or he might call to her and she will fly out of the nest box to accept the meal. The House Sparrow's still have not been an issue since the beginning of incubation. My steps towards management still have not been effective in removing them, but it seems the forces of natural management has been at work. I was speaking to a neighbor who mentioned a hawk has been in my yard sitting on the fence top hidden in the trees. This locations is close to the yard next door that is home to the neighboring House Sparrows. Saturday they hardly sang or called and it appears that there are a couple fewer than previously. It is likely that this hawk is a Sharp-shinned Hawk and may have preyed upon some of the sparrows; this would explain their thinned numbers and more subdued behavior. Hopefully the Chickadees will be able to avoid the Sharpies talons. 07 May 2010
She did make a few short trips out of the nest this
morning, but shortly after spent most of the first half of
the day on the nest, and I think she has commenced
incubating. She was observed frequently tucking her head under her body and rolling eggs. The male Chickadee also made frequent visits to the nest box to feed the female. Usually he would only stick his head into the nest box to pass off a meal, but early in the day he would completely enter the box. During his 1st visit into the nest box he entered with some hesitation and looked towards the camera a few times. This could have been one of his 1st visit into the box as he did keep an eye on the camera. Their early interactions were much more dramatic than those later in the day. The 1st interaction when he brought in food for her was quite the spectacle. To view this interaction please see the video bellow... The House Sparrow's did not visit the nest box today. I am unsure why as they were intent on disrupting the nest yesterday. They are still around and hopefully progress is made over the weekend on managing them. 06 May 2010 Big changes today. I saw on the chat window (last night) that some were reporting seeing eggs. I had not seen them myself so was confident about the report. This afternoon four eggs were definitely visible. There was still nest plug material over the nest depression, so there may have been more underneath. Apparently the Chickadee has been laying eggs for the past several days. Chickadees lay on average one egg per day when they are actively laying, thus she has been laying for at least 4 days, and possibly more. She has been covering the nest depression with a predominantly fur plug, concealing the eggs below. Even when she has been sitting on the nest at night she has been sitting on top of this plug. This does make sense as it has been very cold lately, and this would insulate the eggs from the cold. It would also cover them from the eyes of the Sparrows. Today the weather finally has began to warm up and this may be why she has partially uncovered the nest. I was shocked top see how developed and deep the nest depression was, as the plug has completely obscured the fact that there even was a depression. I was unable to see the nest tonight before she returned for the evening, so am uncertain just how many eggs are present. The chat has reports of many, so a good count will be established tomorrow. The Sparrows became more aggressive in their attacks on the nest box again today. At times I could hear at least 2-3 at the box over the camera. I was at work so could not chase them off. My attempts to control them have thus far not been working well. I have a repeating style ground trap that they will not get near. If I could get just one in it, more should enter, as the captive would act as a live decoy for the rest of the colony. I put out a 3rd nest box tonight with a trap door on it. Hopefully I will be able to trap one of the cunning males to place him in the ground trap. If I don't have a captive by the time I leave for work I will take the ground trap to work tomorrow and attempt to capture ignorant sparrows to use as decoys. 04-05 May 2010 Day 12 & 13. More cold weather these past two days. The temperatures dipped into the 30's last night, and the daytime highs have been at least 10 degrees colder than normal. The female Chickadee has been bringing in more nesting material, but brings it in bouts, with extended periods of inactivity in between these bouts. She still appears awkward as she moves within the nest box, particularly when exiting. She has also continued to sleep in the nest box during the evenings. The neighborhood House Sparrows are still active next door. I saw one young chick come out of a nest box; it looked like it fledged early as it could not fly. I placed a ground trap out this morning and was disappointed that it is empty this evening. I made some modifications for tomorrow that will hopefully work out. The naming poll was also created so we can move on establishing names for the Chickadees. 03 May 2010 Day 11. Today saw strong southerly winds and cool temperatures with a mix of hail and rain at times. The female chickadee made periodic visits to the nest, but not many, but did bed down for the night in the nest box again. One thing that has been noticeably different this year, compared to the nest built by the Chickadee last year, is that the cup-depression is not near as pronounced this year. This year the Chickadee was working on the cup by actively pushing nesting material to the corners, but since the sparrow attack a few days ago she has not been working on this near as much. I am not sure if it is due to the attack, and she has been weakened, if it due to the unseasonably cool weather, due to her inexperience, or personal preference. She still jumps to the entrance hole, when exiting the nest box, by bouncing to the sides. Originally I had thought it was a strategy to avoid a frontal attack from the sparrows by looking to the sides before exiting. I am uncertain if this is the case now though, as at times she seems very awkward or clumsy. It seems there is a fair amount of effort used exit the box. 30 April - 02 May 2010 Day 8-10. The last three days have had similar activity as the previous. The female is still bringing in small amounts of nesting material - most of the non-moss type now. She has also been showing up around 7PM (PDT) to bed down for the night; this is one of my favorite times to watch her. The House Sparrows still are working on harassing the nest box, but less frequently as I chase them away when I can. They should not be a problem much longer as I have my trap nearly complete. 29 April 2010 Day Seven of bringing nesting material into the nest box. Today's activities were similar to yesterday in that there was allot of activity early in the day and again later in the day. And, like the previous couple of nights, she occupied the nest box for the night around an hour before sunset. I was out in the yard much of the day so the House Sparrow's did not bother the nest box much, except for early n the morning. They recognize me as a threat so keep a good distance, and fly for cover when they see me.
The Chickadee's act just the opposite. I can be anywhere in the yard and they act as if I was not there, even landing close by or not flying off when I am close. The male has been interested in copulating today as well; so far I have not seen the female be receptive. Not sure if it is because the nest is not complete, or their favored food to eat during nesting is not readily available yet. The male has been sticking close to the female most of the day as well. When she is in the nest box he is hidden in one of the nearby shrubs or trees. When she departs he is quickly in the air and right behind her. There were a couple of computer crashes today while streaming, hopefully this will not be an issue tomorrow. 28 April 2010 Day six of bringing nesting material into the nest box. She was relatively active during the first half of the day, bring in net material, then her activity tapered off. She does appear healthy though, and bedded down in her nest depression before sunset, with her face and bill tucked under the wing! I put out seed today, as part of an attempt to manage the Sparrows, and both the Chickadee and her mate made visits to the seed. This is different than last year's Chickadees, as they never ate from the feeder during the nesting season. One difference, however, is that the pair in 2009 began nesting over a month later than this pair, and by that time it was much warmer and the normal diet of insects and larvae were much more plentiful. The Sparrows did continue their harassment and attempted intrusions into the nest box again today, albeit at a lower level than previously. This was in part due to my presence. The Chickadees don't seem to react to my presence around the yard, but the Sparrow's give me plenty of room. 27 April 2010 Good news! It appears that the Chickadee has recovered and is back to tending the nest. I had to leave early for work today (like yesterday) but when I was leaving I could hear a Chickadee calling outside near the nest. I looked at the camera image before I left; it was still too dark to see well, but I could see that a Chickadee was entering the nest and moving around. I was not sure if this was the female or the male. Upon returning home this evening I could see from the chatter (UStream) that there was activity and that our the female had returned. UStream does not allow me to record more than 3 hours at a time, but I was able to record the 1st three hours of daylight this morning. From this video it was clear that the Chickadee had returned. Early this morning, while it was still relatively dark, the female was trapped within the nest box while a House Sparrow tried to enter from outside. After the Sparrow left the Chickadee made her exit as well. After that the Sparrow spent much time trying to enter the nest by pushing his body into the hole, and by pecking at the entrance hole. He was not successful. When I returned home this evening the female Chickadee was actively working on the nest and she had made another cup-depression within the nesting material. As the evening drew on she seemed to be huddled into the depression for the night. If the House Sparrow's continue the harassment of the nest at the the current level, throughout the nesting attempt, it will likely be difficult for the Chickadees to fledge chicks successfully. When the chicks are actively feeding the parents make frequent repeated feeding trips to the nest. If this activity is interrupted the chicks may not receive sufficient food to survive, or the Chickadee's could spend high levels of energy in nest defense, increasing the need for their own nourishment, while limiting the nourishment of the chicks. I will comment more on House Sparrow control on the web site later, and will add a section dedicated to this issue. 26 April 2010 This may well be the last day of nest building for the current Black-capped Chickadee pair. Unfortunately there was an issue with the live stream (likely my fault) so I could not see what had occurred over the day. Apparently audio was streaming fine, and I heard from others that there was allot of noise, and possible attacks on the nest. Once returning home from work and resetting the software, the female chickadee was sitting low against the front right corner of the nest box. The typical cup shape within the nesting material, she forms daily when pushing the nest material around, was not visible; instead the nest material was more level across the nest. After watching the stream for a minute, puzzling why the chickadee was not behaving as is normally observed, a House Sparrow began attacking at the nest box entrance. I flushed the sparrow away and the chickadee left shortly after. See video below. Seeing her condition I am not certain she will be returning to the nest. She struggled to stand within the nest, and blood was visible on the white contents within as well. This is likely a portion of the blood lost, as the majority of the nest material is dark and blood would be more difficult to discern. The activity can be seen during the first 3.5 minutes of the video. Her mate can also be hear calling from outside the nest, and on occasion she responds to his call. If she survives she might return, but it is hard to say as I do not know what is typical for this species after surviving repeated attacks - they may decide it is better to find another nest location, or she may not have sufficient energy this season to pull of a nest The camera will be left on to se what occurs next. 25 April 2010 The 4th day of nest construction saw a lot of activity. Much of the activity was related to the House Sparrow colony and aggressive behavior towards the nesting Chickadee. Often the Sparrows could be heard on top of the nest, could be viewed sticking their heads in the nest, and on a few occasions attacked the Chickadee through the entrance hole. When this was observed they were chased off. The Chickadee developed a new technique for jumping up to the entrance hole to exit the nest box that I have not seen previously. Her normal practice would be to simply jump up to the center of the entrance, hang on it for a half-second, then fly out. Today, after the attacks, she would fly up along one side of the box, almost bounce off the wall, then fly out. It seems she is trying to see what is outside before exposing herself to the entrance hole. As the entrance hole is diamond shaped, if she approaches from the side, where it is quite small, she is less susceptible to a frontal attack as the Sparrow's would not be able to poke through this narrow space. I am too busy at the moment to post videos of the activities, but am working on it, they will be posted later on the 2010 Summary page. 24 April 2010 This was the 3rd day of nest building. The chickadee brought in more nesting material and spent much time pushing it around the nest box. Unlike yesterday evening, she came back tonight and worked on pushing around the moss for some time. In the end she covered her back with the moss and stopped making anymore noise (perhaps she stopped moving around); it became too dark to see what she did after that. She may have stayed in the box overnight, or she may have left. 23 April 2010 This was the 2nd day of nest building. There was a significant buildup of nesting material (primarily moss). A local House Sparrow again has made visits to the nest box but is unable to gain entrance due to the dimensions of the entrance hole. Like yesterday, the nest construction slowed down in the afternoon. 22 April 2010 Black-capped Chickadee pair begin to move in! Female has been building her nest this morning - she makes many trips with moss, the primary components of the nest. 20-21 April 2010 Black-capped Chickadee pair continue to visit the nest box with the female conducts a thorough inspection 19 April 2010 Both Black-capped Chickadee and Violet-green Swallow observed prospecting the nest this morning. There was also a local House Sparrow trying to get in the nest box and he was observed acting aggressively to the chickadees and swallows that were visiting the box.
18 April 2010 The nest box went out today after a few delays; tomorrow I will put out the 2nd box. I have had a couple pair of House Sparrows that have been spending too much time in the backyard - hopefully they will not prove an issue. The nest box is in the same location it was placed last year (on the west side of the house). The 2nd box will go on the north side. I am turning the camera off at night, but will have it on when there is sufficient light. Most of the pages are not complete on the web site, however I have finished the 2009 & 2010 camera pages, as well as the 2009 nest box page. 10 April, 2010 I received the new camera yesterday and am working on modifying last years nest boxes to accommodate it. The design is different than the Logitech used last year, thus it will not fit easily in the nest boxes. I am also considering modifying the nest boxes so the camera can be moved to whichever box has occupants. I will have information related to the camera up on the camera page soon, as well as the shortcomings of the camera used last year. Yesterday I saw two Violet-green Swallows flying high over the yard, so this is good news. I know they have been sighted for a few weeks now around the greater Seattle area, but these are the first I have seen near my property. The Black-capped Chickadee activity is high as usual around the yard as well; they can be heard calling most anytime of the day. I will be putting up a nest box for Northern Flickers as well. If we are fortunate to get occupants I will try to broadcast them as well. As is the norm, there are many House Sparrows around as well, and will have to be kept from the nest boxes again this year. The other milestone today is that the web site is now published on it's own domain! Story behind the names of the chickadeesI am normally not an advocate of naming wild animals, but due to suggestions from those that enjoy this site I decided to let the viewers name the adult chickadees and the chicks. Here are the results of the votes for the names: The votes have been tallied and we have our names! The female Chickadee is officially Dee Dee, and the male is Peppi! Thanks to everyone who participated in the voting and for those who suggested all of the great names. If you would like to see one of the "losing" names added to the Chick Naming Poll, please suggest the name in the suggestion box. Adults
Chicks A total of 289 votes were cast for the chick names. The top seven names in the vote were:
Thanks to everyone that voted!
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Fledge
Date! All six surviving chicks departed the nest early
this morning leaving. As the sun began illuminating
the inside of the nest box the chicks were visibly excited
by moving around within the box and frequently jumping up to
the entrance hole to look outside. The parent birds
were coming to the box to feed them and help encourage them
to depart.
As
the sun rose today and the occupants became visible it was
quickly apparent there was a mortality overnight. I
have no idea which chick this was but I am calling it
"Lilly" for the sake of the web site and viewers (since
Lilly was the last hatched). She was lying dead at the
left front corner (appears as right on the camera) of
the nest box.
Thinking
again that the chicks would fledge, they instead ended up
occupying the nest box all day. Like
previous days, they continue to spend more time at the
entrance hole and exercising their wings. It is for
the best, however, that they did not leave the nest box as
it was a very stormy day with thunder cells creating
periodic torrential rains and wind.
Day
18 & 19 after hatch. The weather was forecast to be
warm today, with deteriorating conditions as the day
progressed into night. I was sure the chickadees would
fledge today as they seem in good condition, appear
developed, and the weather conditions began favorable.
The Chickadees had different plans though as they remained
occupants for another day. No real change in activity,
with an increase of views out of the entrance hole, as well
as a high level of wing exercising. 
The
day started wet and cool but the weather improved by midday.
All of the chicks are now similar in size as the parents and
spend much time, as is becoming common, preening and
stretching and exercising their wings.
All
seven chicks are 16-17 days old today, but were not ready to
depart the nest box. They spend the 1st half of the
day huddled together at the center of the box while staying
relatively quiet. The weather today is back to the
abnormal normal of wet and cool.
Toby,
poppy, Chip, Chirp, and Mushi are 16 days old today so have
reached the estimated fledge date. I think they still
have some growing to do and would guess possibly tomorrow,
or more likely Monday.
Both
Dee Dee and Peppi continue to make non-stop trips to the
nest box with meals of small caterpillars, then leave with
fecal sacs. I am always amazed how they can so quickly
convert the energy from these caterpillars into Chickadees. 
Cool
and wet today with a low of 42 overnight! If this
weather pattern persists I would be surprised if the chicks
fledged on schedule. I would think that they would
require more energy to maintain body temperature, taking
away from the energy used in growth. They are all
looking more like chickadees as they fill out their feathers
- white cheek patches are now visible as well as primary
shafts. 
Peppi
and Dee Dee are constantly busy foraging for meals for the
chicks. This activity is especially busy during the
morning hours, although never seems to dusk at the close of
the day. 
The
chicks all are continuing to grow quickly and the size
variation between the early and late hatchers is becoming
less apparent. They still are mostly pink with little
black coloration around the spine, with the most noticeable
parts of the body being their large bills and bulbous eyes
that remain closed.
13th day of incubation. No hatching yet and a big
strong May storm came in from the Pacific today. This
brought the temperatures down with very high winds.
Tomorrow should be the day for hatching. 
It's official, the female has been hiding eggs under a
fur plug for a week now, as there were 7 eggs present
this
morning. This indicates that she most likely began laying
eggs on 01 May! Thus, she likely spent 8 days working
on her nest before laying the 1st egg.
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