by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager

One of Mariton’s nest boxes has 4 Bluebirds that should fledge in the coming week.  Another pair has recently started a nest with 4 eggs. 

Chickadees have four nests going with various results.  One nest has 7 young that are doing well.  There are two other Chickadee nests.  One has 2 young and 5 eggs; the other has 1 baby and 6 eggs.  At this point, I don’t think the remaining eggs will hatch.  The chicks are feathered, and the parents are working full time to feed them.  The last nest has 6 eggs, but I think they have been there too long to hatch at this point. 

I have one Tree Swallow that is sitting on eggs.   A Tufted Titmouse is also sitting on 6 eggs.  I am crossing my fingers for the Titmouse, as they have never fledged out our boxes.

By Tim Burris, Preserve Manager

Bluebirds have hatched!  Four babies, with mouths open, greeted me when I opened one of the boxes.  Unfortunately, in the other nest I found 4 dead babies.  This week’s cold rainy weather was too much for those little guys.  Fortunately, the parents have already started a new nest in a nearby box.  So, a new brood will be started soon,  and hopefully have better weather.

I believe Tufted Titmice are building a nest in one of the boxes.  It has been a few years since Titmice have used the boxes, so I will have to watch this one another week to be sure.  Chickadees should be hatching next week.

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager

By next week we should have eggs starting to hatch.  Right now there are two Bluebird nests.  Both nests have four eggs each. 

Chickadees are really taking advantage of Mariton’s boxes.  Four of the boxes hold active Chickadee nests.  There are a total of 26 eggs in those nests.  Chickadee nests can be distinguished by moss with a layer of hair on top.  Below is a photo of a side view of a chickadee nest.

Below is a look into a nest.  There are seven eggs; white with rust colored speckles. 

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager

Three bluebird pairs have finished building their nests.  If you compare the photo from last week, you will see there is a lot more material.  I don’t expect to find eggs next week, but I wouldn’t be surprised either.

Chickadees have also started building nests.  This nest is almost finished.  Chickadees and Titmouses both build their nests with moss.  I believe this nest is a Chickadee’s, but should know for sure next week.  There were two other boxes containing moss, so there may be two more pairs nesting soon.

By Tim Burris, Mariton Preserve Manager

The preserve managers try to get together every winter to build Bluebird and Screech Owl boxes.  Normally, we get a case of cabin fever near the end of February.  So, the Bird Box Day is a chance to get together and let off some steam, while being productive.  This year, however, we were able to work on projects outside all winter (no cabin fever).  It is still tradition, so I scheduled it at Mariton for Thursday.  (It just happened to be the most spring like day of the Winter that wasn’t.) 

Joe Vinton from Bear Creek Preserve, Preston Wilson from Diabase and Paunacussing, Mike Coll from Hildacy, and Stewardship Assistant Kevin Mault showed up with tools and enthusiasm and we set up shop. 

We ended up cutting 50 Bluebird Box kits and 9 Screech Owl kits.  We were a little short-handed (because of the great weather), so we opted to just cut the pieces and not assemble boxes.  The kits will be delivered to the different preserve managers, and they can nail them up some rainy day.

It was a very productive day.

It is not too early to begin getting bluebird boxes ready for the breeding season.  Bluebirds have been singing almost every morning in the yard.  They will soon be looking for places to raise a brood.  If you are going to put up boxes for the first time take advantage of the fine weather we have been having.  Now is the time to repair and replace your older nest boxes.  It is also a good time to clean out any debris left over from last year.  You can leave nest box doors open so they can air out for a week.

In checking over the records from the different preserves the earliest that Bluebird nesting activitiy has been recorded is March 9.  That is very early; most years nesting starts in late March or early April.  If you start now, your nest boxes should be ready.  Our nest boxes also attract Tree Swallows, Chickadees and House Wrens, all of which nest later in the spring.

I checked boxes this week, and a quarter of them had mice nests.  Those that were not active were removed and the side was left open to air.  The active nests were left undisturbed, but I left the door open.  Those mice will relocate by next week, when I will remove the nests and let them air another week.  By then bluebirds will be moving in to boxes.  It is not too early to get started.

The 5 baby bluebirds are growing quickly.  You can hear them calling from inside when you walk by the nest box.  The parents are visiting the box almost constantly.  Down is turning to feathers.  Another week and a half and they will be flying around the yard.

The eggs have hatched, and there are 5 baby bluebirds in the nest box along the driveway.  They probably hatched sometime last weekend.  I just read a research paper in the Journal Wildlife Management written by Allyson K. Jackson, et. al.  Their research of urban bluebirds showed that mortality decreased for bluebirds hatched later in the season.  That is good news.