This entry was posted on Saturday, October 11th, 2008 at 10:20 am and is filed under Bird Houses, Bird Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 11, 2008
Black-capped Chickadees move together in winter, but break up into territorial pairs to breed. Thus, though you may have a flock visiting your bird feeder all winter, you are likely to have fewer birds from late March to late May. Nesting begins at the end of March — 5 to 10 eggs are laid by late April. Eggs hatch after about two weeks and the young fledge 16 to 17 days later. The male feeds the female during courting and while she is sitting on the eggs.
Pairs excavate cavities in soft and rotting wood, usually between 3 to 10 feet from the ground. Now is a fine time to have your chickadee bird houses in place. To help encourage them to use the birdhouses, put 2 to 3 inches of fine wood chips in the bottom of the bird house.
After the young fledge, the parent birds molt. Therefore, when you see the entire family in your backyard or at your feeders or birdbaths, the young birds are the ones with neat and tidy feathers. Fledglings also have shorter tails.
add comment read comments (0)
