Sorry for being out of circulation so long but things have been crazy lately. It seems what little time I've had that I could post here has been spent feeding our feathered freinds.
The birds have really been plentiful this winter and it's been a handful keeping up with them. On a daily basis (when not at work 12 hours a day) I'm seeing Cardinals, Chickadees, tit mice, house sparrows, Downy woodpeckers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Juncos, Gold finches and an occasional Carolina wren and the dreaded Coopers Hawk. They come through at least once a week looking for an easy meal.
I've really spent the past couple of weeks catoring to the chickadees. My goal is to get them to nest in the yard this year. They were checking out some boxes last year but never nested in them. Hopefully this year will be different.
If your not getting these little gems in your yard your really missing out. They have a wonderful song and are actually pretty easy to hand tame. While I have yet to get one to feed out of my hand yet, they are always with in grabbing distance as they follow me around the yard filling feeders. As you can see from the picture he was just sitting right above my head watching me take pictures and filling feeders.
They are easily found in woods, farmland and suburbs. They prefer eating black oil sunflower seeds, safflower, suet and peanuts. If you want to try to get them to nest try a nesting box with an enterance hole of 1 1/8"-1 1/2", the opening should be 6-7" above the floor with an inside floor demension of 4X4" to 5X5". The total box height should be 9'-12" and hung in a tree or on a post 5-10' high.
They're an active little bird coming into a feeder then flying into a tree and eating it. They are a year round bird that can be found in flocks during the winter. In the spring they disperse into breeding pairs. Males sings and each pair defends a breeding territory. I always know when they are on the nest because I rarely see them for 6-7 weeks. Once the babies are born they once again return to the feeders.
If your not getting chickadees yet you may want to give it a try. They are usually the first bird to find a new feeder and once they become use to you and gain your trust you'll always have a friend near by when your outdoors.
3 comments:
How cute is that little guy? Hope you can get them to nest in the yard this year. It'll be fun trying anyway.
Love,
pone
I, too, love Black-Capped Chickadees! They are regulars here in my yard year 'round.
We apparently had some nesting here last year, too, as my husband found a tiny little fledgling in our backyard last spring. The mother was frantic as we 'gently' captured it. My son crawled up onto the roof so he could place it safely in a tree branch above the house. Mamma was quite anxious to have her baby back!
I appreciate the dimensions on the nesting box for them. I'll see if my son has time to build me one.
Oh, and great to see you back. I love your blog and was afraid we'd lost you. :-)
Time for a new birding post, with spring on the horizon. No pressure. ;) ;) ;)
Love,
Pone
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