Chickadee Construction

I am feeling a bit more myself and have been helping T's brother in law who is cutting down some maple saplings for us. While loping small branches from the downed trees I heard some chickadees singing close by. I stopped and looked around and saw something I have never seen before. A pair of chickadees enlarging a hole in a decayed branch of our weeping cherry on the front lawn. Fascinating and fabulous nest construction!

Nesting
Black-capped Chickadees are monogamous and form long-term pair bonds. They are cavity-nesters and use existing cavities including old woodpecker or other natural holes and occasionally nest boxes. Black-capped Chickadees will also excavate or enlarge their own cavities in rotten wood. Both sexes excavate, but only the female builds the nest, which starts with a foundation of moss and is lined with soft hair. The female incubates 6 to 8 eggs for 12 to 13 days. The male brings food while the female incubates. In the first few days after the young hatch, the female broods the young almost continuously. As the young grow, the female joins the male in providing food. The young leave the nest at about 16 days but stay on the breeding territory for another 3-4 weeks before heading off on their own.



For the Record.
This day came in sunny and warm. Not as warm as yesterday, but lovely. My nose is running today which is a change. Not the change I would like with it free and clear, but a change.

I started the day not so happy about the blip changes...I have a lot of unregistered folks who check in on us everyday. Joe and the folks at blipcentral have made some adjustments and I trust them to continue mulling over the thoughts verbalized today on the forum.