 Finding Egg Crates In a concerted attempt to find as many bird nests as I can to contribute to the Breeding Bird Atlas of BC I have spent more than the usual amount of time beating the bushes around the place where I am house-sitting. The following notes are about a few of the nests I've found so far this season. Western Wood-pewee Most people probably aren't familiar with this bird though it is very common in the South Cariboo in the nesting season. It is small dark Flycatcher and not too much of an eye-catcher but its voice is distinct enough to attract attention. Its loudest and most frequent call sounds like an exasperated 'peeeesshh'. It often quivers its wings upon landing in a branch. This year Western Wood-pewees are everywhere and I would suggest they are having a peak year for population. I found my first-ever Wood-pewee nest quite by accident. I was walking through some willow thickets down by the creek when I looked up and saw a Pewee on a branch above my head. Its beak held a clump of what I thought were insects. Something made me turn around and scan the immediate area for the nest of this bird and on a leaning willow trunk I saw what looked like a giant Hummingbird nest. I walked under the nest, it was about seven feet above ground level, and I carefully, but blindly inserted a finger over the rim. There was nothing in the nest except a soft deep lining. I decided the adult Pewee were feeding young which had already left the nest. I blame my confusion about the timing of nesting this year on the odd weather we've had in May and June. When I got home I wrote the sighting as such. I wanted a picture of the nest so two days later I returned to the nest, reached overhead with the digital camera, and took a picture. I looked in the viewfinder and was surprised to see two eggs comfortably tucked into the white lining. The eggs gleamed white with dark scrawls on the thick end. On a recent visit to the area I saw one of the adult birds sitting resolutely on the nest, so incubating is in full swing. I have made further notes in my journal to that effect Hairy Woodpecker Having found only a few Hairy Woodpecker nests I began believing the bird was very secretive. That myth was recently shattered after I found a Hairy Woodpecker nest in a copse of poplar trees. I might have walked right past the nest if it contained only eggs, but there were young in the cavity, and they were demanding food. They made a din like a jungle full of birds in full voice. The adult birds contributed as much or more to the noise levels. Although it would seem counter productive to make that much noise around a nesting site the adult birds must know what they're doing. The nest I found is in a living poplar tree about 5 feet up the trunk and is a neat round hole drilled just below a flat button-like fungi growing on the trunk. Not wanting to disturb the adult birds I walk close enough to see if I can see any of the nestlings peaking from the cavity but so far I've only managed to see thee adult birds enter the hole and forage around the general area. The male is as dirty as a chimney sweep no doubt from the constant to-ing and fro-ing. The female looks none the worse for wear. I suspect the nestling(s) will soon emerge from the safety of the tree and begin life in the big outer world. Mountain Chickadee In past years Mountain Chickadees have nested in bird boxes I've provided so their nesting habits are not veiled in an aura of secrecy. I still want to find “wild” nests in the forest. I got my wish while walking from the west pasture when I caught sight of a small dark flash of bird from the trunk of a tree. At first I thought it was one of the constantly calling Wood-pewees' but after looking at the tree trunk I saw a small hole in a fissure on the back of the poplar. Within the opening I saw a small and familiarly marked face – a dark cap with a white eyebrow. It was a Mountain Chickadee and this was its nest. A few days later, east of the house near the Hairy Woodpecker's nest, I was scanning a pair of battling Pewee with binoculars when I happened to see an immobile Mountain Chickadee in the branches. Its beak held insects, so it was feeding young cached somewhere in the nearby trees. The mountain Chickadee appeared very unwilling to move and I was about to give up on the waiting game after about five minutes of constantly looking upwards. Finally the Chickadee flew and was gone in a flash. I thought I'd missed this opportunity to spot another nest but realized the little sprite only moved about four feet to its left, where it disappeared into a small hole at the top of a forty foot tall broken poplar stub. I had found another Mountain Chickadee nest. Brewer's Blackbird I was eleven years old when I found my last Brewer's blackbird nest. So after I noticed a number of blackbirds around a small bridge down the road I decided this year would be a good one in which to renew old acquaintances. I couldn't be sure they were nesting but one day I drove by and noticed a male Brewer's fly up from some low shrubs with a fecal sac in its beak – a sure sign that nesting was in progress. A fecal sac is a pellet of poo encased in a neat way so the parent bird can take it from the nestling, fly off and drop it some distance away to avoiding fouling the nest. On the way back from town I stopped the car and stepped to the edge of the road. I had no difficulty spotting the nest and could see that it contained fairly large juvenile birds. The adult birds weren't concerned with me so much as they were with a Raven that was hanging about. No doubt the Raven was attempting to locate eggs, nestlings, or other edible bits. I did not want to add to the stress of the adult Blackbirds, so I left quickly but vowed to return for a picture, perhaps after the young departed. Several days later I did return and noticed the nest was conveniently vacant. I took a picture and was chastised by a mob of watchful Brewer's Blackbirds. These birds nest in loose colonies so it is quite possible that other nests in the area are still being tended. To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
