Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Birdhouses

We have 24 birdhouses in our yard. Do you think there is a limit on how many birdhouses one should have? I can tell you this, 20 of them are occupied with house wrens, finches and chickadees. We even have a robin nesting in the lilac bush. The male birds are very busy bringing nourishment to the female birds who are nesting and waiting for their young to hatch. This is one of those times where we can view nature at its best.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Black Capped Chickadees

This tiny songbird has to be one of the cutest to watch. For the past week we have enjoyed watching a male and female find that perfect birdhouse. They had their pick of many, including a couple new ones we set up on the back patio railing.

Just for the heck of it I also set up the house they used last year to raise their family in. Lo and behold, after much deliberation, that is the house they chose. The female chickadee has been busy taking out the old (we never cleaned this one out from last year) and bringing in the new to make that perfect nest.

They have been so busy that we were able to get a good look at just how cute they really are. These birds are curious about everything around their surroundings, including us. They have a black cap on top of their head which looks like it covers their eyes making it hard to see their eyes. These birds have white cheeks with gray and white wing feathers and light tan to white undersides. Their necks are short, their heads are large, with a short bill and long tail feathers.

Here is the male chickadee from last year sitting on the same birdhouse they chose this year, at least we think they are the same two that kept us company for a while last year. We will keep you posted.