Birds in New Jersey 2015
20 May 2015 - Black-capped chickadees in our nest box
Five days old. Knock, knock. Will the mother chickadee fly out, or stay in, or is she out already?
It was getting near the end of the day. She was in, probably for the night.
I got to see how she fit: she has her tail pressed against the side of the nestbox, pointing straight up.
She just looked at me and didn't leave, so I slowly closed the side door again. Maybe tomorrow I'd get to see the babies.
Just before I had the door completely closed, she flew out, and there they were. Now they're growing fuzzy white Mohawks.
They're in one corner of the nestbox, opposite the entrance hole.
Five days old!
21 May 2015 - Six days old
No adult black-capped chickadees inside the nestbox. A few minutes later, one landed in the tree and gave repeated "dee dee dee" calls.
We can clearly count the beaks: One, two, three, four, five, six.... seven!
22 May 2015 - Seven days old
Day by day, looking more and more like their parents
23 May 2015 - Eight days old
More black, less pink
Video taken 21 May 2015, inside the nest >>