This year we finally attracted our first family of black-capped chickadees since 2020. They first chose the nest box around March 9th, 2024 and started bringing in moss and other material.
After they chose the box, I put a sparrow guard on and the male (Gus) spent a good number of days pecking at it trying to widen the hole. He did a good job and eventually could squeeze through easily.
In April, we had a few bouts of snow and rain after some warm weather that must have soaked the material inside because the family took all of the material out of the nest box over the course of a week and started over. We think the female (Doris) laid eggs around May 13th and we started hearing nestlings peeping around June 8th.
We think they had two baby’s that fledged over the course of two days (June 19th and 20th). It was quite entertaining to watch the parents try to entice the last one out with food and funny to watch the babies wheel around the yard for a few weeks.
A view from our kitchen window. Gus or Doris taking nesting material out of nest (before adding it back in later.)
Doris visiting a newly installed window feeder in my office. They particularly enjoyed a mix with mealworms while the babies were in the nest box and around the yard.
The nice bed of moss, hair, and feathers left after the babies fledged. I think the sandy/dusty stuff in the bottom right corner was from the first batch of nesting material they brought into the nest that had to be removed after it got wet.