Nests

I discovered a new nest in one of my big trees in my front yard, just above and away from the abandoned cardinal nest in a small tree. I haven't been able to determine what kind of bird it is, but just thinking about it now, I don't think it would be a cardinal nest because they prefer dense cover and where it's at isn't dense enough I wouldn't think. I heard some chirps coming from somewhere above me in the tree while I was working outside, then eventually I noticed a nest. I saw that there was a bird in the nest, and could see the tail, but wasn't able to identify the species of bird. Hopefully soon I'll be able to. If I just had to guess, I would say it's a robin's nest.

The chickadees are definitely nesting in my front yard. The birdhouse is a little smaller than a regular bluebird house, not as long, vertical-wise, but about the same space (4"x4" or so), with a regular-style pointed birdhouse roof. It's really amazing that they picked that house, although I believe they built nests in multiple birdhouses nearby. This birdhouse doesn't have a permanent bottom. I put a piece of wood on the arbor it's on and set the birdhouse on top of it. The cool thing about this birdhouse is that it has horizontal openings on both sides from where the roof hangs over the side but doesn't meet it, about a 1.5"-2" opening, so they can get out (or in, presumably) through either side or through the regular hole in front. I believe the male comes to feed the female off-and-on. I constantly see him coming into it with food then leaving a few seconds later without anything in his bill.