June brings the peak of nest-leaving time for many baby birds.
Even though the young of some of the larger species, including
owls, crows, ravens and gulls, hatched several weeks ago and a
few species, such as cedar waxwings and American goldfinches
haven’t even begun nesting yet, a great majority of birds will
experience the magic of flight for the first time this month.
All five of the baby eastern phoebes that were raised on the
nesting platform fastened to the north side of our house fledged
successfully around two weeks ago. Apparently the conditions for
insect-catching and feeding young in and out of the nest have
been excellent, because the female phoebe is already incubating
her second clutch of eggs.
Many of the American robins have no doubt begun their second
brood of the summer too. They waste little time, upon their
spring arrival to this region, in establishing their nesting
territory and starting their nest building. It is very common
for them to have second clutches in a summer.
Another species of northern hardwood nesters that always
impresses us in how quickly they begin nesting after they have
arrived from the south is the rose-breasted grosbeak. This is
the usual time of the summer when one can hear the distinctive
two-syllable food-begging cries of the young, sounding like
"HEE-er, HEE-er." It’s not difficult at all to attach
words and thoughts to these plaintive calls.
Ever since I’ve taken up nature writing and photography, with
few exceptions, I photographed very few nests of birds as well as
the adults tending them. It has been my contention that human
scent, such as that carried on the soles of one’s shoes,
naturally leads predators to the very nests you photographed.
These predators can include feral cats, skunks, raccoons,
opossums and others.
Should you happen to have one of the so-called "dooryard
nesters," such as a chipping sparrow or yellow warbler,
nesting on your property near your home, please keep your
distance. Be satisfied to watch their activities from afar using
binoculars, or use a telephoto lens when photographing these
trusting birds.
An experience I had at the Ridges Sanctuary, of getting a
close look at nestlings, really backfired and left me with
feelings of deep remorse. I had been checking trails one late
afternoon and happened to look in the right direction at
precisely the exact second an adult black-capped chickadee flew
with a beak full of food to an old rotten stump.
I was in a good position to be able to watch the adult come
and go with food for its nestlings for several minutes and
finally decided to have a closer look at the nest. The
three-foot-tall stump, situated at least ten feet away from the
well-used hiking trail, was well decayed at the top and it was
down inside that the nest and its seven or eight very tiny babies
was situated.
My very quick look at the nest and the young couldn’t have
taken me more than ten seconds, but nevertheless I had left an
easily detected scent trail right up to the well-hidden nursery.
Upon returning to the nest site the following day you can imagine
my horror to see that some predator had completely ripped open
the rotten stump, the nest had been thoroughly destroyed and
obviously the baby chickadees had become a meal for some
predator. What an unforgettable lesson that experience taught
me!
One of the few nests I have ever chanced to photograph was
that of a black-throated blue warbler last summer. Our excellent
birding friend, Kevin Swagel, was helping gather data for the
five-year Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas project, which Charlotte
has been helping to coordinate, when he came upon a pair of these
rare warblers and their nest.
I had known about their general nesting location in a remote,
off-the-beaten-track area for the past 25 or more years, had led
several other birding friends to hear and see them, but had never
taken the time to document their nesting. Now, with the nest of
these gorgeous birds having been located, I couldn’t resist a
hasty but close look.
From a distance we briefly watched the female as she incubated
her eggs, and could also see and hear the male nearby. Quickly
we went to the nest that was around 15 inches above the ground,
located in a thick growth of Canada yew shrubs and spinulose wood
ferns, took a few pictures, and immediately left the area.
During this time both adults remained within 20 feet of the nest,
chipping their disapproval.
My guess is that the total number of animals, birds and
reptiles that prey upon bird eggs or young in the nest numbers in
the dozens. This predation has been going on for many years. I
also firmly believe that the widespread fragmentation of our
countryside, by development, is strongly favoring many of the
predators, such as blue jays, opossums, raccoons, brown-headed
cowbirds and others that appear to thrive on the newly created
edges of roads and openings.
Nesting is a critical and highly demanding time for birds.
Provide them with all the privacy they require, and someone up
there will like you!
Checking out a bird's nest might seem harmless. But it puts the young
– like these unhatched black-throated blue warblers – at risk because
predators follow the human scent to the secret location and find easy pickings
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate on 06/30/2000.
© Copyright 2000 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
