Chestnut-backed Chickadee Status:

These eight tiny white eggs with brown speckles were photographed in the nest on 4/23/97. Based on incubation times for other Chickadee species, they are expected to begin hatching around May 3. The penny was placed in the nest temporarily to provide perspective. It's up on the edge of the nest, and the eggs are down inside the cup.

Mr. Chickadee is seen inside the nest box bringing food to the wife who will then feed it to the newborns. When she stands over them with the food and makes a clucking sound, their little heads will reach up with mouth open.

On May 5, the chicks began hatching. Some of the empty shells were eaten by the female. The rest were carried far enough away that they would not attract predators to the nest area. The big dark spots on the heads of the chicks are their unopened eyes. The bright yellow lines are their wide mouths.

By the end of the day when this photo was taken, all but one egg had hatched. I suspect it was the one laid the day she began sitting full time.

Taken on May 8, this picture shows how fast the chicks have grown in just three days. The dark parts that look like worms are their wings.

Chick on May 11 with first wing feathers growing in.

Chicks on May 15. Notice how the fur lining is disappearing!

Chicks on May 17.

Chicks on May 23, the day before the first one left the nest.

The first chick right after it left the nest on May 24.

4/5/97: The nest box was selected early in the morning; nest-building began right away using sphagnum moss plucked fresh from the earth.

4/6/97: I installed the video camera inside the box today. Cat fur was placed on top of the bed of moss by the female chickadee, and by the end of the day the nest looked complete.

4/14/97: The first egg was laid.

4/22/97: There are eight eggs in the nest.

4/23/97: The male brought food to the female who was incubating the eggs.

4/29/97: Thanks to a suggestion from Mark Castelluccio at The Boeing Company, a pair of infrared LED's was installed on the inside of the nest box this morning. These LED's emit a frequency of light not visible to the eye, but which is visible to the video camera. It will now be possible to view and record the inside of the box 24 hours a day without altering the nesting environment. What goes on in the middle of the night is of great curiosity.

4/30/97: The first night of recording was very successful. The female was observed turning the eggs 45 times between midnight and 6:00 AM this morning, an average of once every eight minutes! She also spent time preening, scratching, and stretching her wings.

5/2/97: Mr. Chickadee is stopping in occasionally with a bit of food for the wife, but generally she leaves the nest to find her own food.

5/5/97: As of 8:00 AM, four of the eggs have hatched. A fifth egg appears to be cracked most of the way. The chicks are very tiny and naked. Dad (not me, the real one) has been bringing food to the nest and giving it to mom who then feeds it to the chicks. Mom occasionally leaves the nest for very short periods of time to retrieve food.

5/6/97: The seventh egg hatched during the night. There is one more to go. Occasionally when the male came inside the box with food the female took the opportunity to depart for a few minutes leaving the male standing there with food wondering how to feed the babies. Looks like he figured it out, but he is a bit awkward with it yet. Does this remind you of humans?

5/9/97: The eight egg has still not hatched. The chicks are gaining weight rapidly.

5/11/97: The chicks learned to talk today. They have also learned that the sound of the adults flying into the nest box means food is arriving.

5/12/97: Due to the warm temperatures last night (68 degrees at 9:45 PM) the female slept in the corner of the nest box much of the time, and did not cover the chicks. This was apparently to keep them from over-heating.

5/13/97: One of the chicks has learned to preen itself.

5/14/97: I was awakened by the sound of very upset adult chickadees. There was a crow in the yard invading their territory. No chicks are missing from the nest. It would be very difficult for a crow or jay to steal a chick because the hole in the birdhouse is so small.

5/15/97: The chestnut-colored feathers are beginning to come in.

5/16/97: Under the category of my kid's better than your kid... I've arranged for private flying lessons for my kids next week.

5/19/97: The chicks have learned to sleep with their heads tucked under their wing just like mom. Most seem prone to using their left wing for this purpose. They are very cute, but noisy right now.

5/20/97: The male has not been seen for several days. Is this part of the normal nesting routine or has one of the free-roaming neighborhood cats eaten him?

5/23/97: The chicks have matured to the point that they look like they are ready to fly. Although they have never observed flight, they are frequently testing their wings inside the nest box.

5/24/97: At 12:20 PM the first chick took the big leap and fledged the nest. Its first flights and landings were very well done. It ventured about 60 feet away into the neighbor's yard, called its mother to come feed it, and within a couple of hours, returned to a tree branch just 12 inches away from the nest box. It spent the rest of the afternoon in the trees about 10 feet from the box. The mother continued to feed it as well as the chicks which were still in the nest.

5/25/97: At 8:10 AM during a frenzy of excitement inside the box, the second chick leaped out. The third followed at 8:11, the fourth at 8:12, and the fifth at 8:13. The sixth and final chick didn't seem to want to leave at all, but decided he sure didn't want to be left behind. After being alone for several minutes, he stood at the door trying to get up the nerve to go for it. He took one last look behind himself to make sure the others were really gone, then at 8:18 AM he flew to freedom.

5/29/97: All six chicks were observed in the yard today. They have learned the acrobatic technique common to Chickadees of hunting food among the branches of the fir trees. The mother is still supplementing their diet with suet from the feeder.