Nesting Diaries
Arrival date is approximate. Adults have been at the nest on and off for several months but are now seen more consistently. Eggs/chicks are hard to determine at these platform nests on top of utility polls.
I don't know what is happening this year but nest 175, 176 and 1579 all have no chicks. I'm still seeing occasional adults but after many years of producing at these nests that are pretty close together I'm seeing nothing.
As with nest #175 it's hard to see what is happening up on the platform. Still at this nest all I can see is a head poking up in the middle of the nest. We'll have to wait and see what she/he is sitting on.
Regular sightings of both adults the last couple of weeks with both birds in the nest this morning.
These last photos are from June (sorry). Two chicks raised and fledged this year.
Still not able to see how many chicks in this nest. They are usually a few weeks behind nest 175 so they haven't ventured out where I can see them(?). There is at least one little head I can see in the middle of the nest.
Observed mating on the morning of 03/06/2013 and the afternoon of 03/07/2013.
Occasional sightings of adults at the nest throughout January but I have not seen them there together yet.
This guy wasn;t happy to see me this morning and after yelling at me he took his fish up to the nest.
It's not possible to see from the ground how many chicks are in this nest but in the mornings one bird is usually in the nest and the other on wire below. Feeding motions have been observed most mornings.
As you can see in the photos the power company had to put an orange cone on top of the power pole because when these birds first came they wanted to build on that pole even after the new pole and nest platform were put up. That has been the male's (?) favorite perch ever since.