Tennessee Conservationist Magazine--A Nest Box Surprise: Prothonotary Warblers

Spring is on its way--at least we all hope so.  With spring comes nesting season.  Nest boxes are already being investigated by cavity nesters in Tennessee, but sometimes the bird that chooses your yard's nest box is not the one you expected!

    Photo credit:  Cyndi Routledge                 Pronthonotary Warbler 

This was the case with Cyndi and Steve Routledge in Clarksville, TN, during the 2012 nesting season when a pair of Prothonotary Warblers selected their nest box for raising young.  Their experiences with these bright yellow cavity nesters is described in the March/April issue of the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine. Cyndi and I co-authored the text, but the story comes from Cyndi's many hours of observation and her beautiful photographs illustrate the article's pages.

The Routledges' nest box is located in a suburban yard surrounded by woods with natural cavities created by woodpeckers, but the warblers chose a nest box right off the Routledges' front porch, farther from a natural water source than is generally expected for this species. The article's story describes Cyndi's reactions and experiences as she watched the nesting process, protecting the warbler family from competing House Wrens and even from a snake that caused alarm among all the nesting birds in her yard.

Cyndi was able to keep a vigilant watch over the nestlings and their parents, witnessing many significant events, including watching the nestlings fledge.

Prothonotary Warblers must compete with other secondary cavity nesters for nesting sites and the species shows population declines due to loss of wetland habitat and fewer available natural cavities. It is always special to have cavity nesting birds select your yard during the breeding season, but a pair of Prothonotary Warblers would add extra excitement to most any bird lover's nest box.

A special thank you to Louise Zepp, editor of the award-winning Tennessee Conservationist Magazine, and her staff for the beautiful layout of this article and for highlighting the article on the magazine's website.

Cyndi Routledge is a Tennessee Master Naturalist, photographer, avid birder and member of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and the Warioto Audubon Chapter.

Links and Resources:

Tennessee Conservation Magazine
Cornell on the Prothonotary Warbler
Other Tennessee Conservationist articles on this blog

Eastern Bluebirds--Landlord or Local Diner?

Bluebirds can leave you scratching your head from day to day, wondering what their plans are for that empty nest box.

This morning a pair of Eastern bluebirds landed on the limbs overhead almost instantly when I signaled with a whistle that the mealworm diner was now open for customers.  I had barely closed the feeder top when the pair appeared, singing softly.  I sat on the patio and watched as first the male and then the female visited the dish of mealworms. It was especially gratifying to hear the female's contented chirps as she fed.

The male patiently waited for her to finish, and then, poof, they were gone, the nest box serving as nothing more than a perch in route to the feeder.

After they left, I watched a male tufted titmouse repeatedly visit the feeder and return to a limb to feed his waiting mate.  This was definitely a smile-worthy observation.  I have no idea where they are nesting but it is certainly somewhere nearby.  The male frequently declares his territory with song and raspy scolding notes.  The bluebirds, on the other hand, make me wonder if they are nesting elsewhere and simply stopping by for a snack at the local diner.

As recently as a week ago, the male and female landed on the nest box together and exchanged excited communications, both chattering and wing-waving.  Above, you see the male wing-waving to encourage the female to join him on the next box.  And below, she has landed on the guard, preparing to check out the nest box.  Wing-waving, an alternating series of wing lifts, is expressed by both the male and the female and seems to signal a greeting and encouragement that reinforces the pair bond during the breeding season.

If it were not for last year's records, I would have given up hope that I will have a nesting pair of bluebirds this season.  My notes show that on April 8th of 2011, the pair that raised two broods last season in this nest box had not yet claimed it.  In mid March the wintering flock dispersed as one pair of bluebirds in their midst vigorously chased away flock mates and flock members dispersed in search of breeding territories and mates.  And while some bluebirds may still be searching for nest sites, many pairs in our area have already nested and are incubating eggs.

On the other hand, I have a decisive pair of chickadees in charge of my second nest box.  A Carolina chickadee (above) is building her nest right on schedule with last year's nesting record.  When I last checked the box on March 30th, the female had completed her thick base of moss and was placing a layer of soft grasses, hair, downy feathers, and other soft materials over it to begin forming the nest cup.

Chickadee nests are so soft and neat, astoundingly lovely.

Links and resources:

For stories and images of last season's nesting bluebirds, visit:  Bluebird Family.  And for more on Carolina chickadees visit my chickadee posts.

Also please visit my new book:  Red-shouldered Hawk Territory, A sketchbook journey through nesting season.  The book will be ready for shipping by April 12th and contains my sketches, field notes and the stories and photos that unfolded during four-months of observing a nesting pair of red-shouldered hawks.  You can visit some of those stories and images on this blog by clicking: Red-shouldered hawks. Scroll to the bottom to read earliest posts first.

TN Conservationist Magazine--Helping Cavity Nesters

The March/April issue of the Tennessee Conservationist magazine is in the hands of most subscribers now and includes my article on Helping Cavity Nesters--A Nestbox Trail for Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.

The article is the result of time spent with Billie Cantwell, Vice-president of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS), as she monitored the nestbox trail at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in Knoxville, TN.  She is part of a team that includes husband Colin Leonard, refuge manager and resource advocate, Wayne Schacher, and Mark Armstrong, KTOS President.

It was a delight to spend this time with Billie as we found and recorded eggs and nestlings in the 40-plus boxes we visited.  Carolina Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and Carolina Wrens all nested in the boxes along the trail last season.  I was also on hand to assist with bluebird nestling banding, a new experience for me, but one that Billie handles with skill and tenderness.

Below, I've included an exerpt from the article that includes a story told by Colin Leonard:

Monitoring begins in March, Cantwell explains, and closes in August when nesting activities have ceased.  Once nesting is underway, the boxes are checked every 10 days, or sooner if nestlings are present, and in late fall, boxes are checked to make sure old nests are removed and needed repairs are identified.  For Leonard, the challenge is often these repairs and innovative renovations, like improving predator guards.

Leonard tells the story of one of these challenges, "I wanted to make and put predator guards on the front of the boxes.  To do so, I needed to know the average length of a racoon's arm.  No one could tell me, not even Mr. Google.  One day, we were on vacation somewhere in the boonies of Georgia and stopped for a drink at a bar.  Lo and behold, on the bar was a stuffed racoon!"  Leonard improvised to take the arm measurement and says, if any one is interested, it's nine inches long.  He adds this caution, "The shop-bought predator guards are only four inches and not long enough. Ours are now six inches and our loss to predation is almost zero."

In addition to discussing the monitoring activities of the nestbox trail at the Refuge, the article focuses on the conservation history of bluebirds and why it is so important to continue providing safe, predator proof nest boxes for this species, as well as, other secondary cavity nesters.  

To read the entire article, visit the TN Conservationist website (link below) and subscribe to the magazine or contact the editor, Louise Zepp, to obtain a copy.  The award-winning magazine is funded entirely by subscriptions and is relatively inexpensive to purchase.  Published six times a year, it brings news about natural and cultural conservation efforts in Tennessee, including descriptions of parks and preserves people can visit.

A special thank you to Louise Zepp, TN Conservationist editor, and to Billie Cantwell, Colin Leonard and Wayne Schacher for their assistance in making this article possible.

Links and informaton:
Third image:  Billie Cantwell banding an Eastern bluebird nestling.  Image four:  Cantwell removing the top of a nest box to monitor its contents.

TN Conservationist Magazine

More about my articles in the TN Conservationist and about bird-banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in this blog.  You may also want to visit the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge website.

Wild Turkey and Eastern Bluebirds

What could they possibly have in common? My yard comes to mind at the moment.

It was the turkeys that caused me to grab my camera and step outside. They were headed around the front of the house. I caught the tail end of the parade and since pursuit is a doomed activity, I didn't follow them. I paused instead and looked around. That's when I discovered a family of Eastern bluebirds dining on privet growing at the edge of the yard.

What is glorious about this, I've seen a pair, or possibly more than one pair, frequent the yard to hunt and check out my two nest boxes, one near the house, the other lower in the yard near the woods.

After this pair foraged on berries, they moved about the yard selecting various perches for hunting.  I captured the female hunting from the nest box near the woods. Dandy!  The more she likes the nest box, the happier I am. Now whether selection as a hunting perch has any relationship to nest box selection, I have no idea. I suspect not. But I'm optimistic just because of the frequency with which I'm seeing them.

As I was watching the bluebirds and snapping images, I noticed movement in the woods. The flock of turkeys had circled around the house and into the woods. But something changed their direction and suddenly out into the open yard they came. Ah! Look at the displaying that begins as the Toms encounter the flock of hens.

I have been privileged to see Toms displaying twice this winter, but this was the most spectacular. The beauty of the morning light against their fanned tails as they puffed up to more than twice their size was magical.

Not a combination I would have expected, bluebirds and wild turkeys.  But I will say, it made for a very satisfying morning in the yard! And when I looked through the photos later, I became intrigued with the Tom's faces. What a menacing expression they create by engorging their skin and enhancements.

I didn't quite capture that expression in my sketch, mostly because I think they are so much fun! I'll show you a portrait still in progress. There is nothing like the wonder and the intimacy of trying to capture a turkey's expression in watercolor!

Related Links:
More about the turkey's anatomy with sketch: A Turkey Work of Art
Click here to see Wild turkey in the snow and learn about their unique feather characteristics.
More about Eastern Bluebirds.  Watch for my upcoming article on the bluebird and Tree Swallow nestbox trail at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in the March/April issue of the TN Conservationist.