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Black-Capped Chickadee in my Weigela Bush
photo by Grandma Pearl
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My sweet and friendly little chickadees have been building nests since the beginning of March. They are very busy all day long, and make frequent stops at the bird feeders to refuel.
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Black-Capped Chickadees love the black oil sunflowers seeds!
photo by Grandma Pearl
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I've seen them grab tufts of cotton from this bird nest pumpkin I made for them. Unfortunately, so far they have been too fast for me to snap a good picture of them!
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Pumpkin-shaped grapevine is perfect for making into a bird nesting material holder.
photo by Grandma Pearl
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I purchased this inexpensive pumpkin-shaped grapevine ball at a local craft store and then added pieces of cotton batting, clean animal fur I had collected, and cotton yarn cut into 4" to 6" lengths. There are plenty of spaces in which to tuck the materials; plus the grapevine has little natural hooks that seem to hold the stuff in place until birds tug on it.
You can also use a clean suet holder for this same purpose. Be sure to hang your creation where it will be protected from rain and snow. Birds will start to nest in late February right on through to June. This is a fun project to do with your kids and grand kids as well.
I happened to capture a very short video of this little chickadee as it was working at some fluff it had found for its nest. As luck would have it, my batteries ran out!
It takes about 12 days for chickadee eggs to hatch; then look for baby chickadees to fledge and take their first flight about 14 to 16 days later.
