In This House . . .

. . . there is a chickadee family.  In 2008, a chickadee family fledged all but one chick in this house.  Last year, the chickadees began building a nest but a downy woodpecker decided to roost in the box during the nights.  The chickadees decided to move on after that.  Then two house wrens (HOWR) sent the downy packing.

It appears that the difference may be an aggressive chickadee male.  In 2008, the male chickadee took a cowbird and a bluebird to the ground when they approached the box.  This year, the male has already taken a downy to the ground and chased it into the woods.  Maybe he is an agressive defender of the nest.  He is going to need it.  The HOWRs will arrive around the end of April to May and they will try to move into the house.  The chickadees will need to fight them until their chicks fledge.

HOWRs are very cute little birds.  They are small and industrious.  The male builds the nest with sticks and the female, if she accepts, finishes the nest cup herself.  HOWRs are native birds--they belong here.  Unfortunately, the male HOWR guards its territory and fills nearby boxes with sticks in its territory.  That includes boxes with nests.  HOWRs are known to peck holes in eggs and remove chicks from nests.  That's not nice.  So, as in 2008, the chickadee male will need to fight the HOWRs to keep them from destroying the chickadee nest. 

If you look at the box, you will notice a plate over the entrance.  This is a bluebird box with a 1.5 inch hole.  The plate is a hole reducer.  It is there to keep house sparrows (HOSP) out since HOSPs are known to kill sitting females who are on their nests.  They also kill chicks.  HOSPs are not native birds and were imported from England in the 19th century.  Now, they are everywhere and they are agressive during the breeding season.  My neighbors unwittingly breed HOSPs behind their house shutters.  In the last few years, the breeding has moved to several other houses.  Yesterday, a HOSP pair attempted to move into an empty box on my property near the chickadees.  I took the house down and hopefully that was it.  HOSPs are not permitted to breed here.  In fact, I do not want their nasty screeching in my woods.

With the HOSPs at bay, the chickadees now await the HOWRs.