The chickadees I mentioned in an earlier post have returned and have settled in to start their family. I don't think the eggs have hatched yet. It takes 12-15 days for the eggs to hatch, and I just noticed them coming and going regularly early last week. It could be soon, though. I wish we had stuck a camera inside the nesting box so we could actually see what's going on! Maybe we'll rig something up next year. They generally lay 6-8 eggs, and they fledge about 15 days after hatching. Hopefully we'll get to see a couple of the fuzzy babies before they take off!
I didn't see our chipmunk squatter this morning, so I decided to stake out the nesting box to try and get a couple pictures of the chickadees. After sitting still for awhile, this guy finally landed in the tree near his box. Although he had an unforunate moth in his mouth, he kept calling and calling. In the past I've seen him stick his head in the box or sit in the tree and make noise and the female will come out. I couldn't tell if he was trying to tell her he brought breakfast or if he was warning her about me. Either way, it became obvious after awhile that she wasn't going to come out and he wasn't going to go in while I was sitting that close. I didn't want to upset them, so I called it quits and gave them their space. As soon as I got back up to the patio he flew into the box and delivered her breakfast.
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