FLICKER
TIMELINE: February - July 2005
Northern Flicker
(Red Shafted)
Colaptes auratus
cafer
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February 1st - February 10th:
Activity around the feeders and box has really slowed down.
Since the last snow, we have seen no more than three flickers
at a time at the suet--most mornings there is only one or
none. We thought we heard pecking and drumming one morning,
but it didn't go on long enough to really tell, and hasn't become
a common .occurrence With warmer nights, the flickers haven't
been roosting in the box overnight, either.
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The first starling
of the 2005 nesting season.
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February 11th-17th: Little flicker
activity around the box. We had our first starling visitation
on February 11th, although the bird didn't stay long enough
to be caught on more than one inside frame, or any outside
shots. That means it stayed less than two minutes. Sparrows are
also persistent visitors.
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February 18-24th: Flickers have
been drumming on the house every morning for the past three
days, but little activity at the box. Starlings contest the
suet constantly, and are in the box about as much as the flickers
are.
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February 26th: Today we installed
a Plexiglas "starling guard" around the outside of the flicker
box. Inspired by commercially available starling resistant
boxes, we hope to exploit the flicker's tree climbing abilities
to allow it to access the box from below, but exclude the starlings,
who do not climb vertically. It may take a few adjustments before
we get it right, or it may not work at all...the next few weeks
will be interesting to watch developments.
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Above: March 1st--flicker
enjoys a suet treat on top of the box.
Below: March 2nd--I can see it, but
how do I get to it?!
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March 1st -5th: The flickers
continue to drum on the house every morning between 7:00
a.m. and 7:30. They seem to be pairing off--more and more we see
a male and a female at the suet, but not the large groups of birds
of just a month ago. Since the birds have not investigated the box
since we installed the starling guard, we decided to give them
some incentive. On March 1st, we placed a cake of suet on top of
the box. The Flickers loved it! (so did the squirrels). On March
2nd, we moved the suet to the inside of the Plexiglas. The birds
came back looking for a treat, but so far haven't seemed to discover
the box is accessible from the bottom.
We often hear two flickers drumming on
the house--one on the east side, one on the west. One will
drum loudly on something metal, and then stop, only to be answered
by another drumming on wood. Apparently our house is a nest site
desirable enough to be contested!
Around the suet feeder, the flickers
are becoming much more interactive with each other. They
spread out their tail feathers and waggle them at each other--difficult
to say whether this is males reacting to other males or males
showing off to females, since we can't always see the red mustaches
from our vantage point. The birds also chase each other much more
aggressively. Before, they would peck at each other to gain access
to the suet. Now they will fly at each other, and peruse each other
over the house or away across the neighborhood. They do at times
take after the starlings, but seem more interested in each other
right now.
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March 6th: The starling guard
was a great success at keeping starlings out of the box. Unfortunately,
the flickers seemed to be driven away, too. We took the Plexiglas
down tonight. So the soap opera of flickers v. starlings will
continue!
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March 7th: The flickers seem joyous
to have their box back! We saw a lot of activity, especially
around the suet, which we left on top of the box. The birds spent
a good share of time inside, as well.
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March 8th: If the flickers are
back in force, so are the starlings and squirrels. Lots of activity
this morning, both starlings and flickers. We notice more bird
activity around the feeders preceding a storm, and to day was
no exception. A nasty spring snowstorm moved in at about 9:30 a.m.
and lasted until 12:30p.m. or so, with high winds and swirling snow.
When it was over, a squirrel took refuge in the box, cleaned and
dried its fur and promptly curled up and went to sleep. It stayed most
of the afternoon. The flicker appeared for a snack or two, but stayed
on the outside of the box.
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March 9th: Last night we placed
animal repellent (dried fox urine) in the box to discourage
the squirrels. It is supposed to frighten the squirrel because
it smells like a predator, but not worry the birds, since birds
don't have an acute sense of smell. It appears to be working so
far--the only shot of a squirrel this morning is the animal literally
"high tailing" it out of there! Later, the squirrel did come back
for about 5 minutes, but didn't stay in the box long. Time will
tell if the flickers are willing to enter, or if the squirrel stays
away. We also moved the suet off the box and back to its place in
the suet feeder, so we probably will have less bird activity without
food present.
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March 10th: Caught the flicker
in the act of drumming this morning. He was on our furnace flue!
From our bedroom we can hear that he's on something metallic,
but we've never been able to figure out where he was before. Mystery
solved. The flicker looked absolutely regal, sitting up there
so high, against a perfect blue morning sky. Didn't have my camera,
so no pictures, unfortunately. Lots of unwelcome visitors this
morning, including the squirrel and starlings. Only one shot of a flicker
outside the box, and none inside today, but there's lots of drumming,
calling, and activity around the suet feeder. Perhaps they're busy
pairing off and setting up territories, and interest in the box will
come later.
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March 11th: No birds at all on our
cameras today, but the squirrel seems to think the animal repellent
is some sort of air freshener. It spent from about 7:15 a.m.
until 7:36 a.m. in the box this morning! We added much more powdered
fox urine his afternoon. Perhaps we didn't use enough the first
time.
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March 13th: Snowy day. No
activity around the box while the snow is falling
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March 14th-22nd: While the flickers
are busy around the suet feeder and drumming on the house, the
starlings are busy excavating the nest box. Some of the flickers
are quite assertive around the suet feeder, pecking at the starlings
to chase them away. We hope that behavior will carry through to
the nestbox when the time is right. There has been no evidence of
flickers on the nestbox since the snow.
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March 29th: Both starlings appeared
in the nestbox at the same time--the first time we've observed
this happening. No flickers around the box, although they are active
as ever at the suet feeder and drumming on the house.
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March 30th: A small scrap of suet
on the nestbox roof attracted the flicker for the first time since
March 10th. It also brought back the squirrel problem.
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April 1st-3rd: The flickers
are back! They stay mostly outside, clinging to the box and
looking in, but once in a while they enter as well. The squirrels
and starlings are a persistent presence.
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The flicker picks
up pine litter in his mouth (above) and flings it out
of the box (below)
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April 4th:
Flickers active around 7:00 a.m., from 11:08 a.m. to 11:44
a.m., and back again at 1:49 p.m. to 1:54 p.m. During the 11:00
hour, we caught the male flicker picking up pine chips in his
beak, excavating the hole. There were no starlings in evidence today.
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Above: the female
flicker clings to the box.
Above: a mouthful
of chips.
Below: pine chips go flying!
Below: What a mess!
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April 7th:
The female flicker was active for several hours
this morning. She set to work excavating, starting 12:11
p.m. kept it up until 1:04 p.m. when I can home and frightened
her away by letting the dogs out. She reappeared at about 4:23 p.m.
I was able to observe her on the live camera, which is only available
on our home computers. She is able to fling one mouthful about every
three seconds, and excavated so much in about seven minutes, that
she could no longer reach it and remain clinging to the opening--she
had to jump down into the box to grab a mouthful.
At 4:27p.m.., another flicker
landed on the top of the box for one second, and the female
inside puffed up her back feathers and spread out her tail
in the same manner we have observed when the flickers contest
the suet.
At .4:45 p.m, The other
flicker returned for several more seconds, this time clinging
to the opening, and the female sank very low inside the box.
The bird outside was a male, and he poked his head into the box
several times, then flew away. He returned at 5:07 p.m.,
once again clinging to the opening and putting his head inside--the
female made herself very small against the corner of the box. The
female stayed still for a little in the box, after the male had
flown off, then resumed her efforts at excavating the pine chips. She
left the box at about 5:40 p.m. Afterwards, we observed the two birds
flying from tree to tree together and interacting in the trees in
the back yard.
The second time the male appeared, the female crouched
in the corner.
The black object at the top of the picture
is the flicker's tail.
Note how much lower the level of pine
chips is compared the the photos from April 4th
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April 8th:
Three flickers at the suet this morning--two males
and a female. One of the males had a red chevron on the back
of his neck, plus red mustaches, and red on the undersides of its
wings. This combination of markings mean this bird is a hybrid yellow-and-red
shafted flicker. We have never seen a flicker with a red chevron
at our feeders before, so this bird was new. It was quite aggressive
with the other male, with much feather fluffing and flying altercations.
No birds at the nestbox at all today, except one starling for one
frame.
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April 9th-14th:
A 21 inch snowstorm on the 10th seems to have put
the flickers off from their interest in the box. Several Grackles
came in and dominated both seed and suet feeders during
the storm. We're uncertain if their presence had any effect
on the flickers. When the storm cleared, we had bright sunny
days in the 60's and 70-degree range, and the starlings are back
with a vengeance. Only one flicker visit to the box since the snow.
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above: before the fight,
the starling is busy bringing in nesting material
Below: The flicker clings
to the nestbox, just before entering and fighting the starling.
Above: flicker and starling
fight for possession of the box.
Below: eight seconds later, the flicker
has gotten free and flown away. The starling is left alone
in the box.
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April 15th:
As I was updating flicker cam this morning, I monitored the
starlings on the in-house-only live-feed camera. Checking
the stills, I noticed the flicker on the outside of the box, and
then heard it cry out. Switching back to live feed, I saw that
inside the box, the flicker and the starling were fighting! The
scene was astounding and dramatic, with the flicker crying out several
times inside the box; the confrontation went on for perhaps a
minute. In the end, the flicker got free and left the box, with the
starling remaining inside. I ran to the door quickly enough to
see the flicker fly away, apparently unharmed, and shouted
to chase the starling out of the box, but it had apparently already
gone. However, less than two minutes later the starlings were already
back in the box, while the flicker looked on from our nearby tree. None
of this was caught on the still cameras, which only update every two
minutes, but we were able to retrieve one of the frames I saved while the
fight was going on, which I enlarged here for clarity. There was sporadic
starling activity for the remainder of the day, but no flickers in evidence
on any camera.
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Above: We hope to deter starlings
with this bell on the side of the box
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April 16th:
The flickers were a definite presence this morning,
from dawn until about 10:00 a.m.--drumming and calling softly
to each other in our tree--but none entered the box. We have added
a doorbell to the outside of the box which we can ring remotely from
the live-feed camera. So now when we see starlings, we have a more
convenient way to discourage them than running to a window or door
and yelling!
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April
17th-18th: Since installing the starling bell, we've
had only one visit from starlings, and no flickers. The starlings
haven't even been around enough for us to test if the bell will work!
We painted the bell brown, thinking perhaps the shiny silver surface
may be deterring the birds. The flickers are still active, drumming
and calling, just not in our box. Grackles are more in evidence around
the seed feeder since the snowstorm. Not sure which of these factors--or
any of them--is having an effect on the non-activity around the box.
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Above: 1:38 p.m. the flicker
on the box.
Below: 1:40 p.m. the starling inside the box.
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April
19th-21st: The flickers are still quite active around
the suet and drumming on the house morning and evening. They sit
in the big tree and "talk" to each other gently in the afternoon.
Interestingly, the only pictures of birds we've captured in these three
days are of a flicker and a starling--taken 2 minutes apart! Neither
bird appeared on the inside cameras either before or after the pictures
were taken.
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Above: female flicker in the box
for the first time since the fight with the starling.
Below: her eye is shut--blinking, or perhaps sleeping?
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April
22nd: The female flicker was at the box today from about 12:47
p.m. to 12:54p.m.--and spent at least 6 minutes of that time in
the box. She returned at 1:04p.m., and spent about 45 minutes clinging
to the box. Several frames showed her eye shut--is it possible she was
resting or sleeping? The female flicker returned at 2:22p.m. and again
clung to the box for about 20 minutes until 2:41p.m. She was back for
one frame at 4:45p.m. We heard drumming at 3:00 p.m., and the flickers
have been noisy in the trees all afternoon.
At 6:00 p.m., the male with the red chevron on the
back of his neck appeared, and spent about 20 minutes inside the
box. The red mark on the neck means this bird is a hybrid red and
yellow shafted flicker. It's exciting because this mark allows us
to distinguish this bird from all the others. We noted his presence
around the suet feeder on April 8th, but have not seen him since until
this evening. The red chevron is clearly visible on the inside camera
as a gray "V", as well as being obvious on the outside camera.
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Above & below: the red chevron
male is back at 6:17a.m.
Above: a mouthful of chips.
Below: let the chips fly where they may!
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April 23rd: The male flicker with the
red chevron was back in the box this morning at 6:17a.m., and stayed
for about five minutes, doing a little excavating. He was extremely
noisy, too, drumming and calling from about 6:00 a.m. until about
9:00 a.m. The male returned to the box at about 1:11
p.m. and spent about 2 hours excavating, exiting for brief periods when
we let the dogs out, but always returning within about five minutes.
He left at 3:17 p.m., then returned for another 15 minutes of excavating
at about 4:10 p.m. He has removed about four inches of pine chips
from the box.
Above: Pine chips are nearly
up to the entrance hole before the flicker excavates.
Below: A much lower lever of chips after an afternoon
of excavation!
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April 24th: The Red Chevron male spent
from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. in the box, drumming on the box, and
calling. his distinctive Wic-a-wic-wic-wic is very loud in the
house, and incessant when he is nearby. Some of the frames caught him
is full throated-call! A rainy afternoon put a damper on activities, but
the bird showed up at 7:24p.m. looking wet and bedraggled, preened himself
dry, and promptly went to sleep! This is the first over-night stay we've
had from a bird since January.
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April 25th: Another rainy day, with morning
thunder storms. After we inadvertently frightened him away at 2:00a.m.
by letting the dogs out (that's what happens when you let a puppy tank
up at 10:00p.m.), our red-chevron male did return for just one frame
this morning, during a rare patch of sunshine. Apparently our box is
refuge for more than birds--I had to shake a squirrel out of the box
with a long pole at about 3:30p.m. It finally left after I opened the
lid of the box, giving it an easy escape route to the roof of the house.
The flicker cheered me on from the neighbor's tree!
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April 26th-May 1st:Cold, wet weather including
rain and snow put a damper on all bird activity in the box. Two squirrels
companionably curled up together for an afternoon nap on the 29th, until
I got after them with the pole. We heard some drumming and had a few birds
on the suet, but none in the box.
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May
2nd:A break in the precipitation, if not the temperatures,
brought out our red chevron male, who spent most of the day in and out
of the box, spending extended periods around 8:00 am, 10:00 a.m., 1:00p.m.,
3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. No sign of a female flicker around the box,
but we did have one at the suet today.
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Above: The red chevron on the male's neck, and his
red mustache makes him easily identifiable.
Above & Below: The male spent much of his day
excavating with great energy. The chip level is low enough that he
has to hop or even flap his wings to reach the opening of the box!
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May 4th-12th: The male flicker has spent
more and more time in the box, excavating. A female flicker has also
spent time in and around the box. She seems to be more in evidence each
day. At times, one has been in the box, with the other bird clinging
to the outside. Drumming and calling have diminished as the birds spend
more time preparing the box.
Above: The female investigates the box
Below: She finally decided to go inside.
Below: The female calls to her mate
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May 13th-18th:Activity has dropped off dramatically
around the box. Whether that's because we're more active in the yard on
weekends, or some other reason, we don't know. There was a starling in
the box on the 15th for the first time since the fight, and only one frame
showing the male flicker, about noon on the 15th.
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May 18th:After a six day absence, the
red-chevron male was back at the box today, from 2:20 p.m.-2:57 p.m.--nearly
35 minutes! He didn't go inside, however. He was back for one frame
at 7:13 p.m. tonight.
New information from a fellow flicker-box
(observer who has had flickers raise broods in his boxes) indicates
that the birds often excavate and guard more than one cavity, so we are
wondering if our pair has chosen an alternative sight. It was nice to
see the male on camera, so at least we know he's alive and well. We will
keep watching until we are positive there is no chance of a brood this season.
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Above: the female sticks her neck out.
Below: the male lands on the box seconds after the female
exited it.
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May 19th-23: Encouraging activity! The
male and female have been spending lots of time in the box, especially
in the mornings and early afternoons. They switch off--when one leaves,
the other appears almost immediately to sit in or on the box. Still
no eggs, however.
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Above: female flicker at nestbox
opening while the
starling crouches in the box.
Below: Female flicker dives into the box
after
driving out the starling.
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May 24th: A starling appeared in the
box at 10:50 a.m. At 10:51a.m., the female flicker appeared,
clinging to the outside of the box. She stayed there, poking her
head in the opening enough to be seen on the inside camera several
times, until 11:09 a.m.--about 20 minutes. Then, at 11:11 a.m. the
female flicker is in the box, and the starling is gone. She and the male
flicker resumed their vigil, taking turns inside and outside the box
for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. We were not monitoring
the live fed, so we didn't witness what happened, but we can only assume
some sort of altercation took place between the female flicker and
the starling, with the flickers triumphant.
Above: the female on the box,
seemingly in a mating display posture.
Below: Later in the afternoon,
the male flicker takes over the vigil of guarding the box.
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In the sat few days, one of the
male's flight-feathers has begun sticking out at an odd
angle. It makes him easy to identify, in or out of the box.
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May 26th: The starlings were in the
box again today, but mostly the flickers were in evidence. When
I let the dogs out at 1:00 p.m., I noticed they were greedily licking
something of the porch below the flicker box. When I investigated,
I found pieces of white eggshell. The dogs had already eaten most
of the contents, but it looked like bloody egg yolk. I can only
assume it was a flicker egg, smashed on the pavement. Neither the
inside nor outside cameras have any evidence of an egg in the box
or an altercation between flicker and starling. How the egg got there
remains a mystery.
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FEMALE: EGG LAYING
Above: the female sits at the
box opening at 7:03 a.m. There is no egg in the box yet.
Below: Female in the box during egg laying.
Below: The female clings to
the side of the box after .egg laying
MALE:
Egg Tending
The male spent much time in the
box sitting on the egg and gently moving it with his feet
and beak.
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May 27th: The male was in the box
from 5:50 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. this morning. We heard a little drumming
on the house, too, for the first time in a while. The female appeared
at 6:19 a.m., and at 7:05 a.m. began sitting on the pine litter
in the box. She stayed there until 7:26 a.m., when she jumped up
an started clinging to the side of the box. An egg is visible in
the pine litter below her! It is difficult to make out--the infrared
camera shows both litter and egg to be the same color. The starlings
are in the trees calling to each other, so we can only hope this egg
doesn't suffer the fate of the first one.
The male and female spent all day in the
box, changing off about every hour or so. One would leave
the box, and the other would appear within 10-15 minutes. The
male especially seemed to fuss over the egg, moving it around,
hiding it under the pine chips, and then unburying it again. Both
birds spent time sitting on it, but not constantly.
At one point a squirrel appeared on the box--just
for a second on our live feed camera--but the female stayed
tightly inside and the animal went on its way (it was not caught
by the still cameras). We now wonder if a squirrel may have been
the culprit in smashing the first egg, and not the starlings at all.
All was well until about 8:30 p.m., when
we went out to relieve the dogs for the last time. Opening the
door drove the bird from the box, and it did not return all night.
We hope the egg did not go cold.
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Above: Two eggs visible in
the nestbox.
Below: Giggles rests quietly after laying her
second egg
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May 28th: The male flicker was back
in the box at 5:40 a.m. Then the female appeared, and at 7:03
a.m. there are two eggs in evidence. Both flickers have been
guarding the box, in and out, all day. Our Saturday activities in
the yard have kept them away, probably more than they would like.
They sit in the tree scolding us when we go outside. The birds did not
spend the night in the box.
Until now we have held off naming
the birds. Today, in honor of the eggs, and inspired by their
laughing calls, we named the male "Joker," and the female "Giggles."
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Above: Joker arrives first thing
in the morning to look after the two eggs.
Below: Giggles appears at 6:22 a.m., minutes
after Joker vacated the box.
Above: Giggles lays her 3rd
egg.
Below: Giggles takes a nap. Three eggs are now
visible below her in the box
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May 29th: Once again, Joker was the
first back to the box this morning, at 5:50 a.m. He sat on the
two eggs until 6:20 a.m., then exited the box. At 6:25 a.m., Giggles
entered the box and remained on the floor until 6:32 a.m., when
she appears sitting at the hole. There are three eggs clearly visible
below her. At 6:52 a.m., Giggles tucked her head beneath a wing and
had an eight minute nap. She left the box when we disturbed her for
the dogs' morning necessities in the yard, but was back only seven minutes
later to tend the eggs. Both birds were attentive to the eggs all day,
sometimes sleeping while sitting on them, sometimes clinging to the box.
The weather was cold and wet, and the birds stayed close by, even when
we let the dogs out. At twilight, Giggles was in the box, and we could
see her profile against the white house on the outside camera. Then Joker
came up and landed on the outside, and the two birds spent a minute or
two touching beaks before Joker departed. At some point they changed positions,
and Joker spent the night in the box. We relieved the dogs on leash in
the front yard the last time, for fear we would disturb him and he would
not come back for the night.
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Above: Joker spent the night in
the box. Three eggs are visible below him.
Below: Giggles clings to the box at 7:58 a.m.
She has not yet laid her fourth egg.
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May 30th: Joker spent the night in
the box, mostly clinging to the side of the box, but sometimes sitting
on the eggs. He left at about 6:21 a.m., and Giggles appeared at
6:30 a.m. She left the box at 7:14a.m., without laying an egg. Joker
occupied the box from 8:10 a.m. to 8:40 a.m.--even staying inside
when we let the dogs play in the yard. At 8:48 a.m., Giggles returned
and sat in the box for about 16 minutes. When she left the nest at
9:08, there were four eggs in evidence.
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Above: Giggles sits calmly on the
eggs.
Below: When we go outside, Giggles is quick to
leave the box.
Below: Joker spends more time looking
out of the box than Giggles does when she's there.
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May 31st: Giggles did not lay another
egg today. Since flickers lay one egg a day, we think that four
will be the total size of her clutch. The flickers spent the day
in the box, trading off so quickly that the inside camera hardly
ever gives us a good glimpse at the eggs. Once again Joker spent the
night in the box. It would appear egg laying is over and incubation
has begun.
We have discovered that if we open the door very
gently and do not go out, Joker will stay in the box and tolerate
the presence of the dogs in the yard, especially towards evening
and at night. A human in the yard is cause to fly, however, and the
birds give us about five minutes before they start scolding--telling
us they want their box back! Joker is more fidgety in the box,
jumping up to the opening and back down much more than his mate. He
seems to spend more time in the box than Giggles, but we haven't actually
tallied up the time. Giggles is quicker to leave the box whenever we
appear, and sometimes even leaves when she hears us in the house, but
when she is in, she stays on the eggs much more calmly than he does. When
we go inside, one or the other of the birds is quick to appear-usually
within minutes of the yard being empty.
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Above: 2:07 p.m. Four eggs in the
box.
Below: Giggles tends the eggs--two eggs are just
visible to the left and below her head.
Below: Giggles sits at the door. There
are now only three eggs in the box.
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June 1st: The birds began with a routine
day of switching off about every two to three hours, sitting
on the eggs. When I let the dogs out at about 2:00p.m., Giggles
was in the box and flew to the tree, then flew away while they
played in the yard. She was back immediately when we went in, and
is present with four eggs at 2:09 p.m. She is in the box constantly
with no sign of trouble, but at 2:39 p.m., the first time the eggs are
visible, there are clearly only three in the box. I found the fourth egg
smashed on the porch below the box. I was not monitoring the live feed
camera, so I don't know how or why this happened, or if it was related
to our presence in the yard. Perhaps the egg was bad and Giggles discarded
it on purpose, or perhaps it accidentally got knocked out of the box
when she was leaving. I placed a quarter next to the egg for scale and
photographed it for the record.
Joker was in the box when I went out to collect the
egg, and he again came back as soon as possible when I left the
yard. He vocalized from the tree and the box, with the wic-a-wic-a-wic
call, and also single wic's, which is unusual.
Mostly we only hear the birds when they are scolding us for being
in the yard--they have been silent when in the box since the eggs have
been present.
Smashed egg with a quarter for scale
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June 2nd: The birds have been very
faithful to the three remaining eggs, with Joker staying in the
box over night, and both birds switching off during the day. Sometimes
we hear them call to each other just before they change off shifts.
Unless we're in the yard, they rarely leave the eggs alone for more
than a few minutes. Joker, especially, is inclined to stay in the
box even when we go out--provided we do not make eye contact with him.
As soon as we look at him, he flees, but if we do not look up, he will
stay in the box.
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Above: the rain begins. 4:39
p.m.
Below: Wind blows the branches of the tree in front
of the camera. The rain gets harder. 4:41 p.m.
Above: Hail is visible on the box
beyond the blowing leaves. 4:43 p.m.
Below: A torrential downpour! Giggles weathered the
storm in the box. 4:44 p.m.
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June 3rd: Today we had severe weather,
including a torrential downpour and enough pea sized hail to cover
the ground with white. Giggles was in the box at the time, and stayed
there throughout the squall. She would jump to the hole each time lightening
flashed, but did not abandon the eggs. The noise in the box during the
hail must have been deafening! We lost power for about an hour, and were
afraid the outside camera might have been damaged, however all was well
when we were able to test the equipment by morning light on the 4th.
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June 4th: A cold, rainy day today,
with temperatures in the forties. The flickers have stayed tight inside
the box, on the eggs all day.
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June 5th: The power surge we experienced
during the lightning storm wreaked unexpected havoc with our Flicker
Cam server, causing both cameras to be down. We still have the closed-circuit
live feed camera in the house, so we can report the birds are maintaining
their vigil, trading off sitting on the eggs 24/7, and scolding us
every time we disturb them by going out in the yard.
Update: Our hard-working Tech Support person worked
late into the night to restore partial service on both cameras. The
flicker_cam server is now hosted on a different machine, and should
be more reliable from now on.
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Above: the starling appears at 7:52 a.m.
Below: 7:53 a.m. the starling seems to be trying to pick
up an egg
Above: At 7:54 a.m. Giggles appears at the
nest box
Below: the starling exits the box.
Below: Giggles settles down on the eggs at
7:55 a.m.
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June 6th: Starlings are active in the
yard; we heard their calls when we went out with the dogs this morning.
Joker left the box when he saw me, and left the nest unattended for about
10 minutes while I worked in the yard. At 7:52 a.m. a starling is in
the box--apparently trying to pick up one of the flicker eggs. at 7:54
a.m., Giggles appears on the outside camera, and the inside camera shows
the starling hastily leaving the box. All three eggs are still present,
and look to be unbroken.
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Above: 5:44 a.m. Joker dangles an egg from
the nestbox.
Below: Inside view at 5:44 a.m. shows only one egg remaining
in the box.
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June 8th: Two more eggs have disappeared
from the box, and this time we caught our culprit on the camera. Joker
appears at 5:44 a.m. on the outside camera with an egg in his mouth.
In the next frame, he is gone. The box was empty for about 40 minutes,
then Giggles appeared. We found one egg smashed on the ground--the other
was not found and we wonder if Joker flew away with it. For the past
day or two we have been noticing that one of the eggs was a lighter color
than the others and wondering why. Perhaps the birds somehow know that
only one of the eggs would hatch and took steps to clean the nest from
the infertile ones. The smashed egg appears much like the other one--orange
inside, but not as much stuff as one would expect had there been an embryo
present. Both birds continue to tenderly care for the remaining egg.
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Above: Giggles in the nestbox--the last egg as
disappeared.
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June 9th: The last egg disappeared this
morning sometime between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. The birds are behaving
as if eggs were still present, however, so we're hoping they will
lay more eggs. We don't think they'll have much luck hatching a pile of
sawdust! Joker has gotten brave enough that he let me take a digital photo
of him from the door. He will even stay in the nest if I look at him! Giggles,
however, still flies away at the click of the door latch.
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June 10th: Joker spent the night in the
box, and maintains his regular schedule of occupying it, even with no
eggs present. He wakes and leaves about 5:30a.m., is back about 6:00 a.m.,
leaves at 6:30 a.m., back from 7:00-7:30am, and so forth. The difference
today is that Giggles has not taken over when the box is empty. She appears
only for one frame, at 6:24, and does not enter the empty box. A startling
briefly entered the box at 6:49 a.m., and was back from 3:30 p.m.
until about 4:00, but seems to have left on its own with no confrontation
with the flickers, either time..
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Above: the last photo of Joker before he left the
box.
Above: Giggles at the nestbox.
Below: Giggles on top of the box. The starling did not leave when
she appeared..
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June 11th: Joker spent the night in the
box, and left at 5:29a.m., his usual time. He did not return. The starlings
were in the box all morning, and have begun brining in nesting material.
Giggles appeared breifly on the box at 7:00 a.m.--the starling was inside
at the time, but apparently she did not confront it, because the starling
continues its nestbox activities. Since the flickers have been so vigilent
about guarding the box from the starlings, we believe they have abandoned
their nesting behavior for this year. We did hear drumming on the house
for the first time since egg-laying started, but it's hard to know what,
if anything, it means. We will clean out the box and install a balsa "starling
baffle" across the nestbox opening. That will keep the starlings out until
such time as the flickers want to try again.
Above: the starlings were quick to take over the
box when the flickers stopped guarding it.
Below: Nesting material the starlings have brought in.
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Inside view of the box--the entrance hole is covered
by a thin piece of balsa to keep the starlings out.
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June 12th-15th: The flickers have not pecked
out the balsa starling baffle, nor have they returned to the box since
we closed it up. We continue to hear their calls around the house, and
will continue monitoring the cameras for a few more weeks.
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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
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July 4th: There has been no activity of any
kind since we boarded up the nestbox opening.
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July 11th: We deactivated the cameras today.
We will reactivate it when we have flicker activiaty around the box--either
roosting over the winter, or nesting next spring.
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