Banner from left to right: Carolina Chickadee, Red Maple, Red bud Leaf Roller Caterpillar
Theses are some of the most common questions participants have when they first join the study.
(more answers coming soon)
General
Q. What do I have to do?
Q. Do I even have chickadees in my yard?
It is very likely you have chickadees in your backyard! Carolina chickadees are a common backyard resident and are found frequently in areas with tree cover and frequently use bird feeders. It is suggested that their breeding occurrence is primarily limited by available cavities. By putting up chickadee appropriate nestboxes, we hope to attract a breeding pair to use your backyard.
Yard Characteristics
Q. Do I have to take down my nest boxes/feeder?
Q. Do I have to stop feeding mealworms?
Because mealworms and waxworms are an animal food source, you would need to cease this feeding so that are data are not effected, at least during the breeding season.
Q. Should I change the landscaping in my yard?
Q. I have a dog/outdoor cat. Is that ok?
Cavity-nesters are mostly protected from predators so your dog or cat should not pose a problem. We will place nest boxes in locations where dogs and cats will not be able to knock them over. There is no need from this study for you to change your routine, however, outdoor cats may cause fatalities in adult birds or nestlings once they leave the nest. I would like to know if there are dogs in a fenced-in backyard so technicians can be notified to make sure fence doors are closed securely.
Nest Boxes
Q. I've never seen that kind of nest box before. Why are you using that design?
This design was chosen for it's durability, ease to make, affordable cost and preference by chickadees. In the wild, chickadees usually nest in cavities that are excavated to be deep in a small tree. This design mimics a natural cavity more than a wooden house and has been shown to be preferentially chosen by chickadees for nesting.
Q. The box is so low! Are the birds still going to use it?
Many participants are surprised to find the box placed so low. Chickadees are actually more sensitive to the cavity dimensions itself than actual location. Some chickadee nests we find in natural cavities are less than 2 feet off the ground! We place our nest boxes low enough so that the box can be easily checked, accessed and taken down for maintenance.
Q. Where are my house wrens? I haven't seen them in months?
House wrens are short-distance migrants and leave the mid-atlantic area in the winter. Many likely go to the southeast United States like Florida, South Carolina or Georgia. Some may even fly as far as the Caribbean! House wrens make their way back north about mid to late April. The males will arrive first, and will immediately return to their previous territory and begin broadcasting song. Females return shortly after and begin picking a suitable nesting cavity.
Nest Predators
Q. Are house wrens nest predators?
Q. Where is 'Blue legs'? I haven't seen my color-banded chickadee in a long time.
Bird Banding
Q. I'm not sure about you catching my backyard birds. Does banding hurt them?
Q. Can we schedule a banding day on when my family and I are home?
We will do our best to work with your schedule to find a day and time when you can see the banding in process. However, in order to collect all the data we need from adults and nestlings, some banding will have to be spontaneous, and/or scheduled on days when you may not be there. We do a lot of banding, so at some point during the season you should be able to see the banding process on some of our birds.
Q. Banding is so cool! Where else can I see birds in the hand?
Contact your local audubon society or bird observatory to learn more about banding stations in the area. Many of these stations operate mostly during spring and fall migration and readily welcome observers, or in some cases, are willing to train volunteers.
(more answers coming soon)
General
Q. What do I have to do?
Q. Do I even have chickadees in my yard?
It is very likely you have chickadees in your backyard! Carolina chickadees are a common backyard resident and are found frequently in areas with tree cover and frequently use bird feeders. It is suggested that their breeding occurrence is primarily limited by available cavities. By putting up chickadee appropriate nestboxes, we hope to attract a breeding pair to use your backyard.
Yard Characteristics
Q. Do I have to take down my nest boxes/feeder?
Q. Do I have to stop feeding mealworms?
Because mealworms and waxworms are an animal food source, you would need to cease this feeding so that are data are not effected, at least during the breeding season.
Q. Should I change the landscaping in my yard?
Q. I have a dog/outdoor cat. Is that ok?
Cavity-nesters are mostly protected from predators so your dog or cat should not pose a problem. We will place nest boxes in locations where dogs and cats will not be able to knock them over. There is no need from this study for you to change your routine, however, outdoor cats may cause fatalities in adult birds or nestlings once they leave the nest. I would like to know if there are dogs in a fenced-in backyard so technicians can be notified to make sure fence doors are closed securely.
Nest Boxes
Q. I've never seen that kind of nest box before. Why are you using that design?
This design was chosen for it's durability, ease to make, affordable cost and preference by chickadees. In the wild, chickadees usually nest in cavities that are excavated to be deep in a small tree. This design mimics a natural cavity more than a wooden house and has been shown to be preferentially chosen by chickadees for nesting.
Q. The box is so low! Are the birds still going to use it?
Many participants are surprised to find the box placed so low. Chickadees are actually more sensitive to the cavity dimensions itself than actual location. Some chickadee nests we find in natural cavities are less than 2 feet off the ground! We place our nest boxes low enough so that the box can be easily checked, accessed and taken down for maintenance.
Q. Where are my house wrens? I haven't seen them in months?
House wrens are short-distance migrants and leave the mid-atlantic area in the winter. Many likely go to the southeast United States like Florida, South Carolina or Georgia. Some may even fly as far as the Caribbean! House wrens make their way back north about mid to late April. The males will arrive first, and will immediately return to their previous territory and begin broadcasting song. Females return shortly after and begin picking a suitable nesting cavity.
Nest Predators
Q. Are house wrens nest predators?
Q. Where is 'Blue legs'? I haven't seen my color-banded chickadee in a long time.
Bird Banding
Q. I'm not sure about you catching my backyard birds. Does banding hurt them?
Q. Can we schedule a banding day on when my family and I are home?
We will do our best to work with your schedule to find a day and time when you can see the banding in process. However, in order to collect all the data we need from adults and nestlings, some banding will have to be spontaneous, and/or scheduled on days when you may not be there. We do a lot of banding, so at some point during the season you should be able to see the banding process on some of our birds.
Q. Banding is so cool! Where else can I see birds in the hand?
Contact your local audubon society or bird observatory to learn more about banding stations in the area. Many of these stations operate mostly during spring and fall migration and readily welcome observers, or in some cases, are willing to train volunteers.