Growing Up

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This week on the refuge has been quite different from past weeks. No longer is it just the occasional sighting of the parents around the nest, but since the hatching of the chicks they have been much more active. Since last week there has been much progression in the nesting boxes and finally big things have began happening.

First of all, the house wrens have made huge steps in development since the last blog. As of now the chicks are beginning to enter into the fledgling stage of life. This means that the soft down feathers that once covered their bodies have been replaced by the flight feathers and the chicks have begun to become more aggressive at feeding times. As the chicks grow and get ready to leave the nest their mother is working extra hard to forage for food for them to eat so that they will be ready to fledge within the next week. For house wrens it takes on average fifteen to seventeen days for the chicks to fledge and then a few days after that they will be ready to fly. This period is often the most dangerous in any young bird’s life. At this point, though they are ready to leave the nest and feed on their own many cannot yet fly and offer an easy meal to any predator. In addition to these chicks getting ready to leave, six out of the seven eggs at the other nest hatched and the third house wren nest is finally complete.

In addition to the house wrens, the tree swallows have also proven to be quite successful. As of last week one nest had one egg, another had five and chicks were spotted in the third. As of this week two nests have five eggs and soon I should be seeing chicks from one of them, and out of the five eggs in the first swallow nest all five have hatched! Currently these little guys are small pink chicks that are completely blind. However with proper care taking these chicks will fledge at around eighteen to nineteen days old, however if they had less food or care they can be in the nest up to twenty two to twenty four days. So since the fist chick hatched on June 7th, if properly taken care of they should be leaving the nest within the next week and a half. During this time they will grow extremely fast and go from small naked chicks to young adults with full feathers.

Since beginning this internship I have learned a lot about the various birds that call the refuge home. I have studied the many different traits that accompany each species and have been able to identify the birds by sight and sound. For example the house wrens are small brown birds that use large twigs to create a tall, barricade like nest. Once the nest is complete they fill the center in with small down feathers and lay their eggs. Aside from how they build their nests, I have learned to identify them by calls. These tiny birds usually have a sharp quick chirp, like that of a sparrow or finch, but when agitated creates a noise that can be described as a rapid chatter. It is deeper than the chirp and definitely sounds more aggressive. As for the swallows their calls almost sound like a melody. They are very smooth and tranquil to listen to. But I have also acknowledged the coo of the mourning dove, “laser” sounding chirp of the cardinal, screech of the hawk, call of the robin and the occasional turkey, and feel that with every day I am learning more and more.