dracowildlife's Journal

A Carolina Wren has been making a nest in a commercial nest box made from Texas license plates. Is this the same bird that made a nest here last year? The nest appears to be made of primarily leaves and twigs just stuffed into the nest box. It's hard to see inside this box because of how it was built. Presumably, there is some kind of cavity for the hen to lay eggs and then feed the clutch when the eggs hatch. The nest box hangs in a Mexican plum tree right outside the window of Patrick's office, so it is easy to watch, and occasionally photograph, the progress.

The Eastern Bluebirds are investigating Nest Box Alpha, and the House Sparrows seem to be more active in recent days.

First Day of Spring!
As of yesterday, there were four Eastern Bluebird eggs in Nest Box Delta. The house sparrows appear to be trying to take over Nest Box Alpha, but so far, we have kept them away. A Ladder-backed woodpecker appears to have made a nest in the repurposed Agave americana stalk that we have attached to our gate post leading to the prairie. The Carolina wren that made the nest in the Texas License Plate box has not been seen lately. We have been visited by killdeer (actually observed in the pasture to our north) and two scissortail fly-catchers. The ten-petal anemone are present, and the first bluebonnets are making their appearances. We have found two vertebrae of what appears to be a medium sized animal (e.g., small deer) in the path along the north fence and a foot and leg bone in one of the mowed areas in Acre 2019.