So that explains the chipping I found around the hole in a cedar box that
Chickadees nested in last year. This year I put the box back up in an
English Laurel, but I watched the chickadees ignore the box, and instead
chip out a hole (cavity) in that same Laurel, which I had recently pruned.
They started where a side branch had been removed, and chipped away until
they had quite a nice cavity in which one or the other would disappear
only to reappear with a beakful of chips which they carried off. If I had
not seen it (also my wife witnessed this behavior), I would have swore it
was woodpeckers.

Roger Olstad
Seattle (Lake Forest Park)

On Mon, 12 May 1997, Mike Patterson wrote:

>
>
> About 20% of nest boxes that I place for Tree Swallows along edge habitats
> are used by Chickadees (all but one of these BCCH over 8 years). Chickadees
> build their nest here on the Columbia using moss, lichen, animal fur and
> down. Most chickadee nests show a curious chipping around the hole of the
> box which I do not find associated with boxes used only by swallows.
>
> I have not been able to eliminate the possibility that these are caused by
> squirrels, rats or woodpeckers. It may also be some kind of hole preparation
> behavior that chickadees do. Any observational data on chickadee entry hole
> preparation would be useful.
>
>
>
> >
> >Saturday a Black-Capped Chickadee pair immediately inhabited a cedar =
> >nest box based on the design recommended in a message by Mike Patterson =
> >some time ago. The box attracted the Chickadees within 10 minutes after =
> >attaching it to a post in the back yard. The flew back and forth all day =
> >Saturday and Sunday. I noticed a woodpecker like pecking inside the box =
> >at various intervals. My searching on the internet failed to reveal any =
> >details of how chickadees build their nests. If anyone has details =
> >please enlignten me. They were bringing large amounts of moss to the =
> >nest but I couldn't detect anything else being used as nest materials. =
> >Thank you.
> >________________________________
> >Dave Stiles
> >New Business Development
> >425-635-0709
> >ASIX, Inc.=20
> >visit our web site at www.asix.com
> >
> >
>
> --
> *********************************** I got the blues so bad one time
> * Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * it put my face in a permanent frown
> * mpatters at orednet.org * but I am feelin' so much better
> *http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters* I could cake-walk into town
>