On the subject of Juncos. We had a single Junco feeding a flying young
cowbird at our feeder a week ago First time in 50 years. I believe it
nested right next to our house where we had seen it earlier. I haven't
seen or heard any cowbirds here in months. They are sneaky.
Bob OBrien Portland
On Sun, Aug 7, 2022 at 8:05 PM Josh DeSilvey <
jmdesilvey at gmail.com> wrote:
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Hi all - This past weekend we witnessed the culmination of a slowly
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unfolding tragedy as a female Junco abandoned her nest and three eggs that
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never hatched. She nested for almost three weeks. We were cautious
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observers of her activity as she built the nest in a wine-barrel planter
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located on the deck in our backyard. When we realized this Junco chose this
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planter, we were excited to see what would unfold, even attentively
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counting down to when the eggs should have hatched. But then that period
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passed.
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We grew concerned when she did not return to the nest Saturday evening,
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though we did see her come and go throughout the day. This morning (Sunday)
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confirmed our fears when we did not spy her sitting on the nest. Looking up
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Junco nesting behaviour on Birds Of The World (BOTW; Thanks WOS!!)
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confirmed that her eggs should have hatched by Wednesday of this past week
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(8/3). Although the conclusion is still sad, we suspected it was
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inevitable. In part this post is one of mourning for our Junco (we named
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her June) and her loss, and not being cautious, careful witnesses to June
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raising her nestlings. It is also one of inquiry and I wanted to bring it
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to the Tweeters list for advice.
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So we have a nest and three Junco eggs. What should we do with it now? Are
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there agencies (glancing in the Burkes direction) in the Seattle metro area
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that would want these for research or teaching?
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Should we leave it as is and let what scavengers are around claim it for
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their benefit? Or when it starts to stink, remove it to the compost bin or
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green belt behind our home?
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Also, I was curious to find that BOTW does not report failure rates for
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broods, whether first or subsequent. In general for birds, what are failure
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rates for broods? What are some causes? Are second or third broods more
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likely to fail, then earlier ones?
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Thanks for your thoughts and answers. I look forward to reading them.
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Josh DeSilvey
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Mountlake Terrace
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jmdesiley at gmail.com
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