FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Junco question

["Dan Mooney" <dmoon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This question is about a pair of dark-eyed junco's nesting on Ski Mountain, 
just outside Blowing Rock, N.C.  The question is about behavior.  This 
particular pair have chosen a to raise young in a nest box (standard looking 
bluebird type) attached to a deck support which is mostly concealed by a good 
sized rhododendron shrub.  The box is mounted about 7ft off the ground, and 3 
ft below the deck floor.  

The nest consisted of mostly grass with some moss at the top.  I could not see 
down into the nest to count, but there were at least a couple of small chicks.  
We watched both parents carry food into the box, but we did not see any fecal 
sacs come out.

I checked the Peterson Eastern Birds' Nest Field Guide and Sibley's, The Sibley 
Guide to Bird Life and Behavior and neither mentioned juncos using nest boxes.  
Sibley's guide did not mention any sparrows using boxes.  

Is this just an odd pair or does this happen regularly?

Dan Mooney
Knoxville, TN 

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