About 6:30 PM yesterday evening my hubby called to me to ask if that were a
Pine Siskin at the feeder--and by golly, it was!
This is the 3rd time over several years that a Pine Siskin has been in my
yard in the middle of summer, which makes me wonder if it could be possible
there's a genetic line of Pine Siskins nesting around here somewhere. I'd
love to hear from anyone who has information on the probability of this
being the case.
Also, I recently had phoebes and Carolina Wrens nesting simultaneously in
my carport at diagonally opposite corners about 21 feet apart. The phoebes
had built their nest first and weren't pleased when the wrens showed up.
The male phoebe had some altercations with the wrens so I was shocked when I
discovered the wrens had built a nest anyway! There are several
fascinating aspects to this situation, but one of the most interesting to me
was
the way the wrens so surreptitiously fed their chicks. They would come
ZOOMING into the carport away from the phoebes' corner, feed quietly, and then
zip out just above the carport floor by my car where the phoebes couldn't
see them!!!!!!
And can you believe that the wren chicks fledged the same day as the phoebe
chicks, albeit a bit earlier in the day?
I'm wondering if anyone has ever had 2 species nesting within close sight
of each other like this? I did have this happen once before, but at that
time the wren and phoebe pairs continued to have squabbles--perhaps because
their nests were much closer together, both being at the front of the
carport across from each other.
The funny thing is that these birds have several shelves to choose from on
my porch as well so it's not like they were forced into nesting in the
carport together. Phoebes and wrens have previously set up housekeeping in
both areas.
Sincerely,
Marlene
