Feedercam switches to Nestcam!

As I mentioned in my last post, our Phoebes have arrived. It's only taken them a matter of days (less than a week, as far as I can tell) to lay claim to last year's nest. This exciting development prompted us to move the webcam from "Feedercam" to "Nestcam."

Oh, hello there!

You may notice that the tail is a bit blurred in this photo. They wag their tails... a lot. Funny, I had forgotten about that particular behavior until I saw it the other day.

Dave deserves pretty much all the credit for getting the webcam up and running. Be sure to thank him for all his hard work (and today's his birthday, so wish him happy b-day, too!).

The cam, mounted next to the nest.

See the hook that the feeder is hanging from over on the left? That's a favorite perching spot for the Phoebes, and that's where they're almost always sitting when I take their photos.

We were a little worried at first after we placed the cam. There was no Phoebe activity for several hours. Did we scare them away with that big THING next to their nest? But finally, we were happy to see them come back.

Then we got this view....

Aren't they the sweetest? Upon checking the Cornell site, they say that Phoebes are pretty solitary, and that even the members of a mated pair spend little time together except for some joint roosting activity early on in pair formation. I guess we were pretty lucky to actually see them together!

I look forward to watching their little family life unfold. I'll try to keep notes over in the sidebar as to the progress of the nest. Stay tuned!