Sunday, March 15, 2009

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!

10 comments:

Heidi said...

That's very cool! Happy birthday to Dave and THANKS for setting that up! Can't wait for the chicks to hatch :)

Shelley said...

Happy Bday to dave and good job on the nest cam set up! lOoking forward to watching baby birdies!!

NW Nature Nut said...

I will definitely stay tuned! Looks like it will be fun to watch their progress.

Kelly said...

...this is going to be so cool!!! I'm so excited. Thanks, Dave for setting up the goods, and Happy Birthday too...another Pisces to add to the lot!

Monika said...

What a great idea. It will be a treat to follow along with you!

KaHolly said...

Happy Birthday, Dave, and thank you for putting up the nestcam. It will be fun to keep an eye on them!

Kim said...

So adorable!!! I heard my first Phoebe yesterday but can't find it. After seeing your close up photo I am going back next weekend because it is too cute of a bird for me not to see for myself.

I am so looking foward to following your nest cam this summer!

North West Birds said...

Nice!! I'll have to check on then when the feeder..I mean nest cam is back on air!

Heather said...

Kallen - Yes, they are pretty darn cute. When you go back in search of the Phoebe, watch for movement. Ours flit around from tree to tree quite often (they usually stay in place for 30 seconds or so), and watch for the bobbing ("wagging") tail. I find that our Phoebes don't go particularly high in the trees, maybe only 7 feet up or so from the ground. Hope that helps you! Let me know when you see yours!

RuthieJ said...

OMG, that's so amazing!
Belated Happy Birthday Dave!