Redstart nest watch, the third.

June 22, 12:35, male redstart senses females return

Female delivers a small load to small chicks

She settles in to brood

checking her brood

the male has a bite to feed the chicks

close but he doesn't settle in

he's looking them over

he does his share of fecal sac removal, 

I wonder where he spends the winter.

he was leaning at full stretch in eagerness to feed and lost balance and had to extend wing to avoid full nest face, mostly

I think this fecal sac removal and I think I saw one of these parents at least just consuming the sac.

still had the tail stuffed in at auk ward angle

I guess the white is fine strands of Birch bark

She was alert to something 

females settles in to brood

the male coming in to feed, seen from then ground, June 23 3:52.

June 24, 3:49

I came back in the afternoon, I could tell the redstarts were upset, they were scolding franticly for a while

I set there for a while though I have only circumstantial evidence I have a suspect in the case

This jay was stealthing around or trying to, 

Maybe I was just sensitive as I thought that a jay had consumed this redstart nest and I myself had spent some time looking for warbler nests, but  I watched a jay snooping around in the spruce birch woods full of warblers in late June and suspected it was hunting warbler nests itself,  this did not leave me with a benevolent feeling towards jays, though I do love jays.

Thirty five years ago I planted oaks on Green's now the Bluejays harvest the acorns, maybe the oaks were not a great idea as they help sustain these warbler nestling eaters.

Redstart nest watch the second, June 21

June 21,  3:06

 

June 22, 8:54

the Male was way more involved than was the male Parula,

he did his share of foraging for the nestlings

and after he fed them he would sit on the edge of the nest and wait.

He would wait and Stand guard, until she came back

and off he went

she would feed them

and sometimes leave, without brooding the chicks

sometimes after feeding he waited just above the nest

he would hear her getting close and move off

female redstart feeding 

June 22, 10:20

removing fecal sac, I think, maybe its a white worm.

She was diligent

she might look the nest over and decide to brood for a bit

I did not see the male brood

He did sing from the nest,  I could hear two other males sining nearby so I guess he felt he had to maintain his sonic presence.

June 22, 12:24, 

Redstart Nest watch, the first of three

I saw a female redstart gathering birch for her nest another time she was at the base of Cinnamon fern stalks

there were three males sining in the curtilage around our place

I followed her after she left the cinnamon fern and waited after I lost her, I followed again the next time she passed and she led me to her nest in a skinny Birch.

female shaping nest cup June 2,

June 12

I scaled an adjacent spruce and got a good angle.

It was @ 18' up,     when the wind blows the cradle will rock

I leaned a ladder on the spruce to ease access

the males were singing constantly, there was considerable jousting.  I think I saw a neighboring male drive a female away when she crossed his line, 

I also saw a Parula clear out when it noticed a pair of redstarts approaching near a waterhole they visited.
 

June 21, 11:05

June 21,  2:43

I read in Bent of observations of males passing feed to females the first day.

and after he seemed to try to feed, she was only gone one minute when she came back

 he passed her a bite

and she took it to the nest

and fed ,

but he didn't just scoot, he lingered there and approached,

and he looked over he shoulder

maybe he still had a little bite in his bill, or maybe he just wanted to gaze at the beautiful gapes.

he got closer and leaned right in

then he got across the nest and I think she took another piece 

they looked at each other 

then she got back to work.

June 21, 2:44