luckiest birdies - a near disaster

Of all the trees on my property I treasure this very old plum tree the most. It gives me the protection from the sun from sun rise to late afternoon. I built a raised deck around its trunk to take advantage of the shade offered by its canopy.
In the spring I was puzzled to see accumulation of wood chips on the deck. Paying more attention I noticed some small birds with black marking on the head have been hanging around the spot of the tree branch that was once cut. Before long I made the connection between the wood chips and these small birds. The chips appears to be scattered by the birds pecking off insects inside the rotted branch that now became a cavity.

Days go by and these birds frequent the spot. They will take turn to go inside the hole, only one at a time. Often the bird will disappeared into the hole for up to 20 seconds before reemerging. This hole is about 12 feet off the ground so I just observed from the deck thinking they must be feeding off termites or their larvae. I was fear if I do nothing this will spell the end of the plum tree. The other old plum tree that I cut down recently was badly infested by termites so it is perfectly logical to think the termites are attacking this one too.

I didn't want to act rashly so I kept my eyes on the birds. To my amazement the feeding never subside. From the deck I could see the birds would take turn going inside what now becomes a deep hole and only to emerge many seconds later to be followed by another. I thought to myself there must be a big colony of termites. To save the tree I ordered a bottle of Bayer termite killer from Amazon. I planned to apply the chemical and then cover the hole on the tree to protect the birds from being poisoned. I could not wait for the delivery from Amazon to arrive fearing with each passing day the termite population grows and the less chance of saving the tree.
the cut section of the branch where the birds frequented

the termite killer finally arrive

Just before I prepare to mix a solution of water and the Bayer termite killer chemical I got onto a tall ladder to inspect the hole on the tree. I knew it must be very deep. Even on the tall ladder it was very difficult to peek into the hole because the angle of the cavity. The size of the hole was surprisingly small compared to my expectation. With the aid with an LED flashlight I was shocked to see what is inside. 4 black headed tiny baby birds! They were about the size of a hummingbird with with a full head of black feathers.

I thought to myself of a near disaster averted. I could have douse these poor things with the dreadful chemical if I didn't check first, or miss seeing them when I checked. In my haste to protect the tree from destructive termites, I got ahead of myself. Still I need to pay attention to the cavity once the nest is empty.

I went online to find out what these birds are. They are black-capped chickadees.

even with the flash i had a hard time taking a photos capturing the baby birds inside the cavity - here you can see the beak of one

It is a fascinating read on the chickadees. The songs and the vocalization they make most likely earned them the name chickadee.

the adult's vocalization


I am so ashamed of my wrong assumption that the cavity being a termite nest. The wood chips I found on the deck were caused by the female adult preparing the nest by pecking out a cavity. The frequent visits by the adults was not feeding off insects found in the hole. To the contrary the adults were bring insects to the nest to feed the infant chicks.
one of the adults feeding the chicks

when danger is sensed the adults dance around the branches nearby belching out the chicka-dee-dee-dee sound; the more imminent the danger, the more pronounced are the dee-dee-dee

another closeup of the nursery with the babies inside

In the ensuring days I observed the domestic chores with delight. The two adults incessantly bring home insects to feed the four chicks and the chicks almost grow in front of my eyes. I could see more of their beaks from the deck.

Yesterday morning I noticed a change of the adults' behaviors. They were unusual quiet seeing me around the deck. Before long it became clear why. It is the day of the chicks first flight. It is amazing to see how chicks take their first flight all by instinct. While the parents are protective and diligent in raising the young there is very little they can do to help the chicks take flight the first time. This is the time when the chicks are most susceptible to be hunted by animal of prey, especially cats. I witness one chick flew a distance of about 12 feet and landed to a storage rack by the house. I could see it took a long rest while perching unsteadily on the ledge of the shelving. It paused there for a full few minutes, and eventually gathered up the energy and courage to fly off into the safer bamboo brush.

Later I observed another chick leaving the nest and perched onto a branch of the plum tree nearby. The adult continue to hunt and bring back insect to feed the remaining chicks in the nest. To my surprise the adults evidently did not see the chicks on the branch nearby. Later on in the day, I saw the adults return to the next with insect in the mouth but clearly were surprised to find the chicks all gone. They repeat this behavior many times.

It is very hard to track the progress of the chicks ones they take their first flight. I could sometimes see the adults fly to where the young birds must be to protect them from potential killers. Nature is very cruel when it comes to the survival of young wildlife. For American robins the survival rate is about 25%. Robins typically lay 3 to 4 eggs so only one young bird make it to adulthood per breeding.