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Woodpeckers ||
Bluebirds ||
Kestrels ||
Bats ||
Flying Squirrels ||
Live Web Cam
Woodpeckers: Roost #2 (Downy Woodpecker in Bluebird box #1)
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Woodpecker after entering in the evening.
About this location:
Downy Woodpeckers may have been using this pair of nest boxes every winter since they
were installed 2 yrs ago. At first I thought a squirrel was chewing the entrances until
I saw a Downy entering one of the boxes at dusk in the early fall.
Over 3 separate weeks in January 2003 I checked the boxes at night with a flashlight
and a dentist's mirror. The woodpecker was there each time and apparently didn't wake
so I mounted a web cam in it during the day.
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| About the photos on this page: All of these photos were taken from a remote location. They were triggered using automatic motion-detection and some were triggered manually. A small infrared wired camera with infrared L.E.D. lights delivered the photos. Vision GS BE web cam software was used to enable the camera to work through a computer. Being infrared allows it to "see" at night. The infrared light apparently can't be seen until it is processed by the camera system. | |
Something may have scared the Woodpecker.
I don't know why it reacted that way just after midnight. Neighborhood cats pass under
and sit only a few feet under the box several times each day and night.
Hopefully it was just stretching its wings lie it sometimes does.
This photo also shows the newly added number "RII"
inside the box which is an abbreviation for "Roost #2".
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Woodpecker inspecting nesting material I added.
He doesn't seem to mind this recent change.
On March 17, this was added because the woodpecker was seen
looking for a mate the evening before...and
this box could potentially be used as a nesting site.
Aspen wood chips comprise the nesting material.
Woopeckers don't build their own nests but instead use existing nest cavity material.
1/4" hardware mesh was used to hold the chips in the box when opening its side door.
The sharp edges of the mesh were covered with duct tape.
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Woodpecker entering roost.
Where the large white eye brow stripes meet on the back of its head,
they become darker. It is hard to tell whether the dark area is red with a B&W camera.
On Feb 15 and 16, with binoculars, I was able to watch it entering from the outside.
The marking on the back of its head is red - which means he is definitely a male.
When he exits, he flies to a couple of trees and then to eat sunflower hearts/chips
at my woodpecker feeder.
He prefers this over shelled peanuts.
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Woodpecker just entered and pivoting
before jumping and clinging to the front wall.
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Woodpecker just entered, now roosting (sleeping) on front wall. Not very exciting, but this
is what it does most of the time in here. It also listens at the entrance,
looks out, preens, and scratches itself. Sometimes there are several windy nights
in a row. On such nights, the woodpecker used to incessantly rock from side as the
box shook in the wind. It didn't appear to wake up from this.
This problem has been stopped...see below.
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Wind braces, looking northwest into the wind.
After a night of very high winds, the woodpecker left later
that usual. It also took much longer for its eyes to completely open.
During these winds, that woodpecker shook more than I've ever seen it shake
(about 2x as much as in the video clip). In response
to this, 2 galvanized steel braces were quickly constructed and installed
on Feb 13, 2003, after he left the box for the day.
He didn't mind seeing the new braces and returned to the box the next evening.
His return was 20 minutes earlier than usual,
probably from lack of sleep.All my future nest boxes on steel poles will now have thicker posts to stop this problem caused by the wind. As I get time, existing ones that are not thick enough will be replaced. Without the internal camera, I would not have known to do this. Note the box's proximity to the road behind it. |
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Custom box outfitted for web cam. This box has more
room at the top to house a camera.
Since the roof overhang is so high above the entrance,
lots of light and precipitation was getting in. A gabled aluminum visor
was added to stop this.
Even with this visor, some blowing snow still enters.The woodpecker did not like this new small fixture and flew away twice before entering it. The previous day, he didn't care about the introduction of the new larger box design until he got inside. The original box door was on the northwest side, which made it drafty, this new door is on the southeast side. |
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Flying Squirrel.
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Flyer in box sleeping
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Flyer in box, laying on its back to cool off. For this day it either
brought in some of its own nesting or it shredded some of the existing nest
material which consists of Aspen wood chips. It is unusual that a Flyer chose to use a
nest box on a steel post like this one. They are known to prefer boxes on trees,
and sometimes boxes on wood posts. Additionally, during the summer,
I have read that they use 8" circular leaf nests that hang in tree branches.
This nest type is called a "drey".
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Consice monitoring notes: 2/5/2003 Mounted cam. 2/13/2003 Added anti-sway wind braces to the box post. 2/15/2003 Replaced original nest box with a larger, better-equipped box. 3/15/2003 After about 30 days, the cam was turned back on. 3/16/2003 Roosted 45 min late. Chased a female & fought w/a male first. Because of this I added nesting material to the box. 4/17/2003 Bluebirds started nest in the box and the Downy left. The Downy was last seen using the roost on 4/12/2003. 5/1/2003 The Downy returned 1 night after over 2 weeks. I heard it chirp just before and after entering. 6/12/2003 Flyer found in box. 6/14/2003 Flyer found in box for 2nd time. 6/18/2003 Flyer found in box for 3rd time. 10/5/2003 Downy Woodpecker looks in entrance of adjacent box dut doesn't enter. 12/24/2003 Downy Woodpecker sleeping in roost #2, cam added again on 12/25. |
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| Begun: 2/7/2003, last updated: 12/27/2003 | |
Other birds investigating box
Flyer in box looking up