Outdoors
The BDN outdoors section brings readers into the woods, waters and wild places of Maine. It features stories on hunting, fishing, wildlife, conservation and recreation, told by people who live these experiences. This section emphasizes hands-on knowledge, field reports, issues, trends and the traditions that define life outside in Maine. Read more Outdoors stories here.
I woke up to the sound of an eastern phoebe calling outside my bedroom window yesterday. This was bad — a sign that the pair’s nest had failed. If all was going well, the female would be quietly sitting on the nest, and the male would be quietly standing guard nearby. Instead, he was once again declaring a territory and renewing his pair bond with his mate.
I peeked into the unguarded nest and noted one egg. There should have been four — conclusive proof of nest failure.
The phoebes didn’t waste any time. The new nest is under the eave on the far side of my porch. She’s already sitting on eggs.
Nesting is complicated and perilous. I’m guessing that a spate of cool weather depressed the insect population around the house, depriving the phoebes of the nutrition necessary to produce and incubate eggs. Many species return to Maine early in spring, hoping to jump-start a family in ideal weather.
Unfortunately, Maine weather is seldom ideal. Renesting is a common survival strategy. If at first, you don’t succeed …
Make a gift in honor of the good that comes from BDN journalism in your hands, and help raise $60,000 this spring to support our reporting. Make a donation now.
Tree nests are vulnerable to predators, including raptors and red squirrels. Blue jays sometimes raid nests. Canada jays are so adept at nest-raiding that ruby-crowned kinglets and Swainson’s thrushes sound the alarm the moment they spy one in the neighborhood.
Open nests are especially vulnerable to cowbirds. Some parents adopt the unfamiliar egg, usually at the sacrifice of their own chicks. Other birds recognize the intrusion and abandon the nest, starting again elsewhere.
A few species simply build another layer over the offending egg and lay another clutch. Robins, catbirds and jays are big enough to carry the cowbird egg away from their nest, or break it into pieces and discard the bits.
Ground-nesting birds face multiple threats besides the perils of cold and flooding. Ground-based predators such as foxes, raccoons and skunks relish eggs. Waterfowl on the nest are literally “sitting ducks” for large raptors. Nest failure is so common these birds have their own renesting strategies.
Birds such as grouse and woodcock typically begin nesting early. Eggs hatch in May. Despite the fact that many females are already tending young, the males continue their courtship displays throughout May and into June, with the certainty that some nests will fail and they will have chances to mate again.
Birds that rely on the spring insect boom may try again if their nest fails early enough in the season. Their chances of success diminish as spring turns to summer. Birds with a more varied diet can renest later. Some will renest even after their first nest produced chicks. American robins and mourning doves can raise multiple broods per year.
Golden-crowned kinglets are the tiniest songbirds that can survive a Maine winter. They do so by making lots of babies, perpetuating the species despite the high mortality induced by harsh winter conditions.
Kinglets have developed an efficient system where the female feeds her first brood until one day after they leave the nest. At that point, the male takes over feeding the first family while she starts a second.
Renesting is impossible for raptors. Nestlings and fledglings require near-constant care and feeding by both parents. Then they must be taught to hunt successfully so they can survive on their own. When a raptor nest fails, it’s already too late for a do-over.
Other large birds can renest successfully. If a common loon nest fails, the pair often tries again. Loon chicks are precocial — able to swim shortly after hatching. Unlike insect-eaters, their food supply is consistent throughout the summer.
Ducks and geese also produce precocial chicks that leave the nest within hours of hatching. They swim and feed themselves long before they can fly. However, they are vulnerable to predation from below as well as above. Snapping turtles, northern pike and largemouth bass can easily make a meal out of chicks.
Hence, waterfowl lay a big clutch of eggs, hoping that some chicks will survive.
It didn’t take long before my male phoebe quieted down again. The female is on the second nest, incubating eggs. If I step outside, they watch with suspicion but do nothing to attract attention.
I feel sorry for the female phoebe. It took her a week to build the first nest that now sits uselessly above my garage door.
On the other hand, I’ve got chores to do, and I can once again open my garage door without driving my avian tenants into a tizzy.
