Carolina Chikadees
Like Carolina Wrens, Carolina Chickadees are also very common to accept a nesting box as their home. (Birdhouses/Nesting Boxes you will receive are ideally fit for each species of bird it is meant for). These birds construct their nest from fine grass and other materials. Depending on the bird, they lay 6-8 eggs each nesting period.
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Try to place the box near woods, shrubs, and thickets, which are used for foraging and hiding from predators. Farms or places where animals are fed are not recommended sites for boxes because these are attractive to House Sparrows. Avoid placing your box where pesticides or herbicides are used. (This applies to all bird species just not chickadees).
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Leave the birdhouse ALONE from spring-summer. Interaction can scare off chickadees that may choose this birdhouse as their home. Feel free to watch from a distance, but it is not advised to go near the birdhouse.
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In the fall once the chickadees have stopped using it you should clean the nesting box. to start off remove the top and pull out the nest made from the wrens. Then use a scrub brush and soapy water to scrub the interior of the birdhouse. Then rinse it well with water and set it out in the sun to dry.
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Do the following if you find mites in the house: First, soak the house with a solution of 10% bleach to 90% water. Then let it dry out for 24 hours before setting it back up to be reused by the chickadees once again.
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Birdhouses for Carolina Chickadees should be placed 600 feet apart. Hang the birdhouse 4-8 feet above the floor of a thicket. Such as an arrangement of bushes in a garden.
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*Notice* nuthatches, titmice, downy woodpeckers, and other chickadees may also use this birdhouse.
Carolina Chickadee
So are you looking for a birdhouse to help the ecosystem? Let's see if a Chickadee is a right fit for you!!
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Habitat- These birds live in similar places such as the wrens. Well... only the Carolina Chickadees. Black-capped Chickadees do not live in Texas though they do live in the northern part of the U.S.
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Fun Facts- Carolina Chickadees are the smallest of the Chickadees. Their head is quite large compared to their body.
Setting up, and Cleaning
These birds dwell in thickets such as an area with trees and bushes. To accommodate these bird's liking, place the birdhouse near a thicket such as a park that has a forest area; like Andrew Brown Park. Place the nesting box around 5 feet up off the ground. This can be done on things such as a pole or a wooden fence. After the seasons of Spring and Summer pass, it is time to clean your birdhouse! To clean this nesting box you will need to use a scrub brush and soapy water to scrub the interior of the birdhouse. Then rinse it well with water and set it out in the sun to dry. If you find mites in the box soak the house with a solution of 10% bleach to 90% water. Then let it dry out for 24 hours before setting it back up to be reused by your bird species once again. (Boxes will need to be cleaned every season)
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However, we offer a service to clean your nesting box for a fee of 15$. This money will go back into buying supplies and helping our non-profit in as many ways as it can.
How to Help
Data collection would be very helpful to us to improve in the following years. See how you can help! You can watch the activity from far and write down data. Data could be such as when did you first start seeing your birds and when did you last see them? And on which days did you see them? As well as if birds did end up using your nesting box or not. There is a Post-Sign Up form which you will fill out after receiving your birdhouse and its number. Attached to that form will be another one in which after the season is over you can submit your data. Again this would be extremely helpful, if you are unable to give an exact number you are allowed to guestimate.Â
We would also ask if you could donate 10$ for the receival of the nesting box. This is fully optional and we wouldn't want to force you. The 10$ will go back into buying materials to continue making these nesting boxes to give out to the community.
