Phoebe nesting choices

By Susan Lorenz of St. Augusta

We have been hosting a pair of Pheobe birds for about 10 years. Phoebes are a grey-green bird about seven inches long with dark wings, and light olive-green bellies. Each spring in mid-April, we see the pair arrive as they have a permanent nest high in the eaves of our house, near a big window. They keep the same nest, year after year, doing a bit of remodeling each year on the nest. The nest is mostly mud, grass, feathers, and moss. The nest is near the window, so we can watch the Phoebes during remodeling as both birds bring materials for the repair work. Once the remodeling is complete, Mrs. Phoebe will start spending time on the nest. When three or four small white eggs are in the nest, the parents will take turns sitting in the nest. After about two weeks, the eggs have hatched, and it is a “feeding frenzy.” Both parents feed the young baby birds with insects they catch, and their young brood will keep the parents remarkably busy. After another 15 days, we will watch the young birds, sitting on the edge of the nest, chirping for food, and flapping their wings. It is fun to watch the action from inside our house as the Phoebe pair are quite comfortable with us watching them. Our two cats in the house are also entertained by all the activity at the window.

A member of the Phoebe family peaks out of the nest. Contributed photo

When it’s getting close to the time for the little birds to leave the nest, they start to look like their parents. Then I know it’s time to move a large chenille plant underneath their window nest. If there are any birds that fall out of the nest, they will land in the plant, and not on the concrete step below. I have learned to check the plant and if it is chirping, I will need to retrieve the baby bird and put it back into the nest. Hopefully, with a few more days of wing flapping action, the little birdie will be able to make it on its own. Then one day, I will come to check on the nest, and the little birds will all have left. The parents will still feed them sitting nearby on the tree branches, but soon the little birds will be on their own. The Phoebe pair will be back remodeling the nest in anticipation of the second batch of birds, and the cycle begins again.

We wonder how many pairs of Phoebe’s have used the nest in our window and why they still come to the same house. Over the years, several generations of Phoebes have used the same nest. We live in a wooded area and have plenty of insects flying and crawling around, so we must be in a desirable nesting location.

Late in spring last year, we had one of those snowstorms that brought a driving, biting wind and snow pellets spiraling around, so it was impossible to see. That evening we heard a commotion outside our big window. A pair of Phoebe’s had arrived early and were trying to huddle in the nest together. This was sad to see as they had just arrived, and no remodeling had been done on the nest. Instead, both birds were trying to fit into the nest to get out of the driving snowstorm. No insects were out yet for them to eat, and I wondered if they had come to Minnesota too early. After the snowstorm, they disappeared for a few days, and I was worried that they might have returned to Iowa. But within a week, the pair was back, looking for the nest and making a list of repairs to start the cycle again.

This year I wondered if they would wait a bit longer before arriving to make sure that there is food and lodging available.

I had no reason to worry. This spring, they arrived about two weeks early, about March 30th. We were surprised to see them giving the big window a 10-point inspection. They wanted to make sure they were ready in time this year.

We check on our Phoebe pair daily to make sure the remodeling is going smoothly. We know three or four eggs will appear soon. When visitors come to our home, the point of attraction is the bird’s nest. We are lucky to have been chosen as the nesting site for the Phoebe family again!

It is a gift to be allowed to watch the birds so close and observe their family life cycle.