Eastern Phoebe (TX)
Document Actions
This is the first Eastern Phoebe cam at this site.
| Species: Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) Location: Greenville, TX Status: Four nestlings mysteriously disappeared from nest... View comments View donor list |
 |
2007 Daily Highlights:
 |
July 5 - At first light, the
cameras revealed an empty nest. Without IR capability, it was
impossible to determine what happened to the nestlings, but based on
the intact condition of the nest, it was probably depredated by a
snake. This is the last image of one of the parents at the nest. |
 |
July 4 - In order to keep a sanitary nest environment, a parent removes a fecal sac from the nest. |
 |
July 3 - Three of the four nestlings align themselves in a begging posture. They look to be about 4-5 days old. |
 |
July 2 - A nice view of one of the young chicks stretching its neck out to receive a morsel of food. |
 |
July 1 - One of the adults
appears to be carrying a large egg shell fragment out of the nest. it
is possible that another egg may have hatched just today. |
 |
June 30 - Due to technical
problems during the past few days, we are unsure of exactly when the
eggs hatched, but these young appear to be only a day or two old. |
 |
June 27 - The eggs still haven't quite hatched yet, but we're getting painfully close! They might even start hatching today. |
 |
June 24 - Another rare shot of the male and female together at the nest. |
 |
June 23 - Here's a good view of all four eggs, all lined up so you can see them. |
 |
June 22 - This may be the male preening himself as he guards the nest while his mate is away. |
 |
June 21 - On average, phoebes have an
incubation period of 16 days, but warmer climates may shorten this
period. Since this clutch was complete on June 13, hatching may begin
as early as the 27th! |
 |
June 20 - The female stands up briefly to preen her feathers. |
 |
June 18 - The female rotates the eggs. |
 |
June 17 - The male stands guard over the eggs while the female takes a break. |
 |
June 16 - The male visits his mate on the nest. |
 |
June 15 - The female bends down to rotate her eggs, a part of normal incubation that is critical for proper embryo development. |
 |
June 14 - The mother bird has been
observed panting more and taking longer breaks as the day wears on,
most likely due to the Texas heat. This female took more than 20 breaks
from the nest between 6:35 AM and 1:20 PM today. |
 |
June 13 - Despite the less than perfect angle, we can make out four
eggs, the last of which was laid this morning. Typical clutch sizes
vary between 2 to 6 eggs, although 5 is the most common. |
|
June 12 - One of the first images of this female Eastern Phoebe on
her nest of three eggs. Although it appears she is vocalizing, our cam
host told us she was actually panting from the intense Texas heat. |