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Photo Submission
Submitted By
Donna Barski
Arcade, NY, USA
Description
On June 9, instead of climbing up a ladder to check on the nestlings in their mossy nest on the light fixture of our shed, I elected to take some photos. I was worried that getting too close would flush them too soon and I also wanted to confirm just how many nestlings were in the nest. Through out this nest watch, I had a difficult time counting the nestlings, as phoebes just don’t lift up their heads with wide open mouths like other species. (At least in my experience.) There were 5 eggs to start. When I did try to count the nestlings during my visits, I could basically only count three little beaks or maybe four. My final photo on June 10 around 10 AM, submitted here, shows four fully feathered youngsters, so ready to leave the nest. At 1 PM they were gone and I found one egg left in the nest. So, at last, it was confirmed that there were four fabulous phoebes added to this world. Good Luck to them!
Category
Species
Four Fabulous Phoebes Ready To Fly!
How did you get the pictures? We have a Phoebe nest too, and it’s extremely hard to see in! Ours is around 3m off the ground.
Hi,
Our phoebe nest was made on top of a light fixture in a shed. It too was difficult to see the eggs and the nestlings. I needed to climb a ladder to get near enough to the nest and a mirror to see the eggs and nestlings. But when the nestlings were nearly ready to fledge, they were so large that they filled the entire top of the nest. I could see them perched on the nest as I stood on the ground below. I took a chance and used my 35 mm Nikon to take this close-up photo. I zoomed in and used a flash. I was thrilled that the photo took and the youngsters did not spook!