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william zitek
Shelter Island, NY, United States
A great crested Flycatcher was sighted going in and out of a nest box (Peterson) on July 5, 2017 one week after a house wren nest had been removed. 4 eggs were found in grass/leaf, hair/ nest on 7/12. Nest pictures taken with eggs and young. First egg calculated to be laid on 7/8 and last on 7/11. Hatching (correctly) calculated to be on 7/26 and fledging of 4 occurred on 8/4.
Examination of the vacated nest revealed 5 cicada heads, 1 small praying mantis head with 2 leggs, 1 darner wing, 1 small clam shell, 1 land snail shell and many black cherry pits, feathers and much gray dusty material No snake skin seen.
Great detail and photos! Thanks for sharing.
A wren took over my nest box, previously used by greatcrested, and great crested came but left! Next time, I will remove wren nest! I’ve had two pairs of greatcrested look in box, but not use!
Hi Joni, wrens are protected species in North America, so please do not remove the nest if there are already eggs or young inside. We instead suggest putting up additional nest boxes to help reduce competition for nesting space – then there would be room for both species.