[Mnbird] Chickadees and Red-bellied Woodpeckers excavating, Dakota Co

[Miller Johnson]

Pretty pleased to see Black-capped Chickadees excavating a hole in one of our dead poplars yesterday. Hope they continue and nest there. Last year I saw chickadees excavating starting on March 3rd.
Saw a pair of chickadees checking out one of our Gilbertson nest boxes on Friday.

Saw a male Red-bellied Woodpecker excavating a hole in one of our really dead trees yesterday. I first saw him checking out that spot on March 7th. A few days later the female also checked it out. This nest would be across a small clearing from their 2019 nest, which produced two batches of kids. In 2020 they went to almost the opposite side of our property. That nesting was delayed because the female disappeared and he had to coax another female to join him; they had only one batch of kids. In 2021 they nested in the same tree, but a different side, for their first nesting. For their second, they moved farther west and remodeled a Downy Woodpecker nest that had already fledged their young! Hopefully, this will be the fourth year in a row that I get to observe Red-bellies nesting.

Let's have a good nesting season!

Molly Miller
Inver Grove Hts
Dakota Co