Many kinds of birds have two or more broods a season

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 23 July 2009 10:30

“Do phoebes raise more than one brood a season?” asks Flo Vannoni of Redding.

“A pair of phoebes nested over our sliding door and succeeded in fledging three babies,” she writes. “The babies left the nest about one week ago and since then, we had not seen parents or babies. Today one of the parents returned to where the nest had been — I had removed it. Is it possible they would start another nest?”

Many species have more than one brood in a season, as Mary Walsh of Ridgefield — who sent the accompanying shot of a second-brood bluebird chick — can attest.

“The baby bluebirds fledged last week from a nesting box on my property,” Mary wrote July 14. “It is the second brood this summer.

“I found one baby hiding out on the running board of my Sequoia. As I tiptoed within a few feet, the baby bluebird hopped away. It appeared to be struggling to fly... Mom and Dad were in the trees chirping away. I had to leave and he was gone when I returned home. I hope he took flight.”

Flo wondered whether her phoebes would start another nest. They probably would, and perhaps in the same location since they would likely have used the old nest a second time.

Eastern Phoebes are very loyal to nesting location. They not only use the same nest for their two broods in a season, but also tend to re-use it for several years. That is relatively unusual among songbirds, most of whom build new nests every year. Phoebes simply make repairs and spruce up the previous year’s nest — “waste not, want not” is apparently the motto of this avian recycler.

For many songbirds, whose offspring hatch relatively quickly and don’t take long to fledge, having two broods in a season in this part of the country is normal. There is plenty of time to raise two families, and then fatten up for the migration south or, for many year-round species, to stock up on food for the winter.

Studies have found that northern birds of a given species tend to have fewer broods than southern birds, yet all produce around the same number of young per season.

In the North, for instance, Eastern Bluebirds typically have two broods. In the South, because the warm, insect-filled season is longer, bluebirds often have three broods.

Nevertheless, both northern and southern bluebirds produce about the same number of offspring per season because bluebirds in the North lay more eggs per brood than bluebirds in the South. A pair of Connecticut bluebirds might have two nestings, each with five babies, while a North Carolina bluebird couple might have three nestings with three eggs each. The result is about the same.

Did the southern birds work harder? They had more nestings, but fewer mouths to feed at each. Moreover, they probably did not migrate as far, if at all, to set up home.

Coming Up

Audubon Festival, guided walks, demonstrations, live music, food, kid-friendly activities, nature-themed displays, Aug. 8 and 9, 9 to 5, Audubon Sharon, Sharon, Conn., www .sharon.audubon.org, 860-364-0520.

Birds and Cameras at Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, leaders Alan and Della Wells offer separate walks for those interested in photographing birds or just looking at them, Sunday, Aug. 16, 8:30 am to mid-afternoon, Saw Mill River Audubon, 914-666-6503 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

11th Annual Hawk Watch Weekend and Fairfield County’s Green Faire, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19 sand 20, 11 to 5, Audubon Greenwich, greenwich.audubon.org, 203-869-5272 x239.

Monhegan Island, fall migration hotspot in Maine, four day birding trip, Sept. 24 to 27, Connecticut Audubon, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 800-996-8747.

Swallow Spectacular, up to 500,000 Tree Swallows gathering on the lower Connecticut River, sunset cruises, Sept. 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 25, 27, and 30, $35, Connecticut Audubon, Essex, 860-767-0660

Block Island Weekend, three-day fall migration birding trip, Oct. 2 to 4, Connecticut Audubon, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 800-996-8747.

Birding trips to Barn Island, Greenport, South Beach, Sandy Point, Great Island, call for dates and times, Connecticut Audubon, 860-767-0660, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Bird Walks with Luke Tiller: Saturday, July 25, 10:30 a.m., Penfield Reef Fairfield; Saturday, Aug 1, 7 a.m., Birds and Blueberries; Saturday, Aug 8, 8 a.m., Norwalk to Westport Shore, 9 a.m. $10. To register, sunrisebirding.com/walks.htm; 203-981-9924, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

First Sundays, birding at Greenwich Point with Meredith Sampson of Wild Wings, and other guides, meet at the second concession stand, 203-637-9822.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] yahoo.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or call 203-438-1183, extension BIRD (2473), and leave a message with your report, spelling your first and last names and telling us your town. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites