I knew chickadees nest in trunk cavities, but I didn’t realize they would take advantage of something this small and so close to a house. I spotted this black-capped chickadee nest in a partially decayed lilac branch.
Dead and decaying branches support wildlife! So if it’s not endangering you or your property consider leaving that dead branch or tree part where it is. It’s also possible to create nest boxes and other habitat features in sections of trunk that can be left standing when a tree removal is necessary. See link below.
Excuse the poor quality photos. It’s hard to take a good photo of a cavity nest that does not want to be found! Four small white eggs can just been seen in the center of the 2nd photo. The last photo is a severely rotten rhododendron trunk that was home to a chestnut-backed chickadee family at a different site. The nest was so far down the decayed stem, I couldn’t even see it, but I did see several baby birds fly out when I was working in the area (I stopped working in that area once I discovered the nest).
Check out the work of Brian French who has been bringing wildlife habitat preservation and creation to the forefront of the Arboriculutre industry recently: http://www.arboriculture.international/environmental-1#environmental
