This series highlights the fascinating and marvelous ecology of grassland bird nesting, written by Madison Audubon education director Carolyn Byers. Click here for all of the Into the Nest posts.
This week we have a special guest blogger for you. My thesis advisor, Dr. Christine Ribic, will tell you the story of how chicks finally decide to leave the nest. This blog post originally appeared in Auk & Condor Updates (the official blog for the scientific ornithology journals the Auk and The Condor). You can find the Sept 12 link here.
On the clock: What time do baby birds leave home?
We know that human kids grow, mature, and gradually move towards a life that is independent of their parents’ home. The same is true for baby birds: they also have to decide when the time is right to leave the nest and start on their journey to independence. This seems to involve a balancing act between making sure they are big and healthy enough to survive independently, while leaving the nest quickly to avoid predators. Nests are busy places where chicks beg for food and parents are constantly coming and going with food deliveries. All of this activity could easily draw predators to the nest! The timing of chicks leaving the nest (fledging) isn’t well understood, particularly for birds that live in grasslands, many of which are threatened or endangered due to habitat loss.
Chicks call their nest home for their first few weeks of life, but the activity surrounding a nest could attract predators. Image from nest camera videos (see credit at bottom).
Our new research focused on a variety of grassland songbirds, such as meadowlarks, sparrows, and longspurs. We found that the time baby birds leave the nest has more to do with having enough food (energetics) than avoiding predators. This is surprising because research on birds nesting in shrubs says that risk of predation is the most important thing affecting when chicks leave the nest. This suggests that nests in grasslands (hidden on the ground with protective cover from surrounding grasses and a few low shrubs) face different risks than nests placed in shrubs.
These eastern meadowlark chicks are getting one last meal in the nest before they fledge. Don’t worry, their parents will continue to feed them for several more days. We love their fluffy Einstein feather tufts!
We found that grassland chicks can start to leave anytime throughout the day and when they leave depends on what species they are. Some chicks, like clay-colored sparrow and grasshopper sparrow, usually left the nest in the early morning, while eastern meadowlark and chestnut-collared longspur left closer to mid-morning. But sometimes chicks delayed leaving until the afternoon, with their siblings waiting until the next day to depart. The time it takes for all the chicks to leave a nest can be several hours to more than a day! Maybe some chicks are taking advantage of their siblings’ early departures to get more food and attention from mom and dad before they finally leave, too.
This grasshopper sparrow chick is finally spreading its wings!
Measuring fledging time can be tricky because chicks run in and out of the nest multiple times before leaving for good. We don’t know why they do this; maybe they are exploring their world and gaining confidence before leaving to brave the world outside their home. Remember these birds have only been alive for a week and a half or so! Regardless, it’s a bit like kids going off for college but returning for school breaks … nestlings may leave and return repeatedly before fully fledging. Fledging is not nearly as simple as people think it is!
Horned larks don’t commonly nest in Wisconsin grasslands, but that makes this video all the more special. Here we have some chicks who aren’t quite ready to leave the nest yet. An adult comes by to lead them away from the nest, and the chicks seem willing enough to follow. A few minutes later an adult flies back to the nest (possibly a different one than before) and the chicks rush back to join it.
Understanding the fledging process allows us to better understand the biology of grassland birds. Learning about the pressures they face in their daily lives lets us understand what threats they face and how those threats may change as people alter grasslands. Grassland birds are declining more than birds of any other habitat type across North America. Research like this is part of understanding why they are declining and what we can do to help them recover.
Upland sandpipers chicks are precocial, and they are ready to leave the nest soon after hatching. They wait until all of the chicks are dry and fluffy, then Mom leads them away from the nest.
Written by Dr. Christine Ribic, U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
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Dickcissels are a beautiful, migratory grassland bird that benefits from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar
This summer, to celebrate Year of the Bird and 100 years of bird conservation under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, we’ll be posting regular articles about grassland bird nesting ecology. My M.S. thesis focused on grassland bird nesting ecology, and I’m excited to share my knowledge—and stories from the field- with you! We’ll go into the nest to learn about chick behavior, adult sleep habits, feeding and fledging. We’ll discuss predation and learn about how adult birds respond to different predators. You’ll get to see beautiful photos of nests, eggs, and chicks, as well as video footage straight from the nest! Best of all, the next time you’re out hiking in your favorite Wisconsin prairie, you’ll feel a bit closer to the birds you love.
If you’re interested in reading more and can’t wait for the next post, you can read more about Carolyn Byer’s thesis work here.
Stay tuned for our next edition of Into the Nest, coming soon!
Video credit:
Nest footage was generously provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Madison, WI. Check out their website to learn more!
Cover photo by Kelly Colgan Azar
