Wonderful article! We have Phoebes in Maryland and we have to look very carefully to distinguish them from Eastern PeeWees. Of course, if they are singing, it is easy to tell! Thank you for such great detail!!
Yes. Although I haven’t noticed them coming into it recently. It is under our eaves built on a support brace. There’s not a lot of headroom above it and I wondered how it would work to reuse it this year. We love the Phoebe’s.
We built a timber frame home in the mountains of western North Carolina and it had pegs under the front porch roof. When winter arrived we noticed a bird perching on the peg about dusk every day and leaving at dawn. We were not birders until then but that phoebe became our spark bird. In the spring it looked like it was trying to build a nest on the peg so Larry installed a solid cherry platform. Then every spring and summer we had babies and every winter we had a phoebe roosting on a peg. Such a wonderful bird!
Yes! I’ve been recording their arrival, nest building (under our deck) and young every year since 2010 here in Maine! They bring me so much entertainment and joy!
Those baby Phoebes warmed my heart and gave me a chuckle. We do have them hereabouts, though I haven’t encountered. We do see Chipping Sparrows. One greeted me just the other morning. Enjoyed both of these posts !
Thank you for commenting from Scotland! But you do have wonderful birds, like the European Robin. And do you have the Blue Tit? Those are the two first birds on my life list, seen while hitchhiking from London to Edinburgh when I was in college.
You should see them in winter, though they don't nest in Florida, except maybe on speck in north east corner. Here's a range map, with blue for winter and orange for nesting.
Love these photos - I hear them here but have not found their nest. I expect it is under some ones deck in their back yard. I love the photos of Lacey Keosauqua State Park. I grew up in Davenport Iowa and have family in Swedesburg not far from you. We would gather at the park with family long ago. May need to make a visit this summer.
Sounds like you haven't been in the Southwest too often. Many of the Say's phoebes stay all through the winter. We see one regularly in our yard in Albuquerque.
Wonderful article! We have Phoebes in Maryland and we have to look very carefully to distinguish them from Eastern PeeWees. Of course, if they are singing, it is easy to tell! Thank you for such great detail!!
Eastern Phoebes are the same size and shape and close to the same color. I go by three things that say phoebe: black bill, dark head, tail bobbing.
Yes. Although I haven’t noticed them coming into it recently. It is under our eaves built on a support brace. There’s not a lot of headroom above it and I wondered how it would work to reuse it this year. We love the Phoebe’s.
Oh my - love the babies. They are definitely communicating with you, dear Diane!
They were right outside my kitchen window, so I got a lot of chances to watch them from up close.
THE DAYS OF THEIR LIVES
I have become
a porch potato—
sitting here for hours
watching the
Phoebe Soap Opera
It’s really not
a very exciting show—
no cheating on the spouse
no violent arguments
no skeletons in the closet
Of course
there are killings
in the script—
but only those necessary
to feed the family—
they are insectivores
after all
And there is the tension
of waiting for
the next episode—
wondering how
the children will turn out
when they will leave home
and if there will be
a sequel
How wonderful. Thank you for posting it here!
We built a timber frame home in the mountains of western North Carolina and it had pegs under the front porch roof. When winter arrived we noticed a bird perching on the peg about dusk every day and leaving at dawn. We were not birders until then but that phoebe became our spark bird. In the spring it looked like it was trying to build a nest on the peg so Larry installed a solid cherry platform. Then every spring and summer we had babies and every winter we had a phoebe roosting on a peg. Such a wonderful bird!
That is a great spark bird story. Do you still use those Zeiss SF binoculars?
You darn right! Best ever, all thanks to Diane Porter 🙂
They winter here--I often see them on the ash tree just off our porch. (And we do have insects here most of the winter.) Lovely photos, Diane!
I guess they go to Texas for the winter bugs. It's nice to think of them there when it's all ice here in Iowa.
Yes! I’ve been recording their arrival, nest building (under our deck) and young every year since 2010 here in Maine! They bring me so much entertainment and joy!
When do they arrive at your place in Maine? I'm always kind of shocked to find them in my backyard in early March. Once we had one in February.
Usually early April here.
Those baby Phoebes warmed my heart and gave me a chuckle. We do have them hereabouts, though I haven’t encountered. We do see Chipping Sparrows. One greeted me just the other morning. Enjoyed both of these posts !
I so admire baby phoebes. They have such a wide-eyed, adorable expression.
Always! So precious. We have a pair that nests on a light fixture over the table in the barn. We love watching them raise babies.
How cool that you have a nest under surveillance. They are such appealing birds.
Lovely photos. What an adorable little bird, and such amazing nests too. We don't have Phoebes over here in Scotland.
Thank you for commenting from Scotland! But you do have wonderful birds, like the European Robin. And do you have the Blue Tit? Those are the two first birds on my life list, seen while hitchhiking from London to Edinburgh when I was in college.
We do have many wonderful birds over here, including both European Robin and Blue Tit as you say. I love birdwatching in Scotland!
Thank you for all the info. I've never seen one. Do they live or visit Florida?
You should see them in winter, though they don't nest in Florida, except maybe on speck in north east corner. Here's a range map, with blue for winter and orange for nesting.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/
Thank you for the information.
The photo of the nestlings is amazing! Thank you.
And thank you, Sue, for the kind word.
I especially like the little one with his red tongue sticking out!
Thanks for the photos! And the lesson about what the early arrivals eat!
I've seen them when the pond was still frozen, and somehow they manage to survive here.
Yes! There is a nest right outside our door under the eave. Every year they nest there no matter how much traffic goes in and out!
That is so great. If everyone had phoebes nesting on the porch, it would be a happier world.
Love these photos - I hear them here but have not found their nest. I expect it is under some ones deck in their back yard. I love the photos of Lacey Keosauqua State Park. I grew up in Davenport Iowa and have family in Swedesburg not far from you. We would gather at the park with family long ago. May need to make a visit this summer.
Ah yes, Swedesburg. I remember it fondly because it gave me my first look at Bank Swallows, which were nesting in a sand quarry just outside of town.
Say's phoebes here in New Mexico.
Say's is a beautiful phoebe. I've only seen it once.
Sounds like you haven't been in the Southwest too often. Many of the Say's phoebes stay all through the winter. We see one regularly in our yard in Albuquerque.