Nesting Indigo Buntings Darlington Provincial Park

[skyviewer]

Right before the ticket office on the south side there were a number of males and a single nesting female.  Is it normal for the nest to be close to the ground?  I didn't see it but by the actions of the female and one of the males i knew it was close by in some heavy brush.

[Bluffs Birder]

According to my Birder's Handbook the Indigo Bunting nests anywhere from 1 foot to 15 feet off the ground.

[skyviewer]

I didn't see it but i'd guess it was no more than 3 feet off the ground.  I do think i heard little ones in the nest but i'm puzzled with all of the males that were around.  Could they have been other or was it just one popular female.  I only recalled seeing one female which stayed near the nest but there were about six males.

[Bluffs Birder]

Well...again, according to the Birder's Handbook, it says "the amount of male parental care is highly variable: most do little if any feeding of nestlings or fledglings."  So maybe what you saw was a result of this behaviour...all the males were out playing while the females were back at the nest sites doing all the work.  Just a thought.

One day last week I was out doing a little birding in the Bellamy Ravine here in Scarborough and all I saw was the male Indigo so maybe I witnessed the same thing happening.  Don't know for sure, I'm still learning too.

Walter

[skyviewer]

for the help bluffs birder