For the past several weeks. we’ve had a female Eastern Phoebe building and maintaining a nest on our neighbors house… literally on their house. She built a nest on a garage light. Today, we spotted 5 young Phoebe’s along our fence line; some flying and some just sitting around looking very young. We’ll have to wait and see if they stick around this week, or if they simply move out and disappear.
Nesting Facts
Clutch Size: 2–6 eggs
Egg Description:
Color: White, occasionally with a few reddish brown dots.
Size: 18.8-20.6 mm x 14.0-17.0 mm.
Incubation period: 16 days.
Condition at Hatching:
- Helpless with sparse gray down.
Chicks fledge in 16-18 days.
Other fun fact: In 1804, the Eastern Phoebe became the first banded bird in North America. John James Audubon attached silvered thread to an Eastern Phoebe’s leg to track its return in successive years.