A Red-eyed Vireo Tale

After a half hour went by I returned to the nest. There was still no video of the parents feeding the chick. The two vireos were still scolding me with that constant raspy chirp. I was wondering why they hadn't been feeding the chick in the nest during my absence. What kind of parents were they I thought. Suddenly two more vireos showed up with their beaks full of bugs! It was the parent birds. The other two vireos that had been scolding me weren't the parents at all, but the other two youngsters already fledged out of the nest! They had been waiting for the parents to come back with some food. They hadn't been scolding me after all. I took some quick video of one of the fledglings (left) and left the little family in peace. If I'd stayed any longer those youngsters might have followed me home.

During a club walk on June 9, 2002 at Roberts Hill Conservation Area in Northampton, Ted Zervas, Bill Sweet, Heather McQueen and I discovered a vireo nest when a bird flew off of it. The nest was about five feet off the ground built in the fork of a branch of a Maple sapling. There was a single egg in the nest. At the time we weren't sure whether it was a red-eyed vireo or a blue-headed vireo nest. After consulting a few field guides later in the day I was still not sure. I decided to revisit the nest at the next convenient chance to make further observations. It was not until June 17 that I returned to the nest and observed a red-eyed vireo sitting on it. Upon slowly approaching the nest the bird lifted off it to a nearby tree. I quickly observed that there were 3 total eggs in the nest. Fortunately, none were cowbird eggs.
		I checked a few books later tht day and read that the incubation time of the red-eyed vireo is 12 to 14 days, and may begin before the clutch is complete. The average number of eggs is 3-5. If the egg we observed on June 9 had been laid that day it could hatch as early as June 21, just a few days away. The young leave the nest twelve days after hatching. In this case that could be as early as July 3rd. Ironically, I was not able to return to the nest until the morning of July 4th. I did not know what to expect. As I slowly approached the nest it appeared empty. As I got even closer I observed that there was fresh white-wash on the ground and on the sapling tree around the nest. I peered into the nest and observed a single red-eyed vireo chick (below), almost ready to fledge.
I did wonder, however, what had happened to the other two eggs. Had they hatched? Did something get them? Suddenly I heard a commotion - two red-eyed vireos were in the trees above me. They were scolding with an incessant raspy call. I assumed it was the parent birds trying to frighten me away. I set up my video camera on a tripod so that it was pointed at the nest, turned on the camera, walked away from the nest and hid. I was hoping to get some video of the adult vireos feeding the chick in the nest. After a while I returned to the nest and examined the tape. The parents hadn't fed the chick in the nest at all, and the two vireos were still nearby scolding me. I set up my equipment again and went further down the path and hid. I listened to black-thorated blue warblers calling while I waited.
		After a half hour went by I returned to the nest. There was still no video of the parents feeding the chick. The two vireos were still scolding me with that constant raspy chirp. I was wondering why they hadn't been feeding the chick in the nest during my absence. What kind of parents were they I thought. Suddenly two more vireos showed up with their beaks full of bugs! It was the parent birds. The other two vireos that had been scolding me weren't the parents at all, but the other two youngsters already fledged out of the nest! They had been waiting for the parents to come back with some food. They hadn't been scolding me after all. I took some quick video of one of the fledglings (left) and left the little family in peace. If I'd stayed any longer those youngsters might have followed me home.
Here's a picture of a red-eyed vireo sitting on a nest (right) that was taken in 1999 in Northampton.