Readers’ wildlife photos

It’s Sunday, and here is John Avise with his weekly batch of bird photos. John’s narrative and IDs are indented, and click on the photos to enlarge them.

Home Sweet Cavity

Many avian species are cavity nesters in nature, either excavating or taking over holes in dead or living trees for their nests.  However, especially with the dwindling of old-growth forests across much of North America, a paucity of natural wood cavities has become a limiting factor in the breeding success of some such species.  Accordingly, bird lovers have built and put out countless nesting boxes explicitly for these birds.  This week’s batch of photos show several cavity-nesting avian species and either the excavated cavities or man-made boxes that they utilize for nesting.  Except where noted, all pictures were taken in Southern California.

Nuttall’s Woodpecker (Dryobates nuttallii) and its excavated tree cavity:

Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) and its excavated cactus cavity (Arizona):

House Wren (Troglodytes aedon):

House Wren on its nest box:

Another House Wren and nest box:

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor):

Tree Swallow feeding nestlings in nest box:

Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) at nest box:

Wood Duck pair (Aix sponsa):

Wood Duck nest box:

Barn Owl (Tyto alba):

Barn owl nest box: