Dead chickadee babies in nest? Why? (1 Viewer)

[Coopercoop]

About 1.5 weeks ago, I noticed sweet little cheeping coming from our bird box, the one a Carolina Chickadee pair had nested in. We were so excited! Over the last two week, that peeping has been getting louder- I swear it sounded like there were ten chicks in there! The pair of chickadees have been flying in and out of the house, feeding babies nonstop until at least yesterday. Tonight, my husband noticed ants coming in and out of the next and carefully lifted the lid. Sadly, there were 5 dead chicks, at least one of which appears to have been dead for a while. We are devastated.
So- questions remain: Did all the babies die, or is it possible some survived and left the nest?
What could have caused this? We do not believe a predator got to the box. They were noisily chirping away all weekend and we watched the parents fly in and out constantly!

Are the parents ok?

What can we do to prevent this from reoccurring?
Thanks for any advice.

 

[gmostolaza]

About 1.5 weeks ago, I noticed sweet little cheeping coming from our bird box, the one a Carolina Chickadee pair had nested in. We were so excited! Over the last two week, that peeping has been getting louder- I swear it sounded like there were ten chicks in there! The pair of chickadees have been flying in and out of the house, feeding babies nonstop until at least yesterday. Tonight, my husband noticed ants coming in and out of the next and carefully lifted the lid. Sadly, there were 5 dead chicks, at least one of which appears to have been dead for a while. We are devastated.
So- questions remain: Did all the babies die, or is it possible some survived and left the nest?
What could have caused this? We do not believe a predator got to the box. They were noisily chirping away all weekend and we watched the parents fly in and out constantly!

Are the parents ok?

What can we do to prevent this from reoccurring?
Thanks for any advice.

Not sure why, but the same happened to me. Six Carolina Chickadees died in the nest. First 3 died when they were 10 days old, 1 at 11 days, and the last 2 died yesterday at 12 days old. So strange. No blood, no nothing. Both parents feeding normal all day. Maybe a virus? So sad.

 

[Ignatius]

About 1.5 weeks ago, I noticed sweet little cheeping coming from our bird box, the one a Carolina Chickadee pair had nested in. We were so excited! Over the last two week, that peeping has been getting louder- I swear it sounded like there were ten chicks in there! The pair of chickadees have been flying in and out of the house, feeding babies nonstop until at least yesterday. Tonight, my husband noticed ants coming in and out of the next and carefully lifted the lid. Sadly, there were 5 dead chicks, at least one of which appears to have been dead for a while. We are devastated.
So- questions remain: Did all the babies die, or is it possible some survived and left the nest?
What could have caused this? We do not believe a predator got to the box. They were noisily chirping away all weekend and we watched the parents fly in and out constantly!

Are the parents ok?

What can we do to prevent this from reoccurring?
Thanks for any advice.

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't young birds called hatchling (when they're fresh out of the eggs) or nestling (when they are a few days old) or fledgling (when they have developed flight feathers and are beginning to explore the world), not babies?