Young Tufted Titmouse Struggles With a Large Meal

I had been watching a pair of Tufted Titmice raise young in one of my backyard birdhouses. I thought the babies had already left the nest, but one parent proved me wrong.

Yesterday morning, I saw an adult return to the birdhouse with food. What happened next turned into one of those small backyard moments that stayed with me.

Young Tufted Titmouse at the Backyard Birdhouse

This Tufted Titmouse family had been active around my yard in Lavaca, Arkansas, for several weeks. The adults were easy to recognize by their gray bodies, white bellies, and raised crests.

They had nested in one of my birdhouses, and I had been watching their daily routine closely. The adults came and went with food, while the young birds stayed hidden inside.

Earlier in the week, I thought the young titmice had fledged. Then I saw one of the parents visit the birdhouse again. A young bird was still inside and still being fed.

The adult placed food into the open mouth of the young bird. From what I could see, the meal looked like the tail end of a large moth or another insect.

A Feeding Challenge With a Large Insect

The young Tufted Titmouse tried to swallow the food, but it was too large. The adult appeared to push the morsel farther in, but the chick still could not get it down.

After two tries, the food had not gone down.

This was a good reminder that nest life is not always smooth. Parent birds work hard to feed their young, but not every meal is the right size.

Later in the day, I saw one of the adults return to the birdhouse. It came out carrying the uneaten moth tail or insect piece in its beak.

The adult then flew off with it. I could not know exactly what happened next, but it looked like the parent was clearing the oversized food from the nest.

I have shared more from this same birdhouse story in these posts:

Tufted Titmouse’s Triumph Over House Sparrows
Tufted Titmouse Brings Food For Their Young
Tufted Titmouse Nesting Update
Nesting Tufted Titmouse Update: Baby Birds

Photographing the Titmouse Family in Lavaca

I photographed this from my yard while watching the birdhouse activity. The birds moved quickly, so I kept my camera ready and waited for the feeding visits.

The first photo was taken in the morning on July 20, 2023. I used the Canon EOS R5 with the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens.

Camera settings for Photo 1:

• Location: Lavaca, Arkansas
• Date and time: July 20, 2023, 08:38 A.M.
• Exposure mode: Manual
• Aperture: f/8
• Shutter speed: 1/800
• ISO: 3200, Auto
• Exposure compensation: +0.3
• Focal length: 500mm

I felt lucky to have a front-row seat to this family’s nesting activity. These small moments are easy to miss, but they show how much effort goes into raising young birds.

Soon, the young titmice will leave the birdhouse for good. Until then, I will keep watching and keep my camera close.