An Update On The Bluebird Babies

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Jun 122015
 

As noted in my prior post-the bluebirds fledged on Sunday, June 7th.  On Wednesday, June 10 we saw that Mom and Dad bluebird were around, so we fed them mealworms and watched as Mom loaded them up in her mouth:

Bluebird with Mealworms

Mom Bluebird Stocks Up

She then flew into a very large sycamore tree:

Bluebird Tree

Sycamore Tree with Bluebirds

After seeing where she landed we were able to get a few pictures of the bluebird babies:

Bluebird Baby With Mom Bluebird

Mom Bluebird with Bluebird Baby

2 Bluebird Babies

Two Bluebird Babies

Bluebird Baby

Baby Bluebird

2 Bluebird Babies Singing

Two Baby Bluebirds Singing

Three Bluebird Babies

Three Baby Bluebirds

 

The next day, Thursday, June 11th we spotted one of the baby bluebirds on the barn roof:

DSC02136-a

Bluebird Hatchling Updates

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Jun 022015
 

Here is the latest on the bluebird nestbox:

There were a total of 5 eggs laid in this nestbox. On May 21 all five bluebirds eggs hatched.

The bluebird parents are really being kept busy bringing food to the little bluebird hatchlings.

Here are some pictures to show the progress up to this time:

Bluebirds-Day 4

Bluebirds-Day 4

Bluebirds-Day 7

Bluebirds-Day 7

Bluebirds-Day 11

Bluebirds-Day 11

Bluebirds-Day 13

Bluebirds-Day 13

Second Nest Complete-New Bluebird Eggs

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May 052015
 

The bluebirds completed the nest last week. Yesterday bluebird egg number one was laid and today the second egg was laid in the bluebird nestbox.  We have installed a wren guard on this box. If it is successful we will share the design in another post.

An update on the other boxes:

The box with the five black-capped chickadee eggs was destroyed by the house wren on Sunday. Right now there is a fight for this box between the black-capped chickadee and the house wren. The house wren is bringing in nesting material, but the chickadee keeps looking and going into the box. A few minutes ago the house wren brought in material and while she was in the nestbox the black-capped chickadee was hanging on the outside looking in!  We have never had so much drama at a nestbox before.

The tree swallows have nested in another nestbox-let’s hope the predators will stay away.

 

 

 

 

The Bluebirds Begin Again

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Apr 302015
 

After the loss of the 5 bluebird eggs on Sunday we weren’t sure how soon the bluebirds would begin again. We have 7 nest boxes on the property and on Monday the bluebirds began scouting each one of them out. One box has black-capped chickadees, another box looks like tree swallows have taken over it, a third box the house sparrows are keeping an eye on-although they haven’t built a nest in it. Yesterday (Wednesday) the female bluebird began to build in a box that we can see at a distance from our office window. She was building again today, we’ll post again with another update in a couple of days. Let’s hope for better news this time!

 

Bad News At The Bluebird Box

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Apr 262015
 

Early this morning things seemed normal at the bluebird nestbox, but after lunch we saw mom bluebird coming out of the box and flying away in a different direction than she normally would. We looked in the box and found that there was only one egg left in the box. We did see a little bit of blood and were worried that one of the parents may have been hurt, but they both seemed fine. The remaining egg did not appear to be damaged so we were hopeful that we might still have one bluebird hatchling.  This evening our hopes were dashed when, after eating the mealworms, the male bluebird looked in the nestbox a few times, but the female did not go in and they both flew away. Five minutes later I saw a bird throw something out of the nestbox and then threw nesting material out. We went outside and a house wren flew out. We saw the bluebird egg on the ground under the nestbox. It had been pecked, so there was no chance of it surviving.

In the past we have had a house wren in a box on the other side of the house, but this year a black-capped chickadee has laid five eggs (as of today)  in it. Maybe the culprit house wren is the one that used to nest in that box. We will never know, but we aren’t too happy with the house wren.

It is a very sad day, nature can be so cruel sometimes.