Second Family Photos

I finally got an up close view of my 2nd group of bluebird fledglings. (Mom disappeared about three days before they fledged, but Dad remained ever vigilant in feeding and caring for them.)

Once they fledged, I only ever saw Dad at the feeder. He would go in, eat a few dried meal worms then take several back to the babies high in the trees.

About a week ago, they decided to be more social - at least long enough for me to get some photos of the little darlings !

They're Hatching!!

In case you did not bookmark Spike Odell's nest cam... The eggs are in the process of hatching! They "should" all hatch today :)
Watch live video from Bluebird Box Nest Cam on Justin.tv

Spike's Bluebirds

Wild Birds Unlimited's good friend Spike Odell, installed a nestbox cam for your enjoyment! This live streaming video is a great way to get the "inside scoop" on the life of bluebirds.
Watch live video from Bluebird Box Nest Cam on Justin.tvCheck it out! The first egg (of this second nesting) was laid on June 7th. It looks like there will be only 4 eggs in this nesting.

Sparrow Spooker

My bluebirds are working on their second brood and as I did have some sparrow issues last time, I decided to see if I could somehow make the box less sparrow friendly this time...maybe dad wouldn't have to constantly be on guard and fighting off sparrows on a regular basis.

Anyway, I found plans for the "sparrow spooker" online at www.sialis.org/sparrowspooker.htm and decided to try it. Everything I read was very positive, but I was still skeptical. I put it together according the "design #4" (basically because I had everything I needed just laying around the house), checked the nest yesterday (2 eggs), placed it according to the info online and waited to see what happened.

I hadn't seen either bluebird go anywhere near the box after I installed the spooker (although I wasn't watching it constantly), but when I checked this morning, mom had laid a 3rd egg !! She slipped inside while I wasn't looking, obviously.


As I watched the box (with spooker flying in the wind) this morning, I shot this photo of mom inside the box - it obviously didn't bother her at all !! What a relief !! I'll keep you posted as to how well it actually keeps other birds away.

Bluebird Babes

I LOVE it!! More great input from our customers. This is the email that I received from our premier Bluebird Landlord, Spike Odell :

Hi Pam...
I had a nice surprise this morning when the Mom and Dad bluebird showed up at the window feeder with all the kids! Man....! They look healthy! Must be that WBU mealworm diet I put them on!

I had 5 birds fledge, but only see the 4 now. I'm getting ready for the second nest ..(hopefully). I have installed the camera in the top of the box and will put it online when (if) they begin to build again.

I enjoy your blog. You have a lot going on in your neck of the woods!
Spike
Be sure to check out Spike's website: http://www.bluebirdlovers.com. I am sure that we will be seeing some great action out of his website!

Nesting Complications

Notice anything wrong here?
This is not an uncommon occurance, and I receive many calls and emails from folks that see this when they open their box for monitoring.

Early in the season, Mardy called and said that there was a Chickadee that had taken over occupancy of the box that we put up specifically for the Bluebirds. As usual, I asked her to please allow the Chickadees to continue their nesting and then, after she removes the spent nest, perhaps the Bluebirds would come and try again. Several days later, I received another call with the information that the Bluebirds were now there, having decided to use the nest, and they were "fighting" for the right to use this box.

It seemed all was well, as several days later, there was laid one egg. Yea, it seemed that the Bluebirds would prevail and have their nest.... Never speak too soon when trying to determine what will happen in nature. By this time, the House Wrens had arrived in the area, and they had a different idea for that nest box. It is now clear that the Wrens have prevailed.
When the Wrens have finished, Mardy may remove all the nesting material and then possibly get a nesting pair of Bluebirds to take up residency again. Lucky for us, Bluebirds will nest several times during the season.

Hungry Babies

Got this nice little email from Janis Tomanek and the great pic of Momma Bluebird feeding one of her babies:

Thank you so much for educating me about Bluebirds.
I bought several bags of dried meal worms and put them in my feeder.
Mama Bluebird found them right away and is feeding them to her three baby Bluebirds (yum!).
I am sure she is very grateful to WBU!
What a great Picture! The mealworms that she is feeding are an easy substitute for the live mealworms that many people feed their bluebirds. The dried variety are reliably available; whereas, the live mealworms may be difficult to acquire during the heat of the summer.

Mulberry time!

So the pics are not great, but you need to know that I was pretty far below these guys, and sure, my camera has "Image Stabilization" but still... It was hard to get them zoomed in without losing them entirely in the leaves. ANYWAY.... Kent and I LOVE this Mulberry tree!! It brings us so many great visitors, and we are also able to harvest some fruits for ourselves - - Either for use on top of Yogurt or in the making of adult beverages - -Yummy!

We first came into contact with a Mulberry tree when visiting Land Between The Lakes (LBL). We were hiking the Hematite Lake Trail, near the Nature Center, and came across this HUGE Mulberry tree. In that tree we counted more than 12 species partaking of the bounty. This, we thought, was something that we just HAD to have! That year we bought our own little Mulberry tree. We have not been disappointed either!

Today I managed to snap several Cedar Waxwings...

and Papa Bluebird chowing down. It is my sincerest hope to catch more visitors in this hot spot - AND I don't have to drive all the way to LBL to enjoy the diversity of bird life... too cool.

Bluebird Nestlings

Wow...looks like my bluebirds are about to leave the box (I estimate that they will fledge in the next couple of days).  Mom and Dad are still busy feeding, but these little guys look like they are ready to take on the world for themselves.  It's been a lot of fun !!

Update on "Our First Bluebird Family" by Roberta

This is Day 10, there are still 6 chicks! Our Bluebird parents are still doing a great job. My husband and I enjoy observing how the female will fly off out of sight and search for food for her babies, and the male will demonstrate typical male laziness and just hop down from the birdhouse to the dried mealworm feeder we have for them, and then proceed to give those to the chicks! It always makes us laugh :)

I just LOVE this picture! They are so darling, and I was shocked when this little guy turned around and looked at me! It was the coolest experience! Thank you SO much Pam and Kent for our awesome Bluebird house! This picture was taken on Day 12, hopefully when they start coming out of the box soon, I'll have my camera handy & snap some great shots.

Rainy Day Clean-Up

There is nothing like a rainy morning to motivate you to look to see what pics you have not posted, that you clearly intended to.... OK, that is a lie. A rainy morning does not motivate me to do really anything but go back to bed. :) I did, however, pick up the laptop and memory card to see what was there. I found a wealth of fun stuff. We will start with nesting, though it really looks like everyone is having pretty good success along these lines.

The Chickadees really got busy at the Nashville Wild Birds Unlimited store. I snapped these quick pictures a couple of weeks ago, but have not been back recently to see if they have fledged yet. Based upon this pic, I would say that the chicks were 2-3 days old that day. If that is the case, they should fledge any day now. This box is what is considered to be a Sparrow repellent box -- the theory is that it is not only smaller than the Sparrows desire, but also allows too much light into the interior. Whatever the reason, I have never had problems with Sparrows in this style nesting box. It is called a Kentucky Style Slot Box... this particular box was made by the professor that developed the style, Dr. Wayne Davis. The birds Thank You, as do we, Wayne!

This is the Bluebird Nest at my home. As of yesterday, the eggs had still not hatched.

In other NESTING NEWS... It has been confirmed that my Barred Owls have a nestling in the aforementioned Very Dangerous Nesting Box. Just Monday, we saw one of the parents taking a pretty good sized rodent into the box to feed their chick. All this rain concerns me, as I can not believe that that chick is at all dry. Kent reminds me constantly that if they had nested in a natural hole, it is unlikely that the conditions would be much better. For good or for bad, that is where they are. The chick should be fledging in the coming week.

Bluebird Takeover

I saw this bluebird nest in Bellevue where I take agility classes with my dog. We were sitting outside and saw the bluebird pair chase the chickadee away. About twenty minutes later the chickadee came back with more of her family and the chickadee and bluebirds chased each other around the nest box. The next week I found the bluebird nest on top of the moss. The following week there were 3 eggs. I can't wait until next week to see if she has added any more.

New Bluebirds

I was able to snap a few shots of our Blue Bird family workin' hard this morning. They are so mezmorizing- I find myself watching them and suddenly an hour has gone by!

Our seed block has been attracting various types of Woodpeckers, in addittion to our usual Blue Jay, Tit Mouse, Chickadee & Cardnial visitors. We've seen an increased number of visits and types of Woodpeckers compared to last year. We are excited to learn more about these beautiful birds, and purchase woodpecker feeders designed specifically for their use.

Bluebird Seminars

Kent and I are trying to get ready for our very first Free Seminars that will be hosted by the Wild Birds Unlimited stores. He and I will be running from store to store in order to make the circuit Saturday and Sunday. I did not think to have people RSVP, so we have no idea how many people are likely to show up - that should be interesting. I do wish that the weather were going to cooperate with us, but... am not holding my breath. The Goodlettsville store already has a completed nest, with the Bluebirds feasting on the mealworms and No Mess Blend. I will hold out hope that the Bluebirds will make an appearance tomorrow.