More Bluebird pictures

And she departs...

Three youngsters waiting for me to bring some worms.

More shots of Mama.

Another

A juvenile perched...

Ready to go...

Gone...

Wonderful shots Dave! I love the first ones and the youngsters waiting for you.

Are the youngsters totally feeding on their own now? Once the eggs hatch the parents will be busy getting food for the new babies. I love the pictures of the kids visiting Mama...it must be hard for them to figure out why she doesn't want them anymore.

Well. first thing this morning I checked the nest cam and none had hatched, so I went to make my coffee and then went to get some meal worms and happened to check the nest cam again. I watched on the monitor as this fellow (or gal) broke out of the shell. I ran upstairs to get a camera that had a macro lens. Mama had alerady gone for food and I just stuck the lens inside the door and snapped this quick shot while she was off the nest.

Strangely, I haven't seen any of the juveniles yet today. They couldn't possibly have chased them away yet.

Congratulations!!!

Stepdad has babies!

And these are his! ^_^

Congratulations!!!

When I checked this evening, three of the four had hatched. Hopefully the last one will hatch soon.

But all five of the juveniles from the previous nesting seem to have disappeared! They were all here all day yesterday and I have not seen either adult chase any of them. In the past it has taken a week for the adults to chase away juvies, and it seems awfully soon to be chasing this crop. They only began feeding themselves last week. I doubt they would survive on their own.

Hopefully they will show up tomorrow and this whole topic will be moot.

Dave

Here's StepDad this afternoon. And yes, Birdie, I guess I can start calling him Papa now

Handsome guy!!

Just a quick update. All four did hatch and when I checked them this morning, they are starting to look fuzzy. I was glad to see Mama is starting to feed them meal worms. Until now they have been scouring the area for tiny insects. If they can take meal worms she will be able to find food more easily. Here she is a few minutes ago.

I was happy to see all five of the juvies back last night. They seem to be cautious around stepdad so I guess that means he has been keeping them on their toes. They were all back again this morning, which makes me glad because I love to watch as their colors change.

That is great news Dave! Thanks for updating us and I hope your able to get some pics of the juvies soon!

Another updaate:

All four nestlings are doing well. They are six days old and growing like weeds. The juveniles from the previous brood are coming to the feeder regularly but rarely are all five of them there together. It was very overcast this morning but I did manage a few shots. The first one shows a juvenile on the shepherd's hook, watching StepDad who is very aggitated because a couple of bluejays were too close to the nest box.

Here is Mama, trying to calm him down.

Juvenile adjusting his feathers.

Mama, about seven feet away.

Papa, on his way to feed HIS babies.

Here is one of both adults, shot from very close range. He is slighly out of focus.

Mama, coming with an insect from a tree about 150 feet away.

Another juvenile. They are getting better at their flying skills....

.. but occasionally one will still land on another.

Two juveniles playing. This shot should have been posted before the one of the juvie landing on his brother. Sorry.

Papa guards the nest box and the meal worm feeder. Here are some in flight shots as he approaches and departs his favorite perch.

First, he puts on the brakes.

Here he makes contact with the perch.

Catches his balance.

He turns, only to see a house sparrow trying to steal a meal worm.

So back he goes.

Another shot of him leaving.

And another.

And lastly, here he is, flying in the other direction.

Always a joy to see your pics Dave. Glad all is going well. Stepdad-Dad (I guess we call call him just Dad now?) is doing a fantastic job.

2dCousinDave----I have just come upon your marvelous pictures of the bluebirds. iIhave been tending to a bluebird box for about 20 years------and this is the latest that I have ever seen them in the box----------and, there are babies in there. I really think that they were able to survive because a period of rain stopped the tremendous heat of the month of June. BUT, I am very interested in your feeding them. What are you putting out for them and where is the cage placed? Your pictures are just fabulous!

Thank you,
Shirleyd
Starkville, Ms.

Hi shirleyd. Thanks for the comment and congratulations on the late nesting.

I have heard that extreme heat will keep eggs from hatching and that it also will kill the nestlings if they get too hot during the 18 days they are growing inside the nest box. Here in Virginia we normally have three nestings each season and we more typically are at risk of losing all or part of the first clutch because the birds start too early and are hit with a snap of late freezing weather.

This is a topic frequently discussed on the bluebirding forums I participate in. People report trying all sorts of things in an effort to help, like extra ventilation holes at the top of the box, or Styrofoam insulation placed on the sides and top, or things like backyard umbrellas positioned to shade it. One individual even moved an electric fan out close to the nest box.

Meal worms are not really worms at all, but are the larva stage of the darkling beetle. The bluebirds love them. They are available at most pet supply stores, like Petsmart. and are commonly sold in containers of 50, 100 or 500 and are packaged in plastic containers containing oatmeal or bran or some such material for them to eat. Hence the name. I buy them in bulk and have them delivered by FedEx. If you keep them refrigerated they will last for several months. I have a refrigerator in the basement that I use just for this purpose.

I have been feeding meal worms since I started bluebirding in 2004. I first placed a few in an open dish near their nest box, which was located about 30 feet from the raised deck at the rear of our house. Gradually I moved the dish a little closer to the deck and finally up onto the deck. For a year or so I fed them out in the open and for a while only the bluebirds and I knew our little secret.


The problem is that many other insect eating birds also like meal worms, and soon I had Carolina wrens, song sparrows, downy woodpeckers, titmice, chickadees up on the deck. I didn't mind because I was able to get some nice close up pictures. But meal worms are not cheap and some of the bigger birds, like robins and mockingbirds and red-bellied woodpeckers, take a dozen or more at a time, and then there's the starlings. They will sit there and gobble all of them. So I had to get a wire cage that only the smaller birds could squeeze into. The model I got is no longer available but several similar models are. Mine was designed to hang from a shepherd's hook but I affixed it to the deck railing with Velcro. This allows the birds a ramp so they can more easily enter or exit.

Here you see Papa clinging to the side of the cage. Not a great picture of him or the cage but you can get an idea what it's made of and how it's put together.

2dCousinDave-----thanks so much for all the info-----------and, now, I am on the trail of a cage like you have. Do you have any suggestions? Also, could you give me the measurements of your cage? I am dying to try to duplicate what you have done.

Thanks for all your help---

Shirleyd