More Bluebird pictures

Wow Dave! Very nice. I wish I could see a Bluebird! I love all the pictures! I really like the ones that show them flying, that's always neat to see. How fascinating to watch them I bet! Lovely!

Thanks, here are three pictures taken as a juvie was descending onto the feeder. Incidentally, the last shot and all these were taken early this morning, in the rain. It was so dark I set the camera at ISO 2000, with the lens wide open (f/1.8). That gave me a shutter speed of 1/3200 sec., which was more than enough to stop the wings.

Yes, Teresa, they are very entertaining. It is too bad everyone can't have them. We are very fortunate.

The wing feathers are photographed beautifully!

Thanks Boston. I promised three pictures of this bird but I was in Baltimore at the time and for some reason I could not get numbers two and three to upload. Let me try that again.

That was two. This is three.

And here he lands on the brim of the dish.

Here, while Mama is getting a beakful of mealies, we have a chickadee fly in and land on the post. A male cardinal is also visable, but out of focus.

That is a really cute one Dave!

pelletory, ever seen any bluebirds in our neck of the woods? I know of people who have them in Shamong and Tabernacle, the Shamong lady lives at the edge the pines, and a big open field. I'm in a heavily wooded neighborhood (Hoot Owl) and we have about an acre, but there are still neighbors. I've thought about setting up a mealy worm station, but I know for sure that all the bluejays and robins and chickadees will gobble them up in no time at all.

Hi jm, I had seen them on my Holly bushes in the winter eating the berries.

I would buy or make a caged mealworm feeder before serving up mw's. I plan on doing this myself.

I would so love to have one like Dave', but am not handy at making things. their new model is very large for just a few mealworms (and very expensive for my budget unfortunately). I am sure on the lookout for something that would work well.

Thank you Dave for telling us your ISO and shutter speed, I've been wanting to ask what some of the settings were.

I'm in awe of these action photos, especially the one with the Cardinal and the BB-wow!

I have a brother who is a carpenter, I can probably have him make me a mealy stand. The cage is a great idea, though, and will probably save alot of money on the worms too. I feel bad not letting other birds have them, but one can't feed the whole neighborhood.

Pelletory, are you in a regular neighborhood or out in one of the "sticks" areas of Marlton? Kind of exciting that you have seen them, gives me hope!

Hi jm, I'm in a development.

I am happy to report that the fledglings from the previous clutch are still around and coming to the feeder regularly. I usually see four at a time and the fifth is still a loner and sorta watches the parents and shows up several times a day. Here are three together at supper tonight.

And this was a surprise. This juvenile female showed up this evening, acted like she wanted some mealies but was too shy to go for some. Kept looking over her shoulder and then she took off. She appears to be three weeks to a month older than my five juveniles, so she must have come from other parents in the area. First time in five years that has happened.

While on the subject of fledglings, or juveniles, to be more accurate, here are a few shots I took of mine today. I really don't like to shoot pictures that the birds on show man made objects, like feeders, but sometimes you have to if you want to catch them in action. This little glass bowl is big enough for several to land on at the same time.

Here is a fledgling just as his feet touch the rim of the bowl.

Not the best shot but here are two of them, about to hit the bowl at the same time, just after Papa has left.

The downside to using this bowl is that it is in the open where larger birds, including the starlings, can get to the mealies. The blues especially dislike the starlings, probably because the feeder is so close to their nest box. If a starling shows up, you can be sure one or both of the bluebirds will not be far away.

Here comes Mama.

Whereas they buzz most birds, they come VERY close, and sometimes actully crash into the starlings.

This is a shot of Papa on the bowl, flipping a wing up to keep his balance.

Here is Mama approaching the bowl

As she puts on the brakes, she looks like she belongs at the top of a Christmas tree. Very much a blue angel.

Here one of the fledges gets a visit from a Carolina wren.

For my last shot I chose an unusual one of a fledgling in flight. I like it so much I put my name on it.

That photo is...

GORGEOUS!

STUNNING!

(and all the other adjectives that are synonymous with "great")

All beautiful Dave!

Dave, have all your young ones been males? I never noticed the ratio of males and females.

Hi GP

More males than females, I am sure, although I have not kept accurate records.

I think I have four males and one female and that has been the approximate ratio for as long as I can recall. I think this was the 13th nesting with a successful fledging since I began hosting in 2004. Three of those nestings had five eggs that hatched, one nesting had three and all the rest had four, and I do not recall ever having more than one female in a clutch.

Dave

Ahhhh! What beautiful sight!

That's interesting Dave.

I guess the females have their pick of mates up there. That could also explain why Mama got a new mate so quickly.

This message was edited Aug 8, 2009 6:24 PM

Super duper shots Dave,The birds in flight are amazing, and so is the landing.

Thanks Burn. I am using three cameras right now and taking more than 1,000 shots a day and most of them are of the birds sitting still, but as I do I am always trying to catch them in motion, and hopefully in flight. They give very little warning as to when they are about to go and which direction they are going in.

I have a couple I got today that I will post in a few minutes, but first, here is Papa, headed for the nest box. .

Here is Papa in flight today.

And a fledgling in flight

And a different fledge, but a very similar shot.

This little guy has a blue-gray stripe on his head. Never seen anything like that before. I've been watching him for several days.

You might say he's "prematurely blue."

Here he is, ready for take off. You can still see the stripe.