More Bluebird Happenings

Then they visit for a while before he is off to attend to his chores.

This is off topic but I may have mentioned, we have a pair of Baltimore Orioles nesting right behind our house. I stood for at least an hour, hoping to get a shot of the female as she left the nest, and this was the best I could manage.

And then, as I was getting ready for supper, I looked down at the patio where I leave sunflower seeds for the cardinals and what do I see. I got at least 50 shots of her before she flew to the cherry tree where the fruit is ripe just now. Here is one of the better shots, from about 15 feet.

Such sweet shots of Mama and Papa! Beautiful Oriole.

Wonderful photos, all of them Dave. I'm so sad that you've lost one of the babies though. I've been worried sick the same thing has happened to many of our nestlings due to the constant winds we've had for over a week. I know we can't do anything about it, but that doesn't mean I won't worry.

I love that picture of your babies pushing dad off the branch. And that one that they're watching mom bring a small bite of food is adorable.

Your oriole is beautiful!

Great job on all of them!

Well, I am trying to catch up with some of the bird pictures I took before and during the ordeal of my grandson's graduation-commissioning-wedding. I am just now looking at some camera cards from back in April. Some of the pics are worth showing, so I will revive this thead rather than begin a new one. It's remarkable how different the birds look and how much their feathers have faded since then.

This is Mama on April 1.

Papa, on the same perch. Incidentally, these were taken with the 7D and the 500mm lens. The 7D is in the Canon repair shop at the moment. It suddenly froze and I think the motherboard is bad. Thankfully it is still under warranty. I should get it back this week.

Not sure if he is coming or going in this shot but I like the texture of the wing feathers.

Nice shots Dave...agree with he texture on that last one...your BB,s look very healthy and colorful!

I have a collection of bird "emotions". Sad, mad, etc., and I am going to add this one as happy, but actually, her mouth was open because of the 100 degree temperatures we had here a couple of days ago. Supposed to be over 100 again today.

Another shot as she was building her nest.

A female cowbird checks out the nest box. Looks like she could squeeze in . I will have to watch to see if she leaves any "gifts."

A shot of Papa in the heat.

Totally off topic but I want to show you this shot of one of our cats watching the golf tournament at Pebble Beach. I had the new TV sitting on the floor, while I put up a shelf to set it on. The cats were pawing at the ball with every putt.

I'm so glad you posted some of your older photos. I sure wouldn't want to miss any of your great pictures. They're all wonderful.

That last one is "priceless". Beautiful kitty!

That is a beautiful kitty!

Great shots Dave!

A shame we all have to suffer with this heat.

Ha. that's funny Dave, My cat pawed at the skiers and curling stones during the Olympics.

Interesting about the cowbird. I didn't know they went for cavities.

Very rarely, but every so often you will hear of a cowbird egg in a bluebird nest. They are more often found in open nests, but that's probably because those are more accessible Usually it is the size of the opening that keeps them out of the nest box. And some nest box openings are enlarged by woodpeckers or squirrels. And some cowbird females are simply smaller than average and can squeeze into a nest box with an inch and a half opening.

In this case it may have been more a matter of curiosity. Mama was still working on the nest.

Well it will be interesting to hear if you have an egg.

So far no cowbird egg. If one does appear I will probably remove it.

But the bluebird laid her third egg this morning. That is much faster than I have ever seen. Only a week ago yesterday that the last clutch fledged. They haven't even begun coming to the feeder yet.

Goodness, poor mama doesn't even get a tiny break between the babies.

Beautiful shots Dave...that last one is too funny. Hope that crazy Cowbird doesn't disrupt that nest and all goes well in the new nestbox. Our last female Blue was like yours...in a hurry to have as many nests as possible.

This is the same female I have had here for more than a year but she sure is acting weird lately. First she started her third nest less than a week after the second clutch fledged, then she began incubating after the fourth egg was laid, and just as before, 2 days into incubation, she laid a fifth egg. That egg should hatch a day or more after the others and if it fledges with the others, like the last time, it may not be able to fly well enough to make the tall trees.

Oh, the anxiety of hosting bluebirds!

And oh yes, she is still feediing the fledges from the last nesting. This is her eighth nesting in my yard and in every case previous, when she began incubating, she left the feeding totally to Papa and ignored the fledges when they begged.

These are from today.

The fledge dropped some of the worms, so she dives to get them.

But Papa still does most of the feeding.

This next shot will begin a long series. All these are from today. And uncropped.

Next

You can see the tips of Papa's wings, just coming into the frame. The closer he gets, the more animated the baby becomes.

Papa is almost there. The fledgling is looking directly into the sun. Notice how the sunlight shines deep into his throat.

Finally!

He gulped down all but one and this is the second bite.

I have another feeding series but it's getting dark and I need to take a short break while I go feed them

This may look like he's losing his balance, but actually he is wing-waving as Mama approaches.

OK, here is another feeding sequence. This time on the fence. This was early this morning. I rather liked the pattern of the shadows so I left them in.

Next.

Apparently I have reached my limit.

I need to post something without an image attached so the server will let me upload some more.

This message was edited Jul 2, 2010 7:53 PM

Back to the sequence.

Last one.

Well, this is probably more appropriate as the last one.

What great series Dave! I can watch this thread over and over again and find everyone of your pics. of the BBs adorable. Thank you.