More Bluebird Happenings

Wonderful shots Dave! The little ones are so cute!

Superb as always. thanks for the feeding series'.

Thank you for all the pictures.

They're all so beautiful Dave. I especially liked that one showing the shadow too.

Very hot here all week, so I keep water in the sun dial for them. That's Papa on the left.

He stayed in the water longer than usual, so it took a little longer for him to shake it off.

After he left, the fledglings jumped in.

Even Mama took a dip. It must be really hot inside that nestbox but she stays in there most of the time.

One of the neighbors dropped in for a drink.

Here's a shot from Tuesday. When the mercury hits 103, the water in the sun dial doesn't last long.

This is Papa on Tuesday. You can tell he's hot.

Mama too.

Great shots Dave! Yes this heat has been awful.

Dave, each one of these photos is just "priceless" to me! You should send a couple with the water and open mouths to your local paper. People would get a kick out of seeing them since it kinda explains how hot it's been.

Nice shots Dave!! Glad your BB's are keeping cool.

Thanks Duc. Thanks Burd. They are trying to keep cool but with this heat, the water in the sundial is actually hot. But Papa was in there at least three times this afternoon.

He really splatters the water.

Sometimes it makes such interesting patterns. Like this one.

The goldfinch are frequent visitors but usually to drink.

Our cats are one year old this week and they have finally discovered the birds. This creates a bit of a problem, especially since the bluebirds are nesting in the Gilbertson PVC box, just outside the dining room window. The cats sit on the window sill, just three feet from the nest. The birds can see them and it puts them off. They don't realize ours are indoor cats and that there is a closed window between them.

I have a remote controlled camera with a 200mm lens set up on a tropod and focused on the nest box so hopefully I can capture anything unusual that might occur. Here is Buster on the dining room table (where he is only allowed to be when we are gone), checking out the camera. In some of these shots he actually seems to be peering through the viewfinder.

Another shot, cropped tighter

Well, thanks for tolerating that off topic stuff. Here are a couple taken a few minutes ago. Just 9:00 a.m. and already the temp is near 90. Supposed to approach 100 degrees again today. As you can see, the birds already have their bills open.

Another shot of Papa. He is working hard these days, keeping the area around the nest box clear of most of the birds, be they troublesome or curious. He only yeilds to the mockingbird and of course, the hawk. He has five nestlings that are about 8 days old and growing fast.

Buster is gorgeous! Those shots of him are so funny, I know they could win a contest or be a great advertisement photo for Canon!

Glad your family of BB's is doing well. Great shots!

Thanks Pelle. This one taken earlier this morning when it wasn't quite so warm

Speaking of mockingbirds and hawks. I was surprised and saddened two days ago to see a hawk swoop in a take a bird off the perch near the mealworm feeder. I saw him do it but it happened so fast I couldn't tell if it was one of my bluebirds. He flew to the trellis at the back of our lot and proceeded to work on his catch there. I reeled off more than 400 pictures, mostly trying to tell what species the captured bird was. It turned out to be a female house finch. I was releived, but still I felt guilty since the bird was where she was because of seed I put out.

Some of the shots are very graphic, as you might imagine. But let me tell you about the mockingbirds. The trellis is only 20 feet or so from their nest where they had several chicks ready to fledge. The mockers did not notice the hawk for a few minutes, but when they did, they began to dive-bomb him repeatedly until he left, with them chasing him.

In this first shot you see a mockingbird zeroing in on the hawk.

Looks like a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Thats a great action shot Dave!

Thanks Pelle. We mostly see Coopers and this one did seem smaller and more leggy than the others. I thought he might be a young one. There is one more pic that goes with that one Here you see the mockingbird just after he has actually impacted the hawk. These are the only two I will post here.

I get very upset with the mockers when they chase my bluebirds, but this was one time when I was glad they were around.

This message was edited Jul 22, 2010 9:12 AM

I'm with Pelle, that photo of Buster (he's beautiful by the way) should be sent to Canon for an ad.

Sorry about the loss of the finch, I know that guilty feeling you had. We've probably all seen this one too many times. I've had a Red-tailed Hawk here for three days now and I just sit on the deck wondering which of my birds will be taken. The good thing that I've noticed is my crows will dive at it and the Scrub Jays raise such a noisy fit that the smaller birds suddenly disappear for a while. I like to think they're warning the others that there's danger near.

I think that's a Sharp-shinned too. Glad the mocker was there to dive at it. Wonderful pictures Dave! I love that flying bb shot from this morning!

Thanks duc. The bluebirds have five little ones in the box that should fledge in the middle of next week. They are already sitting up in there and sometimes I can see a mouth open just before a parent arrives with food. I should be able to get a lot of peeking out shots, starting in the next few days. I am hoping they don't chase these four fledglings away when the new ones are ready to fly. But they are starting to peck at them and fly in their faces when they beg or even if they try to eat while the adults are eating.

Here's a good example.

Papa's reaction.

And here is one I thought cute. This little guy was apparently sleeping with his eyes open because he kept falling over, more and more for about 10 seconds.

Then suddenly, after I had taken about 20 shots of him gradually falling over, he wakes up.

Here is a nice shot of a youngster in flight.

And another, going in the opposite direction.

This message was edited Jul 22, 2010 1:24 PM

I love the Papa's reaction and that first one of the baby leaning-no I loved all of them. Excellent photos!

Yes their all beautiful! love the first one of youngster falling over.

Okay, I gotta say the Buster shots crack me up. You have some smart cats. first they are watching Golf, and then they are taking up photography. What will be next?

I know exactly how you must feel too, about the hawk. The first one that took a bird when we moved here was a shocker. I almost felt like I was an accomplice, at the same time, in awe of the swiftness with which it happened.

lol Buster has been busted..a capture I never expected to see, lol I agree with the others those shots have a future somewhere...Nice shots Dave...all of them!

Buster for sure appears to be peeking thru or at the viewfinder!