A few more shots of my bluebirds

One more.

Next. I may have previously posted this one, or one taken at the same time.

Dave, Those are incredible photos! I love seeing the juveniles and the puffed up female. They are wonderful; thanks for posting them.

I like some of your flight photos, also those of them objecting to other bluebirds. Terrible grammar, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

OK Dave......fess up.....how many mealworms did you have to give up for those poses? LOL.

Since I work M-F and leave in the AM and it's still dark outside. I do leave their breakfast for them. Would love them to wait for me when I get home at 3:30. Any suggestions?

taxicat

Try putting a few out when you get home in the afternoon. They will always be hungry in the morning but if they learn that you will provide mealies in the late afternoon, they will start dropping by then too. It's interesting how they seem to almost panic as it starts to get dark. Even if it is several hours before nightfall, if a storm comes up and clouds suddenly make it appear darker, mine come from out of nowhere.

I hate to admit how many meal worms I keep on hand. Right now I have a few more than 20 thousand large and plan to build that number to over 25 thousand.. They will keep for several months in the refrigerator, so as winter approaches, I build up my reserves. I simply will not run out when the snows fall. I have had as many as 25 show up in the snow.

I'm so impressed with your pictures Dave. I can't believe you can narrow your favorites down to a mere 500 with all the awesome photos you've got.

I love all your photos!

Thanks, Duc. Honestly, it IS hard to choose. I guess we all find that out when we try to sort through our pictures. But the people at NABS have been asking me for some good shots for a long time and I have put it off for several years, to where I am beginning to feel guilty.

I would also like to include a series of 100 or so, showing the whole life cycle of the Eastern Bluebird, starting with courtship, wing-waving, mating, nest building, eggs, fledging, feeding and then a string of pictures taken virtually every day of the 80 days or so that it takes for the juvenile's feathers to molt to where they finally are indistinguishable from an adult. That is another project I have started several times and have never finished. In the effort I have found that there can be variation of as much as a month in the time it takes for juveniles to molt. Variation not just between broods, but also between birds in the same brood.

Dave

I enjoy my BB's and yours, Dave. Thanks for sharing. I have iBird Pro on my iPhone and when I go out to feed the birds, I often play the call. It never fails to get Daddy fired up. He immediately starts answering and looking for the interloper. I saw four this week, but usually just the resident pair. My male is pretty territorial.

What kind of cage feeder to you have for mealworms?

A shot of my pair on their house.

Red, my feeder cage is made of a wire grid 1 1/2 inches square. It is designed to hang on a hook but I removed the chain and have it fastened to the railing on the deck with velcro. The birds use the deck as a ramp and seem to like that the cage is not swinging in the wind. I got the feeder through the bluebirdnut cafe online site several years ago but it is not available any more.

I will post a picture of it when I get home tonight.

This isn't the best shot of the feeder, but as you can see, it does keep out those that would gobble all the meal worms, no matter how determined.

Still, he doesn't give up easily.

Great thread Dave!! You take some really amazing pictures and I love looking at everyone of them! Loved the different background shots! I have learned quite a bit from you and the others here at DG and am very thankful.

Thanks Burd. I have learned a lot in my time on the forum too. It is much like school. We gather here in class to discuss things, then we go out in the field and practice, then come back to class to share what we have done, and so it goes. The more I learn, the more I realize there is so much more yet to learn.

Here is one more shot of the feeder, and I will get on to something else.

This message was edited Dec 3, 2010 2:12 AM

She's not really mad, maybe just a little bit sad.

Thanks again Dave for all your wonderful photos. Sure wish the feeder you show was still avaliable. I am when feeding meal worms, using a wood sided with 1/12" round entrance holes on either end, It has movable lid to lift when putting the meal worms in for the birds. I've never seen sparrows inside. But I know if I feed the meal worms in an open container the sparrows, robins, and other birds will eat them.

Donna

Hi Dave, Great photos!

Isn't the round version of this caged feeder still available? Do you still use yours?

Yes, Pelle, it is still available (see link below) and yes, I do have one and yes, I do use it but mostly as a second feeder. I prefer the original, rectangular shaped one because the bottom is flat and it attaches more easily to the deck railing, which is more convenient for me.

In nesting season, when a new brood fledges, the parents typically chase away any juveniles from previous nestings if they come to the feeder.. When that happens, I set up the round feeder a short distance away and the juveniles usually can eat there. I say usually because sometimes one parent will guard one feeder and the other parent will stake out the other. I n which case, I just give up and the juveniles will have to sneak to one of the feeders when an adult isn't around.

Donna, I also have a wooden one with holes on the ends and plexiglass sides but have found the birds, once inside, become confused, especially if a second bird enters, and they fly into the plexigalss, trying to escape. I have had to go out and open the top several times to release a panicked bird.

I have tried putting masking tape strips on the plexiglass but it still doesn't work the way it should.

http://www.tmbstudios.com/products.asp?cat=13

This message was edited Dec 3, 2010 10:25 AM

A shot from this morning before it became totally overcast..

One more, also from this morning.

Gorgeous shots Dave!

The next to last photo is a perfect portrait. Dave, your Eastern Bluebird photos can best be described by one word, i.e. "pulchritudinous". It may sound silly but 50 years later, I still remember some Latin derivation. Whatever, your photos always rise to a high level of excellence and are enjoyed by many.

That "Mad Bluebird II" should be just around the corner.

Love your photos Dave. The colors of the pair are so pretty and I love that last one showing the wings. I can't believe you had such a high ISO and not a bit of noise-well done once again!

Thanks Linth. That's high praise, coming from you and I really do appreciate it.

Duc, I was experimenting with the 600mm, trying various combinations. I normally shoot with the IS on and through a polarscreen filter but today, since I am using a tripod, I removed the filter and turned off the stabilization and I seemed to get sharper images.. The Canon 1D series cameras are very good at high ISO settings. It is one of their selling points. I have shot as high as 10,000 ISO with very little noise.

Thanks for the kind words.

Another shot from this morning. The female looks so gentle. Sometimes.

Another shot of the same bird.

Last shot before we look for another bird.

Here is a male from two days ago

Same model. I asked him to turn his head the other way.

Another female, in the early morning light.

A male, ducking under a swooping mockingbird

Another early morning shot. Not enough light so his wings look blue when they should be more grayish.

The two adults perched on the shepherd's hook where they can keep watch over "their" nest box.

Still watching the nest box.

Last one for tonight --or I should say this morning.

Wonderful pics Dave! That must be quite a job for them watching their nest box year round. When they take the fledges away do you see a lot of other birds hanging around the nest box?

Yes, it is not uncommon on fledge day to see other birds (usually HOSPs) landing on and peeking in the nest box even before all the bluebirds have fledged. It may simply be curiousity but it worries the bluebirds no end. The house is so important to the them that one of the adults may remain in the yard to watch it even after all the babies have just fledged.

Last Spring things were so frantic that I plugged the opening for a few days, thinking I was helping but it seemed to worry Mama Bluebird more than it helped. I removed the plug and she started building a new nest the same day.

This message was edited Dec 4, 2010 8:08 AM

The Bradford pear tree outside our kitchen window has shed its leaves, exposing a bounty of ornimental fruit, that is still too hard for the birds to pick off. After a few more weeks of freezing and thawing, the fruit will soften to where the bluebirds could eat it. Unfortunately for the smaller birds, when that happens, the bigger birds (starlings, bluejays and mockingbirds) will show up and strip it clean within a week.

I shot these through the window as I was making coffee.

Well, I guess I will have to post something without a picture to get the server to accept more pics.
Let's hope this works.

Now let's try again.