We now have 4 eggs on the nest. Looking for the fifth one tomorrow. Then - unless I get a pair like Dave's that wants to lay a 6th egg, we should begin the sitting and incubating until about April 16th hatching.
This message was edited Mar 31, 2012 6:29 PM
Dave,
How did you get that close? Do you carry a camera with you when you refill the mealworm feeder?
David
This message was edited Mar 31, 2012 6:35 PM
The answer to your second question is yes. I always take a camera out with me, even if I am checking the flower beds. Sometimes the birds are very hungry and they will fly in and perch side by side, so close to me that I have to back up before the camera will auto focus I have gotten some of my best shots of the two of them together that way.
If you are asking how I got so close to the eggs, I used a camera with a macro lens. My biggest problem was that I had to tiptoe to get high enough to look straight down into the box. With that lens I could have held it just a few inches from the eggs but in order to get them all in the picture I held the camera about 18 inches above the nest. This is a nest box I built over the winter. The top is hinged and lifts upward and the front pulls forward and down so I can get better access and plenty of natural light so I can get good pictures. I never use a flash for birding. I am hoping to get some better shots of the eggs as they actually hatch and, assuming all six hatch, a few good shots of the six of them, crowded inside that 4" by 4" box.
This message was edited Mar 31, 2012 10:41 PM
It sounds like your pair of birds consider you to be friendly and are not as skittish as mine seem to be. Of course I have a longer way to go to get to my bird house. It is about 60 feet from the house. I am going to try the meal worm feeder again to see if they catch on to it this year.
Your photography is inspiring.
David
Thanks. The birds do recognize me, partly because I have been feeding them all winter. I started out by placing a few worms near the box -- almost underneath it, so they would sure to see them. Then, after a few servings I moved the dish a little closer to where I wanted to draw them to. It took me several days to lure them to the deck where I have been feeding them ever since.
The only problems with meal worms is that they are expensive and that many of the other birds (titmice, Carolina wrens, chickadees, song sparrows and even house sparrows) will compete for the worms once they realize they are available. To say nothing of the robins, starlings and mockingbirds, which will gobble them all down like a hungry dog.
We have 5 eggs now and the female is sitting in the nest. I have decided to wait until she leaves the nest box for a while to take another picture of the 5 eggs.
A question for those that feed mealworms- who is a good supplier of the mealworms and how many do you order? Do you do one large order at the beginning of the season or order for each brood?
Thanks
David In Stafford, VA
Not sure if you have a Wild Birds Center type store in North Stafford, but there are stores of that type further north of you. Anyway, they sell them in containers of 100 and up but they charge a lot. Meal worms will keep several months if they are kept refrigerated, and some people (wives) don't want them in their refrigerators. I bought a fridge just for my meal worms. I order 10 thousand at a time and I get them from a supplier in Southern California. I only pay $39 for the worms, but the shipping (FedEx second day air) costs as much as the worms. They are not really worms at all but are the larvae stage of a black beetle and if you don't keep them cool they will turn into beetles. Also they don't take heat well at all. Half an hour in a 90 degree heat will dry them out and make them crispy and the birds will not eat them. If you have time, go to the Sialis site ( http://www.sialis.org/) and read all about them. She also lists some of the bigger suppliers, as I recall.
Great photos, folks!
Massachusetts is still mostly gray, except for the bright yellow forsythia, so these pictures keep spirits up.
Boston, here is a short sequence I shot a few minutes ago. Very common sight these days.
Awesome photos Dave!
Wow! Love the interaction b/w the two birds. Nice captures Dave.
This is not the best shot in the world, but do you realize how hard it is to get both birds in flight in the same frame? I have been trying for months ( and will keep tying to get a better one).
Great shot Dave!! I'd hate to pick the odds of getting a shot like this one.
Found 5 eggs today--the BB's surprised me and went to a different box this spring.
Congratulations BCH!
[quote="2dCousinDave".......and will keep tying to get a better one.[/quote]
You are a perfectionist. I Think that is a great shot. I don't know how you could get a much better shot.
David in Stafford
Shouldn't be long now. In this shot, taken at 4 pm today, you can see the pip marks on several of the eggs as the chick starts to cut its way out. I expect tomorrow I will see that four have hatched and since she laid the other two after she began incubating the first four, the fifth and sixth should hatch within the following two days.
Wow, it's an exciting time! Looking forward to the brand new babies coming within days apart. What's the normal incubation period for Blue Birds Dave?
Well, the first four have hatched and one of the remaining two eggs has pip marks so it should hatch tomorrow. If you look at the upper part of its beak, near the tip, you should see its piping tooth. The second shot is cropped so it should be easier to see in that one.
Great photos Dave, and thanks for the info. Never knew about the piping tooth before.
Congratulations on the hatch. I look forward to seeing all 6 in the nest. That might get a bit crowded in a couple of weeks.
Mine are about a 6 days behind yours. Mom & Pop are in and out of the nest box all day.
David in Stafford
Wow...those are wonderful close ups of the newborns Dave!
So cute Dave! They are so sweet with the little feathers.
The sixth egg did not hatch so this afternoon I took it out. We had reached the point where even if it had hatched today it would have been four days behind its siblings with almost no chance to make it in the nest. I noticed it did not have any pip marks, so after I candled it and didn't see anything, I broke it and it contained nothing but egg white and a little yellow yoke. The female was still turning it last night and probably would have kept turning it for a few more days, had I not removed it.
Here is a closeup taken with a macro lens Not much to see except the feathers are starting to come out. But you can assume that if the sixth one had hatched today it would be under this pile.
My brood of 5 hatched last night or early this morning. I noticed both parents flying back and forth to the nest with food this morning so I took the camera out to see. I didn't get all 5 here but take my word for it.
David in Stafford
Great news David! Mine are growing fast and the parents are having to hustle to keep up. Also, we have more than usual hawk activity this season (I saw three this afternoon), so they are much more cautious in ferrying food to the nest box. In the second shot you can see him wing-wave to her as she flies from the nest box.
My five also hatched in the last day or so--not completely sure because I was away for a couple of days.
Congratulations guys!!!
I too am a proud Blue Birds' hostess this spring! I've heard my little ones chirping inside the nest box. The parents birds have been busy going and coming with feedings rounds.
Then yours must be about eight days old, Lily At least that's how old mine are and today I first heard their "voice." I hear it on the nest cam and it is a real chorus when they all chirp at once. They should have their eyes open tomorrow. Here is a shot from this morning -- in the rain. Already you can see enough blue on the wing feathers of several of them to tell they are males.
What a treat this thread is. Congratulations to all of you housing bluebirds. Gorgeous photo, Dave.
Awwww....I'm sending "Love and Support" to you guys who are helping bluebirds.
As I said, we had rain today so, not many good photo opportunities, but here are a few from yesterday when I dragged out the 600mm to shoot the birds as they exited the nest box. In the first two they are removing fecal sacs, then a couple of the female leaving. The last one is the male dropping down to retrieve a dropped meal worm.
Don't know if you can see this well, but this is the female bluebird, blindsiding a pair of cowbirds that were on "her" perch. This was just after she actually bumped one of them. I was close enough to hear the impact.
And this is Papa, ever watchful, particularly when the female is inside the nest box
Lovin' the photo of the cowbird "bump."
Don't know if you can see this well, but this is the female bluebird, blindsiding a pair of cowbirds that were on "her" perch. This was just after she actually bumped one of them. I was close enough to hear the impact.
I'm loving all of them (photos). Thanks Dave for sharing those wonderful moments with us.
Such great photos everyone! It's great to see the bbs chasing off the cowbirds Dave. You must have felt proud of the female.
Great photos Dave.
I have been watching my pair all day flying in and out with food and fecal sacs respectively. I cut the lawn today so I am not going to disturb them any more trying to get a photo of the young ones. They are still in the"fluffy" stage - no feathers yet.
David in Stafford
