Bluebirds - Spring 2012 - part 2

And here are the rest before he flew out of my frame.

Wow! Dave, the series took my breath away! As if I were right there watching them in motion! That's as good as it gets!

Dave, great departure sequence. It amazes me how these little guys come out flying from that cramped nextbox and no practice room.

Hope to see the other two tomorrow.

Rose, what a great way to fill a kitchen window. Nice photos.

Lily, when is "hatch date"?

I am looking for a 5th egg tomorrow.

David in Stafford

Dave, I don't know when is the hatch date. When I hear the babies chirping that's when I know for sure. How many days will it take for incubation period please?

Lily- Incubation can be anywhere from 12-15 days from when the last egg was laid. Mine have usually been at 14-15 days. It may be less time in a warmer environment.

David in Stafford

Thank you David, I'll be on the look out and keep everyone posted. This is my very 1st year hosting Blue Birds, I've so much to learn about them.

Lily: Don't expect to hear them peep very soon after they hatch. They don't open their eyes until the 7th or 8th day and don't seem to discover their voice until about day12. At least that's been my experience.

Thank you Dave, for sharing your experience. It's a pleasure learning about these birds.

I guess that this brood is topped at 4. She is sitting on the four eggs now so I am expecting a hatch around June 21. But I will not be here to see it unless, like everything else this year, they hatch early. We will be in Seattle for a granddaughter graduation. I will send photos of the new ones when we return the following week.

Rose, Dave, Lily, Iris and all, the update photos are the best part of the afternoon when I get to view them.

David in Stafford

David, my congratulation upon your grandchild's graduation. How exciting that could be! I'm happy for you. In my BBs garden. The Momma is sitting on her eggs most often time. I don't see the male around as often as I did with the first clutch of the season.

Thanks, Lily. I have the same situation with my BB also. Although I did see the male once yesterday and today. Momma bird peeks her head out of the box like yours every once in a while and she comes out for a breather during the heat of the day (it was around 92 today, but she doesn't stay our for long.

I opted not to change out the nest until after this brood fledges. The ants seem to have disappeared. I looked under the nest and they we not there. Maybe the birds took care of them. Anyway if they do not appear again I will put the box on the new pole some time in early July.

David in Virginia

Here are updates on several different topics.

In the box in the front yard the female is three days into sitting on four eggs. In the back yard the female laid her second egg this morning. This will be her third nesting.

I didn't see the juveniles from the first nesting at all yesterday. I fear Papa has finally driven them away I have seen a female Baltimore oriole in the trees behind the house every day for the past three days. I think she may have a nest nearby but I haven't found it yet and I haven't seen a male.

Three of the babies that fledged a week ago are already following Papa to the meal worm feeder. Haven't seen all four together yet.
A couple of shots from yesterday.

Those are such sweet pics. Dave. They couldn't possibly be any better!!! I love, love them.

I'm with Lily, those photos are so sweet Dave.

I hope you can locate the oriole nest. I know they're nesting in our trees, but sure can't see the nest through all the leaves.

Another nice set of photos Dave.

An interesting aside - I was at a get together last night with my handbell choir and one of my ringers said that she and her dad keep a bluebird house in their back yard. Their first brood this year was 5 BB and the female is sitting on 4 eggs for the second brood. It seems like our Stafford birds may be on a 5-4-5 cycle this year.

David in Stafford

Dave, Those juveniles are adorable!

A couple of updates:

Both the nest box in the back yard and the one in the front have 5 eggs. One clutch should hatch on June 25; the other June 29.

Papa has successfully chased away the first nesters, apparently. I haven't seen them in several days.

All four of the fledglings from the second nesting are coming on their own to the deck for meal worms. Several are already starting to feed themselves. But when one of the adults is nearby, they still beg; sometimes with enthusiasm.

Great photos, Dave.

Congratulations on expanding to the second box. Maybe some of your birds will head my way to see my front yard box. (It has only had a wren dummy nest in it).

Dave

So glad to hear we'll soon be seeing the young ones. Love this last series of the fledglings! Perfect timing on that third photo.

Thanks duc. Pretty day here, but warm. Better conditions for pictures. Here are a few from a few minutes ago.

Dave, Great photos ! I love the first one on June 18th!

I just sit here at awe! Those pics. are beautifully done! Wow, Dave, I wished someday I can master the art of photography like you've done!

Dave, have you ever considered putting together a book or photo pamphlet on bluebirds using your photos? All of your photos look better than many that I have seen in popular birding and garden magazines.

My 2nd brood hatched yesterday. Took a quick peek and photo today. Interesting. Each little nestling has its head toward the center of the nest and all are well. I hope they hold their own in the heat this week. I will be in Seattle tomorrow for a week. I will update when I return.

David in Stafford

Never really thought of a book. I have wanted to put together a collection of my favorites on a DVD and in fact, I am working on it at the moment. But when you have so many (more than half a million at last count), it is hard to choose.

It always surprises me when I let people look though my pictures and take a few that they like. They almost never pick the ones I like best. So it makes me wonder if people would like the thousand or so that I will choose for my DVD. Of course, I would never sell the DVDs but I might give them away to close friends as gifts and to bluebird people who could use them in Power point presentations.

Here is a female fledgling 30 days old showing her back and wing feathers. From among the more than 3,000 I took yesterday.

She's starting out as a perfect model for you. Great photos Dave.

Hatch day for the bluebirds in the front yard box. Right on schedule. That last egg should hatch tomorrow since she laid one the day after starting to incubate the first four. This is the pair that I coaxed into an emergency box after she kept trying to nest in the newspaper box out on the street.

My regular pair in the back yard also have five eggs that are due to hatch later this week. This will be their third and most likely last nesting for this season.

Not sure what else to expect from the pair in the front yard.

Congrats Dave on such success! How sweet they're! Mine, have become so elusive that I can't rarely capture their pics. Most often I'll hear their song in the garden, but not seeing them.

Oh my gosh that is adorable Dave! Good luck with both of them, you are such a wonderful landlord! ^_^

Front yard five, about an hour ago.

Amazing, Dave. You've got quite a production line going there.

Yes, Margaret. It should be interesting in about two weeks. They should both fledge within 3 days of each other..

These are from the back yard box, just before dark tonight.

How sweet and fragile they look! Congrats Dave.

As expected,two more hatched overnight and the fifth (which she laid one day after beginning incubation of the others), has noticeable pip marks on it.

Really precious Dave!

Congratulations Dave. 10 in a week. That really helps the bluebird population in Stafford. And the photos of the young ones are great as always.

My 4 have their blue feathers. I have not taken any photos since we arrived home Friday mornng early (4:00 AM). I am trying to stay cool after spending a week in the below 60 degree weather in Seattle. I believe that my expected fledge date is about July 15. I will try to get a photo or two tomorrow when it is cooler.

David in Stafford

Unfortunately mom was killed, but new mate has been setting on eggs. Hopefully they will raise these two.
O

Hi David:
Am I to assume you did not lose power? We did on Friday night and just got it back a few minutes ago. I love the sound of those air conditioners. We have been sleeping in the basement for the past three nights and I just got back from a run to the landfill with all the spoiled food from our three refrigerators and upright freezer. Probably more than $1000 in food wasted.

Both nest boxes survived the terrible winds we had Friday night that took our power out. Here are a couple of pictures taken a few minutes ago. The first two are of the front yard five (7 days old and the eyes are just beginning to open). They should fledge on the 13th. Not the best shots but it is hard to shoot while being dive-bombed. and the last one is of the back yard five, now 4 days old.

Great shots guys!

BCH - Sorry to hear about the female loss. I hope that the new one will attend to the young ones.

Dave - That storm was terrible but we came through it okay. The lights flickered a couple of times but we never lost power. The cable and internet were off Friday and Saturday but everything else was fine. Sorry to hear about your power and food loss. and Yes, the sound of the AC is nice. My daughter and her family (Stafford Lakes area) moved in with us for Friday and Saturday due to the power outage.

I believe that I miscalculated my expected fledge date. Since they hatched on Jun 19 they could fledge between July 5-7 not the 15th - so I am not going to try to get any new photos until they come out of the box (if I can get them).

To everyone else that has been affected by the winds, rains, fires, and other events, please know that we have you in our prayers. Try to stay cool and be safe this 4th of July holiday.

David in Stafford

Looks like new mom adopted the babies! Nice when things work out!