Blue Birds 2015

I saw the post on 2nd Cousin Dave's photos and thought that I would start a new thread for 2015. I am not sure that Dave is on here much lately.

I have a new birdhouse up in the back yard after a woodpecker drilled a 3/4" hole in the back if the previous house. I have a pair of bluebirds that are in and out of the house but do not have a nest yet as of this post. They have been very active today and I will check in the morning to see if there is any progress.

I did have about 6 or 7 that used the old house for a roost during the winter months.

Photos to come.

David in Stafford, VA

Hi David in Stafford, welcome back. Thank you for starting on the new thread. I'm looking forward to see more posting, I'll add some of mine if and when I can find some pictures. All of us here have been missing 2nd Cousin Dave's posting. I wish him well.

Kim from Al.

Thanks Lily.

We are back in business. Photo 1 is the new nest I found this morning when I visited the box.
Photo 2 is the damage that the woodpecker did to my old nest box.

We just returned from a weekend Handbell Festival at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, MI and I found this when I checked the nest box this morning. I will see if they we get another egg or two to try to set a "hatch date".

How delightful! Congrats David.

We have 5 eggs in the nest and the birds have started to incubate them. It is still a bit chilly here 59 or so today. I went back to my basement to get my camera to take a photo of the 5 eggs but when I opened the nest box I noticed what appears to be the male sitting on the eggs. So I took this quick photo and closed the door before I spooked him.

Wow, 'til now. I thought only the females incubate their eggs. Wow, how sweet it's of papa to do such great job! Thank you for sharing such wonderful moment David. Down here, my BBs decided to nest elsewhere and not here in my garden this year! :((
But my Tree Swallows pair appears to be incubating too, provided that the male Swallow only does as the male BB. I'm not sure, since I couldn't tell them (the mating pair) apart.

5 eggs! Whoa! It's going to a fabulous year. Happy Spring.

I like your garden Kim. Do you get hummingbirds also? Sorry about the vacancy at the Bluebird house. Maybe they will be there for the second brood.

David

Here's one of our males looking back at me. :)

Hi David, C.G. David, thanks. I got hummingbirds coming through last several weeks when our hybrid honeysuckles were in their peak. But I haven't seen any for the past week or so. Hmmm, you know in our SE regions, wild honeysuckle are blooming now, I was wondering if the hummers are still moving northward. C.G. beautiful beau! Hope he finds your garden a safe nesting place. I used to host BBs, and Nuthatches in the garden. But I think Raccoons robbed their eggs year before last. They're now more cautious than ever, and haven't been around much lately.

Kim, CG, and all.

Here are a few more photos that I took at around 11:30 this morning. Both birds are actively in and out of the nest box for periods of time.

I had another surprise when I checked the box yesterday while mowing the lawn. I found what appears to be a new nest on top of the old nest. I did not find any of the 5 eggs that were in the nest but 4 new eggs (that appear to be a bit larger than the first set of 5) were now in the nest. This is a photo of the male. He appears to be a bit larger and older that the previous occupants.

Whoa, what's a suprise! Best of luck this time David.

Well, I am back in "watch-mode". t appears that the remaining 4 eggs in the nest were not new and they disappeared over 3 days, The pair have been in and out of the box for the past couple of weeks. Yesterday I found one new egg and today another, so I believe we may be on the way to a full nest soon. I will keep you posted.

I did have an unwelcome guest in the yard on Thursday. I was overcast and dark when I took the photo. this hawk has been in the neighborhood for a couple of years.

David

Ooooh such sad news. Hope the guest will move on soon. Best of luck David. Have a good weekend.

A third egg this morning. Yea!!!

Double Yeah!!!

Clapping here. :)

I don't have any pictures as I am not that good of capturing these wonderful creatures. I just stopped in to tell a story of my birds here. I have a ceramic house strapped to my power pole and 1 family nests here every year. The rest of the blue birds and cardinals nest in the oak hammock out back.

Having watched the blue birds over the past 10 years that come here I have found the male and female mate for life. The male and female have a system of caring for their young. They both go out hunting for food and when the female brings food back for the young, the male perches up high to scout the nest for predators. When he gives the sign, the mother goes to the nest to feed the young.

2 seasons ago, something killed the male. I found him on the pathway in the gardens. It was the father to the young in the bird house. I watched as the mother went for food for the young. She could not go to the nest without clearance. She flew back and forth waiting for the sign that never came.

In another day I watched as several bluebirds perched and gave her the clearance to enter the bird house to feed her young. She had evidently enlisted the help of other bluebirds so she could take care of her babies.

I worried so about those babies, but couldn't do anything to help. Thank goodness for the help of the extended family of the species to come together to assist.

What an interesting story. Observing bird behavior is rewarding.

MollyMac, thank you for sharing such heart warming story of the BBs. CG, it's rewarding, also touching sometimes. I have a similar experience with the BBs. One year, I think the papa went missing as the brood was still young. A new Beau came along, but then he bullied the fledglings on nearby mealworms feeder I've set out for the birds. Moma, wouldn't have that. She intervened and fought off the new 'step dad'. That year, I was watching the couple closely and was wondering whether or not Momma will have a second brood. No she didn't. The following year, the 'couple' had eggs, but Raccoon invaded their nestbox. That was the last I saw BBs nesting in that same nest box. I missed seeing them. I raise my own mealworms, but sometimes I need to buy extra to feed them. This year, small song birds, and Northern Cardinals get to enjoy the treat of mealworms. The BBs only came occasionally to visit.

Thank David again for sharing your BBs progress as well as their misfortune. I'm holding out my hope for them. At present, I'm watching a Tree-Swallows nest with 3, probably 4 chicks. Like BBs, I saw one adult bird stands guard while the other bringing food to feed the young.

I'm so glad we've a community at DG to share these experience among one another. Thanks all.

Sad news again. All of the eggs have disappeared again. The pair are still in and out of the nest box but have not laid any new eggs. I have not seen any predators (except for the hawk) around the neighborhood but i am researching and going to put up a Predator protector of some sort.

I will keep you posted.

Molly, thank you for your story. Kim, good luck with your birds also.

David

Good morning David, thanks for the well wish. It's sad that something invaded your Blues' home. When my Blue Birds' eggs went missing, I blamed it one snakes and other predators, but it turned out that Raccoons were the culprits! My DH put up a baffle under the birdhouse, but that seems to scare the BBs further? I'm unsure. The very same house remained vacant the last 2 seasons.

My Tree-Swallows brood fledged on the 29 of the month I believe. I endured "Empty Nest Syndrome" since -- until this morning. There appears the mating couple is back, and they're coming/going from the very same gourd house. I think they're preparing for the second brood. Hoooray!!!

We put up protection when we put up the houses, so the birds do not have to adjust. One post is metal that we cannot imagine anything can get a hold of. But I wonder if snakes can. Does anyone know? The wood posts all have the metal flashing around them. Could you put that up, instead, Lily? Are your baffles the big cones or the stove pipe things?

We were given an interesting bluebird house yesterday. It's said to be house sparrow proof. (Sialis.org disagrees with that.) I don't have a picture, but here's a link of the design.
http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/nestbox/slant.htm

The person who made it used the picture from Birds and Blooms, so no ventilation or drain holes. We'll just drill some in as the entrance is at the bottom of the box, there has to be a way for heat to escape.

Do any of you put anything in the boxes to prevent parasites such as blow flies? We put wood ash at the bottom of the boxes when we ready them for the season, but I've heard concerns about that recently. Some say it is possible the young can inhale it. We do not put it on the nest, but at the bottom of the box. I had heard previous concerns with Sevin dust, so never used that.

I was looking up Yarrow on Wikipedia and it says that some cavity nesting birds will line their nests with it to possibly prevent parasite growth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarrow#Birds

I take the capsule form of Yarrow for pain. Even though I am big on US natives, I have some seeds that I want to plant.

Chilly, thanks for the websites provided about the nestbox as well as the Yarrow use to deter parasites. The idea of using metal flashing on wooden posts sounds like a worthwhile measure. Though, we use PVC pipe as poles and I'm not sure if snakes can get by? It appears we need to relocate our BBs house.

I'm very cautious on "herbal supplements". I know, I know the Native Indians use them for hundreds of years, the Chinese use them for THOUSANDS of years. But, not knowing exactly what goes in to those "herbs" I don't wish to damage my liver or kidneys for they work hard to protect our bodies.

On the notes of coons prevention. Well, my neighbor discovered a raccoon fighting with another neighbors' dogs yesterday while we were in town. This neighbor took drastic measure to protect the domesticated pet. I'm so relief knowing all our pets are up to date with vaccination for rabid problems.

It is only the last handful of years I started herbals and try to be cautious. I was given Graprefruit seed extract and looked it up. Whoa! I cannot get myself to take it, but it is good for disinfecting and in the washing machine when it is stinky rag season. :)

The only reason I started them in earnest was the results I had with Red Raspberry Leaf and Evening Primrose Oil for hormonal issues. I suffered for years before that. Serious issues we visit the doctor, but weigh carefully the pros and cons of the meds he prescribes. I do the same thing at the herb store, I've heard some weird stuff. Can you imagine the deaths that came from the trial and errors of the ancient people? Yet, I am not sure how much to trust the big entities when money is involved. :(

We keep our dog vaccinated and my husband will do the same thing if something appears rabid or wild (in behaviour).

Try number 3!!! I put a 8" x 24" round metal duct with a hardware cloth baffle on the inside, around the pole and waited. Friday was the first egg and now there are 3. We will see if this brood can make it through the next 30+ days.

David in Stafford, VA

Wow, David. Thank you for not giving up on the nest. I'm so glad to learn those Beautiful Blues haven't given up either. I'll be watching and yearning for news. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks Kim. I will keep you posted.

David

It looks like there will only be a brood of 4 this time. The last egg was laid on Monday and it appears that the female is sitting on the eggs. I see her head in the entry hole at times but I never seem to have the camera ready to get a photo.

David in Stafford, VA

This message was edited Jul 9, 2015 12:44 PM

I meant to add a photo of the 4 eggs but hit the send button instead.

I'm so glad to hear. So incubation begun on last Monday. Woohooo, best of lucks sending your way. My DH just now put up a mealworms feeder. I've it in line of vision for Blue Birds (where the nestbox sits), I hope to attract them back in the garden one of these days. My mealworms "farm" is a success this year. I sure hope the BBs will enjoy them in the long run. For now my Cardinals, Nuthatch, and Chickadees will have their share of the treat.

I have wanted to try feeding mealworms but I am away during the summer on 3 t0 5 day trips at least once a month and would not be able to keep a constant supply of food for them, Guess I will have to wait until I get out of my Handbell Choir Director responsibilities to start the feed process.

Wow! This IS an old thread. I didn't realize it had been so long. I still take lots of bluebird pictures -- in fact, more than ever. Love this time of year. We have had several mild frosts and the insects are getting scarce. I have six or eight blues that come for meal worms every day. Several other species are regulars too, including a male downy woodpecker that comes around almost every morning. Here are some shots of him taking care of a yellow jacket.

What a great series. Mr Woodpecker looks very serious and intent.

Welcome back 2dCousinDave, welcome to the thread Pistil from Wa. Dave the series of the downy wp is great. Such clarity.