Starting Bluebird thread Number 3

Weather here is wintery, but instead of snow we have sleet. Everything is ice coated, including the landing areas.

This message was edited Feb 22, 2008 1:17 PM

slippin'

still slippin'

still

still trying

More slipping

Finally

How did the female handle it?

Much better, actually

Of course she did!! Awesome shots!

Ahh, how did Dave know he has the majority of lady audience. Chuckles. Great shots as always Dave.

Unbelievable photos, both of the bluebirds and the hummers! I've got another month to go (at least) until I see either bird around these frozen parts so it's great to get a preview! Dave, have your blues started nesting? Do you put up boxes for them? Sorry if these questions have been asked/answered before, I'm new on the block.

No, my blues have not started nesting. They are thinking about it, as are the song sparrows and the Carolina wrens. I only have enough room on my lot for one nestbox and I leave it up all year round. The blues treat it as their own and chase away any bird that dares perch on it. Even as I write this, the female is flying around with grass in her beak, but I think it's just for show. Typically they start about this time so it should be very soon.

Dave, our sons just gave us a new birdhouse. How far apart should I place the birdhouses please. Also, santa is treating me to a good camera, where do I begin to look at one good camera for flowers, birds and butterflies and tinies little critters pics.
Kim

For bluebirds, you need to keep the boxes 300 feet apart, or the male BBs will fight. For answers to all sorts of bluebird questions, go to Bet Zimmerman's Sialis site. It is the Bible for bluebird hosts. Here is a link:

http://www.sialis.org/index.html

As far as a camera is concerned, my answer would depend a lot of things, the most important being your budget and what you want to use the camera for, another being the size and type of camera you like, whether you are looking at a camera with a fixed lens or whether you are considering an SLR which allows you to change lenses. I suspect there are fixed lens cameras with both zoom and macro capability, . I am by no means an expert but many of the fixed lens cameras I have used tended to have a second or more delay between trigger and shutter action. That can be a limiting factor with birding, especially if you are hoping for in fight shots.

A camera that accepts interchangable lenses will generally cost you more, but you can buy a telephoto, or a zoom lens for birding and general purpose shooting and a macro lens for flowers and smaller subjects. There's a lot to consider here and a decision like this should follow lots of research. To start I suggest you visit DPReview where they have pictures and excellent reviews of virtually every digital camera ever made.
Here is a link:

http://www.dpreview.com/

Dave

Thank you, Dave.
Thanks for taking the time out to assist me. Sorry everyone. Let's the pics. roll.

OK, here is a shot from a few minutes ago. She's obviously thinking about building her nest, but so far she's just flying around with this blade of grass in her beak.

Here is another shot of the female

And a more formal pose

Here's a closeup,

One last shot of the female

Dave,

Wonderful photos! All the photos you post are!

Marilyn

Ditto!
Kim

She's a beauty! I love the muted colors of the female (of course also the male's color, but that's a given). I can hardly wait until the end of March, when the blues should be returning to Minnesota. Meanwhile, I can dream with Dave's pics!

Here are a few from today to bring this thread up to date.

Another one, in the rain,

A closer view of the same shot

This one was taken in poor light and from about 6 feet away. Hence the blur and general lack of detail.

Here's the first of a couple in series.

And the next one

Here the male is flying into the face of the female. Look closely on the left side and you can see some of her feathers and her bill open.

Well, I guess I'm losing it. Posted the same picture I had already posted. I sure wish the editing feature woulld allow me to substitute this one. Oh well...

Here's one of the female from yesterday.

Incidentally, she hasn't started building her nest yet.

Love the new photos! Thanks also for the info about nest building - I'm still hoping to see the bluebirds re-check the nest box. I actually plugged the hole after seeing hosps checking it out. Waiting a few more days to open it up again.

Dave, your photos literally put tears in my eyes - they are incredible . . . you are so talented!

Dave,

are any of these the "homewrecker" female?

Yes, all of the female shots I posted today were of her. She is becoming much more assertive now that they are nearing their nesting season. Yesterday I saw the male fly up to a tree with a mealworm and feed it to her and today he stood guard while she entered the mealworm feed first. I haven't seen any other females around for a few days and today both the adults were busy chasing the remaining males from the yard. They move so fast and I was so close that it is impossible for the camera to stop the action. Here is one effort, just to illustrate what I mean. I love the expression on the bird's face. The blue blur is Papa in motion.

Here is the very next shot. Papa is now in focus, making the turn and you can see the other bird's feet as he leaves (and his eye on the right side of the tree stump

I know these are poor quality . They are presented for educational purposes only. ;-)

This one is of Papa. I seem to get a lot of these armpit shots.

I am loving this thread Dave and anytime you want to post the same pic twice is fine with me as I look at each pic several times anyway! This will be the first time Papa has had a family with this female...is that right? It will be interesting to see if and how their personalities change after the eggs hatch! The saga continues....and I'm looking forward to it!