Bluebird thread #9

Another shot of Mama. It's still hot.

Papa

Trying to keep your balance on the shepherd's hook can be a challenge.

Once you catch on to the front and back part, you have to figure out the left to right .

Same problem times two.

Those are such darlings!!!

Dave, do you chuckle as you watch this??I sure did viewing the photos.

LOL, very cute!

Yes, Mrs.Ed, it was quite funny. I looked out and there were two on the shepherd's hook, both struggling to keep their balance. Then one moved a little to the middle and begun sliding down. They can't fly well enough to just buzz off and land on a better place. So, about that time, a third one comes flying in and it was like he was yelling,"look out below!" He nearly knocked the one on the right off the perch and they both began sliding toward the center. The one on the right managed to brace his foot on the top of the flower. Then he started glaring at the middle one, who would inch up a little and then slide into him again. It went on for a few minutes (50 pictures or so).

Dave

Hpw funny. I do love bird watching.

I've been seeing something similar with a housefinch fledgling. Cute.

Oh Dave, they are all so beautifully captured. What wonderful little birds. Sounds like you have to remain very vigilant with the House Sparrows to prevent disasters.

Yes, Margaret, it is an everpresent worry for them, and for me.

This one is on the roof of my shed.

I know this is a lousy picture, but it is the only one I got with Mama, Papa and all five fledges. Sorta like a family tree, I suppose. I was more than 100 feet away, so the trees behind this one are not blurred out as much as I would like. Hopefuly I will get them together in a better setting.

Awesome shots Dave! Thanks for sharing your adventures with them with the rest of us that never see bluebirds. You need to write a book!

Janet

What a difference each day makes now. When I first looked out this morning, Mama was busy working on the nest. Papa was standing guard. One or two fledglings were on the nestbox roof and they followed her wherever she went. One follows Papa but they all keep an eye on my back door. If I go out for any reason, they all fly in closer, just in case. It is especially frantic first thing in the morning. I take my cup of coffee and grab a camera and some mealies and try to catch something of interest.

This morning the camera I grabbed had a 560mm lens on it (400mm plus a 1.4 teleconverter). I had used it to shoot the birds in the trees behind our lot and had neglected to remove the TC when I was finished. So I was definitely too close to get more than one bird in a frame.

Here are a couple of shots from a few minutes ago. As you can see, when they are all there, I just dump a few mealies on the railing, to make it easier for the parents to grab them.

Not the best shot. I include it simply to complete the action.

The fledglings were all over the place. Some on the roof of the house, others on the deck itself and others on branches nearby. All were fluttering to try to get attention. This guy was on a branch about 6 feet off the deck. Each time a parent would fly to the roof, he would try to get them to stop at his location. Finally he flew down to the deck, landed on the top of the feeder where he had better luck.

Next

So finally he flies to the feeder.

Last one. Let me go try again, with a different camera.

What a cutie pie!

Thank you Janet. I almost forgot. One was perched on the nestbox. Mama is helping with the feeding for now while she continues to build the new nest, but when she begins incubating the eggs, she will ignore their pleas. This must be one of the hardest things for the fledglings to understand. Incidentally, the distracting orange color in the background is a daylily.

Last one.

I love seeing things through your eyes Dave. You really do give us a wonderful insight into their "thoughts" and habits. I see my own yard birds in a different light now, thanks to you.


Janet

Well, they certainly do have personalities with differing traits. The more obvious are the assertive, aggressive trypes, usually found in the males, who tend to do what Papa does. I have seen a fledgling not three weeks out of the nest, attack a HOSP. Another buzzed a Downy woodpecker just after Papa had done so. Had I not caught these things with my camera, I probably would later have thought it had been my imagination. And I know others would have doubted it as well, without proof.

And then you occasionally see one from an earlier clutch that wants to help feed the nestlings still in the box. I had one such bird, a male, two years ago. As soon as they began feeding themselves, he never seemed to eat but instead would take his worm to the nestbox. He finally had to be stopped. Mama would station herself near the box and not let him in. Then, a week or so later, on Fledge Day, I watched while he actually enticed two of the nestlings to fledge while both parents were away, shepherding to safety one that had already fledged.

You can imagine Mama's reaction when the parents returned to find the nestbox empty. She was frantic! She flew from one side of the yard to another, all the while giving off a most mornful sound, certainly the bird eqivalent of a wail. I was in the yard and she would fly very near to me, landing in the grass, or going into the birdhouse as if to tell me what she was upset about. This weeping and wailing went on for several minutes until she found the fledglings safe in a tree with their older brother.

Oh Dave, that's marvellous.

Your threads have been quite an education for me, aside from the beautiful photos. You have defintely made it clear that to be a BB host it needs to be taken seriously and is a responsibity. It requires alot of heart and thought and dedication. I have entertained the thought of having a BB box, but I just am not sure I could be as dilegent as I should be.

I will continue to give it thought though and I really do appreciate your sharing with us. Looking forward to clutch 3!

I'm in love!!! ...with the Blue Birds! Thank you Dave for the heart felt accounts of the darlings' behavior!
Kim

Well, a cold front just moved through, and it looks like rain, so there was a lot of bird activity when I put the meal worms out. Here are a few shots.

Next shot.

Another one on the nestbox.

Here is a short series on the shepherd's hook, that shows that even the adults slide off sometimes.

Number two

Number three

Final shot

And for the final shot of this session, Mama gives it a try.

Pappa was working hard on ensuring his young is well nourished! Thanks Dave for bringing such fantastic view to those of us rarely get to see these beautiful birds in action.
Kim

Mama & papa have to be exhausted by the time your breeding season is over!! lol