Bluebird thread #9

Mamma's really cramming a mouthful into the fledgling! It's amazing that they can keep up with those gigantic appetites! I'm sure they are foraging for other bugs to feed the babies, too.

I swear, it's like the lion and the liontamer, sticking his head into the cavernous mouth!

Thought you might like to see all five together as they were this afternoon. The parents are still feeding them but they are all starting to help themselves when the parents are not around. These are medium size mealworms and they seem to handle them better.

OMG...that is way too awesome!! I think I'm gonna cry it is so sweet! Thank you for posting it Dave...so delightful!

awwwwww

Beautiful Dave! How many worms did you have to pay them to sit still for you? ^_^

I am rationing my worms so they don't get as many as they would like. Incidentally, Mama laid her first egg today.

She WHAT?

Oh my. She's a fast one.

I'm not sure what is going on but for the past several days, a new female has been hanging around the front yard. Papa chases her away but she seems to come back. For some reason she hangs around our mail box, sitting on the post and going into the newspaper box under the mailbox. I saw her there this morning when I went out to mow the lawn. It rained hard last night and she apparently was out in it. It concerns me a little since this was the way it started when the new female showed up and ran my first Mama off last year.


This message was edited Jun 18, 2008 7:12 AM

Here is Papa chasing her across the street later in the morning. You can see she has dried by this time

That portrait with all 5 is so precious...2 wallets please(J/k!)

I sure hope that floozey isn't making any moves on Papa and planning to run of Mama....oh dear!

Oh boy. Do you have one nesting box, dave?

It's not the Old Mom, is it? Come to get her man back?

If it had been her, I suspect the current Mama would have been more involved. As it was, she sat in a tree 20 feet away and just watched the whole thing. Anyway, this one is a much darker gray on her head and back.

Who knows? It could be a female from a previous clutch of his, wanting a few mealworms. Papa would be more likely to do the chasing in such a case. In the incident last year, he stood by while the females fought. He only fought with the new one after his previous mate had been defeated, then he fought with the new one for three or four days before he accepted her. It was then she began to get rid of the nestlings and he did not stop her.

As far as the younger female (or male) challenging the older one, I guess it's nature's way. If they can't hold off the youngsters, it's probably time to retire. It probably happens a lot more often than we realize since so much of what they do is away from our sight.

Well, it is already time to end this thread. I'd like to leave you with a smile. Here is a fledgling and his Mama waiting for breakfast this morning.

Don't know if he is being playfull or what. As she gets set to fly, he grabs for her tail feathers.

It's hard to see because of the back lighting, but he does grab hold.

And like any mother, she hardly seems to notice.

That is sooo sweet!

How cute! Kids will be kids...

How adorable! I love them all. Thanks Dave.
Kim

Wonderful thread Dave. Your photos are always such a treat. Thank you so much for sharing this adventure with us. Please keep us posted on the bluebird family.

Janet

Oh that's so sad. Were you able to interfere when she was getting rid of the nestlings? I hope that doesn't happen again.

The fledgling is just like any little kid! How cute.

What? getting rid of the nestlings? where? What have I missed? Ohhhh noooooo!

Hmmm, old thread…

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/811818/

about 1/4 of the way down you can read Dave's story (begins with a 6PM post).

Dave - thank you for sharing the awesome journey of your BB's! Your photos and your writing share so much of what really goes on with the BB's. I give you credit for the three BB's that have hatched from my new box - the knowledge you've shared has helped me know what to do. Mama was building a new nest when I last saw her before I left for vacation. I'll check on it to see if the sparrow spooker needs to go back up in a couple of days. I love seeing your great pics of the process.

Dave, Janet from Texas stole the words from my computer or maybe directly from my mind. Thank you so much.

Looking forward to the next thread Dave!

Dave, those are the most awesome pictures and I just love all the comments along with them. You had me chuckling with their anticts. Wonderful!

Dave's started Bluebirds # 10 http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/865530/