Bluebird thread #11

Also, I wanted to correct some misinformation I gave you a couple weeks ago. About five percent of blue birds make it to breeding age according to Dave H. of the New York State Blue Bird Society. Of the approximately five hundred banded babies that successfully fledge in his territory, 3-4 are identified the following year. Not all of them, obviously, are identified because not many people trap blue birds intentionally checking for leg bands.

Hope all is well with you, Dave.

I am fine, thanks. My new female is sitting on her three eggs and should hatch them tomorrow, if I am counting right. Here she is today

And here is equal time for Papa.

Oh boy! Can't wait.

Well one hatched during the night.

I have been watching a second egg that seems to have cracks but nothing yet.

This is the egg I am watching.

Here's a close up showing the crack.

Here's a closer shot.

When I checked five minutes later, the shell was completely gone.

Wow they don't waste any time! Excellent pics Dave! Thank You!

Wow. Great pictures, as always.

Dave,

Beautiful pics and shots of all the Bluebirds! Always love all the nestlings, fledglings and juvies, esp,!

I was trying to catch up on your other Bluebird threads and I was wondering, what happened with the new Bluebird female that showed up? (the second new female, as the present one was a new female last year).

I must have missed reading it, but what happened to the eggs already laid? Did the new female destroy them? Did she chase off the female that laid the eggs? Thanks!

Love all the pics, stories and 'soap opera' of the Bluebirds that you witness and share!

Marilyn

This message was edited Jul 16, 2008 2:30 PM

Beautiful Dave...I enjoy your threads so much!

Thanks everyone. The third one hatched this afternoon.

Marilyn:

Here is a recap, from memory. I hope I can keep it straight.

My second female (the one that ousted my long time Mama last year) was apparently run off by this new one. It happened after she had laid five eggs in her third nest of this year. I found a lot of blue feathers in the grass under the nestbox and haven't seen her since that time. This new one was hanging around the area a couple of days before and on the day I found the feathers she was flying all around the yard, wing waving at Papa and trying to get into the nestbox. For 2 days she kept shadowing him and he repeatedly chased her away when she would come near and he would not let her into the box. The fledglings from the previous clutch were coming to the feeder on their own and starting to feed themselves. Papa would stand guard for them and occasionally feed them when they begged but he would not allow the new female to eat from the feeder.

I did not remove the nest at first. I guess I wanted to see what would happen -- whether she would destroy the eggs or whether the female who laid the eggs would come back. She didn't and after 2 days Papa accepted the new one and they were wing waving at each other as if they were old time buddies. I checked the eggs and they were cold and moist on a morning when we had a heavy dew. I don't think Mama had even begun to incubate them anyway. The next day I saw the new wench bringing grass to the nestbox. She had started a nest on top of the five eggs. At that point I removed the old nest and eggs and moved it to my workshop where it still is.

She completed the nest within 2 or 3 days. We had to go to West Virginia on June 26. We got back on the 28th and again, I found a male HOSP in the nestbox and the BBs all upset. I checked the nest and it was in shambles. The next day I caught him and took him to another location. In the following days the nest box had one egg, then two, then three. These are the three that hatched today. I have never before had a BB lay just three eggs and it makes me wonder if she might have begun laying while we were gone to West Virginia and the HOSP might have destroyed the first couple of eggs when he tore up the nest.

This new female was obviously famished when Papa finally let her start coming to the feeder. She had been following him full time for about three days, and not looking for food for herself. At first she waited until the fledglings ate but she quickly gained her confidence and flew up to the feeder while the fledglings were feeding. A few days later she was flying up in their faces if they would beg from her. But at that point Papa was still feeding them on occasion. After about a week, he started ignoring them, then chasing them and in a few days after that, they were gone. Four of them came back after being gone two days and I haven't seen any of them since.

At first the new female could not figure how to get into the cage feeder and it was cute watching Papa show her how. She can do it now but it is awkward so I usually feed them in the open so it is easier for her. She is still a little afraid of me but seems to be getting over it.

This message was edited Jul 16, 2008 7:20 PM

Just amazing. You and the blue birds have been fantastic teachers. Thanks.

Dave,
your pics of the hatching match my experience. the one of the 2nd egg with pip marks on it and the other egg to its right looked to me as if ist too had begun the process with what appeared to be a bulge at the top.... let me know on that , pleaseur shots,, I'm curious.....Also Dave, could you please clarify for me the process of putting pics into a thread, I am having difficulty & inconsistancy and cannot figure what I am doing right when they show up nor what I am doing wrong, or not doing when my pics will not come thru. .....
I sure admire your photographs. (LOL my planned lense turned into roof repair and a root canal/crown!!), but theres always tomorrow.
Wing waves,
BirdieBlue

Dave, what wonderful photos. The babies are so embryonic. They look exhausted from the effort. Your recapitulation for marilyn is so informative.

Here they are this morning. Now 48 hours old

A better view

So ugly that they are cute.

They're NAKED!
;))

Did Don King model his hairstyle after a baby BB?

Very cute!

Ooooooooooooohhh They are all eyes and mouth. Poor little nekkid bluebabies. Can't wait until they get some feathers.

Janet

Does the one that sleeps with it's mouth open snore?? Or do you think that is a new strategy on being the 1st to get the next bite?

Here they are a few minutes ago -- 3 days old. That one really likes to sleep on his back.

In some of the shots I can see just the beginning of stubble that will soon be feathers. But for now, on their backs, just a lot of fuzz. On their bellies, not much of anything.

Actually, not that much fuzz.

Here are a few shots of Papa and his new mate. She is still a bit skitish but she's coming around. First a shot of Papa wing-waving.

And here he heads to the nestbox with a worm.

And here is the new Mama. First a couple of backlit shots.

If it will only let me load them.

She is still intiminated by Papa too. Here she sits and watches while he sits on the feeder alone.

After a while she thinks about jumping up there with him...

But she thinks better of it...

When he leaves, she finally gets her chance and she eats her fill. Here she is leaving the feeder.

A lot of people are opposed to feeding the BBs mealworms all the time, arguing that they are diet-deficient and that the birds become dependent on them. I am not convinced about the diet part and I think I disagree with the dependency argument. I think the birds take them when they cant find food. But in summer, especially when it is hot, as it is now (95 to 100 degrees all week), the blues often pass up the mealworms. And they instinctively know what to feed their babies. Today it is spiders.

Here are a couple of shots of the adults bringing food to the nestlings. First, Papa

And Mama

holy mole, those are big spiders.

What a Huge spider!! Do you think the Papa BB breakes it up? Looks awfully big for a single nestling @ the size they are now, don't you think??

The new Mama is very pretty!