Search for a new Papa

In case you didn't see it in OP Birder's thread, I lost my male bluebird today. It was trapped in an empty nestbox and killed by a house sparrow (HOSP). That happened about 8:30 this morning. I am thinking of posting pictures of his body on my website. They are pretty graphic but they show what happens when a bluebird and a male HOSP tangle. Anyone who thinks these two species can live in harmony should see them. When I removed Papa's body, the floor of the nestbox was litteraly covered with small feathers, all blue. I didn't see a single HOSP feather and when I took pictures of the HOSP on the nestbox, he looked unruffled and he still had a small blue feather in his beak. Anyone who wants to see these pictures should send me a D-mail and I'll give you a link.


Things have been happening fast. Mama remains on the nest, incubating her five eggs. This afternoon we had a severe thunderstorm. When it was winding down, I saw a male bluebird in the back yard. I have NEVER seen a male bluebird in the yard in all the years while Papa was alive. The word sure got around quickly. This bluebird was on the same box Papa died in. I still had the VanErt trap in that box so I ran down and removed it. When he went inside he came out with one of Papa's feathers in his beak. I think he must have showed it to Mama because right after that, she also went inside the box. But then she flew back to her nest. For at least 2 hours before dark he sat on the fence and serenaded Mama. I have never heard such singing and wing-waving. But I was most amazed that all this was happening just 7 hours after Papa was killed.

Now I am wondering if Mama will accept him and if so, whether he will insist on her abandoning her eggs, or whether he will attract a different mate and then chase Mama out of HIS territory. There are many possibilities and while I am still saddened at the loss of my friend of 5 years, I am fascinated by bluebird behavior and very curious as to how this will all play out.

I took many, many pictures. Here are a few. This first one is of Papa and was taken yesterday.

Dave

Here is the new male with the blue feather in his bill.

I certainly look at HOSP with different eyes these days, Dave, that is for sure. The harsh inequities of a manmade problem are really hard to take.

That is an amazing tale of another male showing up HOURS after Papa died......really and truly. Please keep us posted! Have you ever had to keep a clutch going without a male? Can a female manage it if a human helps out with the food supply? I think these thoughts if our Papa is missing for more than an hour or two. He was gone for hours today and I was really worried.

Sorry about the last post. I though I had a picture attached but something happened.

Yes, I have heard of females hatching, brooding and fledging alone (with human help). Of course, the opposite is not possible since male bluebirds are among those that do not have a brooding patch. They can do it alone once the nestlings are five or six days old.

Here is the HOSP. I think you can see a feather on his beak.

Here is the new male with the blue feathers in his beak I meant to attach two posts back.

Here he is on the fence near the nestbox, serenading Mama

Boy, do I shiver to see that HOSP picture. That photo captures their "special" personalty perfectly.

The new male is gorgeous! Hope that she accepts him!

Here he is looking in the box. A second later Mama flew out in his face. He has not gone insde the box yet. That may happen tomorrow. Of course, more males may show up too, so 'most anything may happen.

Here are a few more shots of the male.

In flight

Another

Great photos, Dave....as always!!

And another

Sundial photo is fab!!

Another shot of the new male

Here's poor Mama. Just after the rain, I guess

I like this shot of Mama with the raindrop bouncing off her head.

One last shot until I go look for some more.

Wonderful pics Dave, I love em!

Here's one more. Seems he can't get those darned feathers out of his mouth.

He was very wet in most of these. I am anxious to see how he looks when he is dry.

Thanks, here's one more. Hard to believe it's the same bird.

Last shot for tonight. Thanks for looking.

He is very handsome!

Gorgeous bird. Really sad about Papa, but hopefully all will work out OK. He certainly produced some fine Bluebirds during his 5 years.

Well, he's out there and still at it this morning. Constant singing. You know, I never once heard Papa sing in the five years he was here. I heard him chirp when surprised, or when approaching the nestbox, but that was it. I used to wonder what people meant when they talked about the bluebirds singing. Also, I really wonder if this bird is one of Papa's offspring. It took him quite some time to figure out how to get into the cage feeder. All chicks that have fledged from one of my nestboxes were very skilled at getting into the feeder. Of course, they could forget. I am not schooled on bluebird memory. :-)

He has been in the nestbox this morning, apparently checking out the eggs, but so far he hasn't done anything to the eggs or the nest. He spends quite some time on and in the area of the NABS box, where Papa was killed. He often has feathers in his beak when he comes out of the box. Mama comes out of the Wilkerson PVC box and seems to flirt with him (wing-waving, flying together), but she soon returns to incubating her eggs and he to singing.

Here are a few random shots. It is still very early and the sun is a problem in some of them.

Another shot of the new male. I have already taken almost 1,000 shots of him.

Another. Incidentally Rose, these few were taken with the 100-400mm zoom

One more.

Switching to the 300mm lens. When he wants to come out, she'd best move quickly.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2009 8:26 PM

Here he is singing. He frares his tail feathers each time. The pink you see behind him is the last of our peonies.

A similar shot.

Ditto what GP said.

I think a lot of folks don't seem to understand that when they feed birds or put up birdhouses, they are interfering with Nature. We often rationalize that we are making things 'better' for the birds, but as we see sometimes feeding and housing birds has unintended consequences.

I managed wildlife habitat on a much larger scale than a yard for years. I have no problems in restoring the balance to the imbalance I've created by feeding. I was active in quail conservation for years and see similarities between feeding birds in the yard and feeding wild quail. There is no evidence that feeding wild quail increases their populations. There is evidence that it congregates them and makes them easier to find for humans and predators.

Sorry about Papa, Dave.

Oh Dave...I am sorry, horrified & sad to read about Papa Blue!!! That has to be heartbreaking for you and I know you will miss your friend.

I will be watching to see what happens now. Like you I am finding bird behavior very fascinating....very few things seem absolute in the bird world!

Great pics Dave!

Hoping all goes well for this new team. Has Mama been eating?

Beautiful shots Dave and the new male is very gorgeous. I will miss Papa and am glad you got such a lovely last image of him.

I hope the rest of the nesting season is uneventful and successful! Please keep us updated.

Yes, Pele, she seems to be taking it in stride. If I hadn't watched it all happen I would not have noticed the change from Papa to this new male. A few minutes ago he brought her some meal worms and she accepted them. He sat for a long while preening just a few feet from my window. I took lots of pictures and will post a few.

Red, this situation wasn't caused by my feeding the bluebirds, but it was caused by my offering housing to them. As far as interfering with nature is concerned, consider the humans who brought the house sparrows and european starlings to this country 150 years ago. For centuries before that time, bluebirds and other native cavity nesters flourished on this continent, finding housing in abandoned woodpecker holes and other cavities, mostly in dead trees. As the house sparrow population has exploded, the population of these native species has suffered. In many areas bluebirds totally disappeared. But for the efforts of humans, who build and monitor bluebird trails, some with hundreds of houses, and even those like me who host bluebirds in their backyards, the species would have never rebounded the way it has. If this is interfering with nature, then I plead guilty.

This house sparrow wanted to nest in that nestbox. Papa tried to defend it and paid the price bluebirds always pay in a fight with the house sparrows.

My blues would nest in my yard even if I didn't feed them.

Thanks Rose, his adaptation and her acceptance has been unbelievable. I just hope she continues to incubate the eggs. He spens a lot of time going in and out of the other nestbox and if it weren't for her active nest in the other box, I would think he was trying to interest her in building a nest in the NABS style box. Maybe he is. I will watch and report.

stretching