Bluebirds 2014

Do we have a new Bluebird thread for 2014? If not I will start one here. It has been a hectic year trying to get the blues started with the late winter and spring snowstorms and cold. I have been watching my bluebird house in the back yard since March for signs of nest building but every time I checked I found that they were still using it for roosting on the cold evenings. I would take it down and clean it out and put it up again.

Then yesterday as I was mowing the lawn I stopped by the box and found that my pair had built a nest and had one little blue egg in it. This morning there was another egg, so if my calculations are correct, we should see hatchlings around May 4th. I will get some photos when the sun comes out again.

David in Stafford, Va

We a have a Spring storm that my Mom calls the "Bluebird storm" because the Mountain Bluebirds always show up immediately before and during a spring snowstorm. This is hard on the poor birds, but apparently they do this every year.

This has been a crazy and unpredictable winter and spring.

Here are a couple of photos of the female bluebird sunning herself this morning - probably after she laid the third egg.

Anyone else have successful nestings of the bluebirds?

David in Stafford, Va

Fourth egg laid this morning. It is clear and cool, bright sun but not very warm.almost 60 with a breeze from the north.

David in Stafford. VA

What are the dimensions of your house? Obviously the birds think it is the right size.

Awww, congrats David in Stafford. It has been a tough winter for my Blues. Last year Raccoons damaged their nest twice. This year, tried as I might; setting up millies out on a regular basic... I managed to have a pair hung around over winter. But I took off for 2 weeks vacation out West. I came home, and the Blue Birds have left my garden. Please keep us posted on your BBs, I'm happy for your success.

Thanks pollen and Lily. pollen - the nest box is a standard Petersen, about 7.5" x 6.5" x 12" tall. The interior base footprint is about 5.5" x 5". I have installed a make-shift heat shield made of scrap T-111 board to help with the sun during the hot months in Virginia. I have included a photo of the house.

Lily, sorry about your wayward birds. Keep the nestbox clean and maybe they will show up for the "second" nesting.

Did a recalculation on the hatch date. It should be May 8 or 9. I will let you know when the female starts sitting for good.

David in Stafford, VA

This message was edited Apr 24, 2014 7:35 PM

And the 5th one laid this morning. Now begins the incubation for 14 days.

David in Stafford, VA

Oh how wonderful! Thanks David for sharing the news.

As I mentioned to you in a private message, David, one of mine is sitting on five eggs that should hatch today. She had three different styled boxes to choose from and she chose a Gilbertson PVC nest box. The tree swallows out in the front yard also have eggs but I don't check them as regularly. But they picked a PVC box as well.

Thanks Dave. Good to hear from you. I hope to see a photo or two of your birds in the future.

David in North Stafford

This house was already up at the new place. Too small and hole too large but they are nesting. My usual ones at the old place seem to be doing ok also.

Four of the five eggs hatched yesterday and the chicks all look healthy (and hungry). I am in the basement watching on the nest cam and hope to see the fifth one hatch at any minute. I am not yet concerned since she laid the fifth egg the day after she began incubating the first four. And she is still turning the unhatched egg. I have heard that the female can actually detect movement inside the egg from early in the incubation process. But on the other hand, I have heard of females sitting on infertile eggs for as long as a month before they abandon the effort. Maybe when there is movement they can feel it but when there is none, they are not so sure, so they hang in there.

I have a camera on a tripod set up on the front porch, that I can operate by wireless remote. Yesterday I watched her remove two egg shells, but I didn't get a picture. This is a very rare sight. I have only seen it once before and that was 10 years ago. I did get a picture at that time but my cameras are so much better today that I would love a better one. It is rare because almost always the female will eat the shells as soon as the egg hatches, and thus replenish her lost calcium.

In the pictures you see Papa arriving with something delicious for the babies. He will transfer it to Mama who will feed the newly hatched chicks. In the last three shots you see Papa trying to defend an empty NABS-style box that is about 25 feet from the PVC box the bluebirds are using. A pair of tree swallows would like to nest there but Papa initially was opposed to the idea. But, as you can see in the last shot, Papa didn't do so well in the fight and it was Papa who retreated when it was over, so maybe Papa will have a change of mind. Another pair of tree swallows are nesting in the PVC box in the front yard and they generally tolerate each other.

Sorry, but I uploaded the uncropped version of the fourth photo. It's not that great but I like to be consistent.

Dave, Good to hear about the hatch and I really like the photos. I hope that the 5th egg if viable and hatches soon.

David in Stafford, VA

I believe it has hatched. I don't see an egg any longer and I think I count five little heads in there. They wiggle around so much it is hard to be sure. In any event, I didn't get the picture I had hoped for. This multitasking is for the birds. LOL.

Congrats Dave on the little ones. Love love your pictures of the papa blue and tree swallow competing for the nest box.

Still awaiting the hatch (due May 7th or 8th). In the mean time here are a few photos of the parent birds taking a break from the "sitting" duties. Also a male cardinal feed in in the yard.

We have 4 hatchlings, 3 this morning and another this afternoon. There was still one egg unhatched at around 4:00 PM but I am not going to check again until tomorrow. Here is a photo of the 4 and the unhatched egg. I believe that I only got 3 of the 4 in the photo.

How wonderful! Congratulations David. Best wishes. Thanks for sharing your blue birds success. Wishing the fifth will come along.

Here are a few pictures from today. The first four are of Mama bringing insects to the nest box. There are five little ones in there and watching them on the nest cam, they seem very well feathered and are already stretching their wings. They are due to fledge on Wednesday. The fifth picture shows Papa wing-waving as Mama approaches. Both are enthusiastic wing-wavers.

The 5th one hatched early this morning. I saw the male sitting on a block enjoying the sun as I went out to check the box. One seems to be hungry.

Today is day 15 for the five in this box. They are already doing some serious peeking and they are very crowded in this little nest box. Hope they don't fledge before they are able to fly well. This was taken before 7:00 a.m., so the light is a little weak.

Congrats to the both of you Dave and David. I am vacationing in the Southwest. DH at home back East feeds my Blue Birds for me but he said they are not nesting in the garden this spring. Thanks for sharing your BBS success stories.

A lot of time has passed since I last posted on this thread, so here is an update. All five fledged successfully, and all are still doing well. They are all weaned and still hanging around. Mama wasted no time in building a second nest in the same box and two of the four eggs hatched today. Here are a few pictures. The first two are about a week old, when they were still being fed. The next two are more recent.

Sweet little ones, 2ndcousindave! Our first brood is in a Gilbertson box, but I notice yours has a different top. What is that?

I like the idea of perches near your box, bluebirdsnbells. Ours have been using the power line above the box, or some nearby trees.

Chillybean, I wanted to install a nest cam in that box. Because of its design, there is no room to mount it inside a PVC box so at the suggestion of Bet Zimmerman Smith, who owns and maintains the great bluebird website, www.Sialis.org, I drilled a hole in the roof and aimed the camera down through the hole, then I put a PVC end cap over it to cover the camera and keep the weather out. That is what you see. Oh yes, I also tacked a board on the back that serves as a perch.

It has been a while. The first 5 fledged on May 27 - I missed them again. It took the pair a while to start a new nest but we had 4 hatch on July 4. I hope to get a photo tomorrow.

David in North Stafford

from June 12 post:

" I like the idea of perches near your box, bluebirdsnbells. Ours have been using the power line above the box, or some nearby trees."

Chillybean,

I put that "perch" about 30 feet from the box. There are trees to the right, left and in back of the box about 60 feet away. My original intent was to hang a mealworm feeder there but have not bought one yet. The woods in back and to the right seem to be full of good things to eat as I see both parents with bugs and larva in their beaks waiting on the perch to feed the young.

I think it may be awhile before we set up a video camera. We have so many we'd like to watch that it'd be hard to decide which one/s. Probably if we set one up, it would be for the Kestrels. That box is the furthest away from the house and we sure would not want to nest check that one weekly.

We bought four more shepherd hooks for perches. Two are by the BB box and two by the south Tree Swallow box. We have three older ones in the front yard and only one actually has a feeder on it. The Porch (Barn) Swallows use those plenty.

Our BBs are sneaky, for sure. We didn't see any fledge, nor did we see any of the second nest being worked on. My son still checks all boxes every week and was surprised to find that nest. Monday were four eggs. Yesterday, I actually saw a male at the hole.

The male is kind of wimpy, but now that the North Tree Swallow neighbours have left the box, he is building up courage and actually got a Robin off his box. That was usually Mr. Tree Swallow's job.