25 replies to this topic

[threeofhardts]

This is the third attempt this year for the Bluebirds in my backyard. I had lost hope for this brood because I hadn't seen the male since around the 11th of June and I worried that the female would be able to care for her babies.

On Saturday, three of the little darlins hatched and by Sunday, the fourth entered the world. And best of all...there is a male helping to care for them. Whether it's the original male or not, I'm not sure. But mom has help to raise these babies and I'm ecstatic!





There are four of them...one is buried under its siblings.

[spyonabird]

I saw your video on youtube. great stuff !

[sailormom64]

YAY! Good thing they get a lot cuter as they grow up eh? LOL

[Clip]

Threeofhardts-Very cool!

[threeofhardts]

YAY! Good thing they get a lot cuter as they grow up eh? LOL

It sure is. They are all eyes right now!

I saw your video on youtube. great stuff !

Here's a link to the video...Mom & Dad

[sailormom64]

Saw the video! Excellent! The females I have had are not so "take charge" though....This male that I have right now is not nearly as active as the first male we had, but he feeds the babies, and gives it to them himself. My female bluebird doesn't even look like a bluebird at all, she is not colored as nicely as my other female was. Three I am so happy everything is going well!

[threeofhardts]

Thanks sailormom64, I am thrilled to have them here. I sat in the backyard and watched them for quite a while this morning.

My female is colored a bit differently, too. She seems darker, more gray, than other females I've seen.

[sailormom64]

Thanks sailormom64, I am thrilled to have them here. I sat in the backyard and watched them for quite a while this morning.

My female is colored a bit differently, too. She seems darker, more gray, than other females I've seen.

I don't get to watch mine as much as I would like to, but it sure is fun to watch them taking care of those little ones! My female is very dark gray or almost black depending on the lighting and not as brightly colored on the front. My babies are not bald anymore, they are all fuzzy but their eyes are still closed. But they are getting prettier each day! It is amazing how fast they grow.
I do have a mockingbird trying to take "ownership" of my entire yard, all my feeders, and he even landed on the bluebird house.........but he was quickly chased off the house by the mom. I think the goldfinches are building nests now, the only ones that are coming to the feeders are the males. I don't know where they nest or what their nest looks like but I want them to do well this year too. It seems like the males are fussing over the feeders too, chasing each other off, so probably trying to "stake a claim" on the feeders, so I have spread out my thistle feeders so they don't fight as much. But they behave so nicely when they are trying to get a drink out of the fountain, no fights at all!

[threeofhardts]

The babies are 6 days old today. We're in the midst of a heat wave here and the nesting box is in the middle of an open field. Yesterday, it was 92 degrees at 10:00AM. When I went to check on them, they were all panting and seemed to be in distress. In an effort to cool them down I used a hose clamp to hook an umbrella onto the post to give the box some shade. I worried that perhaps the parents would object to it but soon after I had put it up, the female came and sat on top of the nesting box. She seemed to appreciate the shade.

I also wet down the outside of the box with cool water and let a few drops of water drip from my finger into the babies' mouths...one at a time. They soon stopped panting and seemed to be doing better.

Here they are:

[sailormom64]

How cute! It has been hot here too, but when I checked on mine they seemed fine. It is supposed to be really hot here the next few days and your umbrella idea sounds like a winner to keep some of the sun off the box. My box does get some shade from trees as the sun comes up and then when the sun goes down, but the hottest part of the day the box is out in the open with the sun beating down on it. When I checked on them today the sun was full force and they were not panting, they looked all cozy. I whistled and they all opened their mouths, so they seem alert too. But the yard was full of birds when I turned the sprinklers on this evening, all trying to get a break from the heat.

[Carolina]

Absolutely great shots! What great Godparenting on your part too. The umbrella idea was inspired & probably life saving.

We are HOT! HOT! HOT! here too. Just dumped all the ice from my freezer in my birdbaths.

[threeofhardts]

The heat wave continues and I have been checking on the babies everyday. No more panting and they seem to be thriving. The umbrella is still there. Luckily, we haven't had any strong winds to blow it away. It's supposed to remain in the 90's throughout the week. Once they have fledged I'm going to try to find a spot that gets some shade during the hottest part of the day. Where I had it before did get shade from 1:00PM on but something attacked the nest so I moved it to the field.

I've seen lots of birds at the bird bath but so far, none of them take advantage of the fountain I have nearby. I've been changing the water in the bath a couple times a day to try to keep it fresh. It sure is HOT!

[sailormom64]

Three I put one up over mine too, the parents freaked out at first and tried to knock it down, but soon enough they just went back to feeding and changing diapers! Thanks for sharing that idea, it really helped to keep things cooler. I have never seen the bluebirds use my fountain I put up, but the chickadees, goldfinches, titmice and housefinches all use it to get a drink. But I have seen the cardinals and bluebirds in a puddle near my sprinkler. My bluebird babies should fledge around the 9th.

[threeofhardts]

sailormom64 ~ That's funny that the parents tried to knock down your umbrella. My pair seemed to pay no attention to it. We've had some rain overnight and a bit today. The wind picked up and I was afraid the umbrella would go sailing away. So I reinforced it with another hose clamp.



I hope you're not getting tired of pics but here's one of the babies at 10 days old. After the 5th I won't be able to get pics of them until they start peeking out the opening. Don't want to frighten them into fledging early.



They should be ready to fly the coop on or about July 11th-12th. I'll be on vacation and hope to be able to capture their first flights on video. I'm so excited that they've made it this far.

[sailormom64]

Love love love the pics! I haven't taken any of mine recently, but I have been keeping my eye on them. Both parents settled right back into their routine and the umbrella just seems like it has been there the whole time! Like you, we had some storms here, and the wind turned the umbrella inside out, also it looked a little shaky, so I put some extra cable ties on mine to make sure it doesn't go flying in the wind.
I hope you catch their flights on video or at least a picture or two, that would be cool! Mine are due to fledge on the 9th I think, but I leave on vacation on the 11th, and I am hoping i get to see them flee the nest before I go! (The last bunch did not fledge on the day that we had calculated, they waited two days!) But if you are able to get some pics or video, it will make up for it!

[threeofhardts]

The temps have gone down a bit but it's still mighty warm. I checked on the babies today and they're looking good. 15 days old...



As you can see, they've been busy white-washing the inside walls. They've also started peeking out the hole a little bit and I saw one flapping it's wings inside the box. They haven't climbed up and stuck their heads out yet. Probably in the next day or two.

[sailormom64]

Mine fledged this morning! I saw them peeking out of the hole this morning and had a couple of errands to run. When I got home I saw one of the parent birds across the street and so I checked....the box was empty! I saw the female twice today come over and get a drink of water, and the male was still getting bugs to feed the youngsters. There is a huge cluster of trees across the street and my guess is that is where they have taken them for now, that is where they always went back to when leaving my yard.
Good luck three, I hope you get that picture or video!

[Carolina]

I never ever get tired of your pictures. You have got some fantastic shots! Thank you so much for sharing them. Always look forward to your updates.

[threeofhardts]

Oh sailormom64 - congratulations! It's a bittersweet day, I'm sure. Always wonderful to see them succeed but I miss them when they're gone.

...I never ever get tired of your pictures....

Thanks beaufortbirder. In that case, here's some more!

What you lookin' at?

Mom - Incognito (kinda)

Dad checking in on the gang

Who Goes There?

A Bird's Eye View From Behind Walls

[threeofhardts]

Here's a link to a video of the Babies peeking out.