Winter Bluebird

With the mild winter we've had, it seems some Bluebirds have stuck around. I saw this one in the backyard this morning. He pulled an earthworm from the ground then went up into the tree and ate it.



I also saw my old friend, 'Cheesehead' - the Red-shouldered Hawk:

Very Disappointed

Thanks to the House Wrens (HOWR) and the House Sparrows (HOSP) I'd pretty much given up on having any Bluebirds to enjoy this summer. But last week I moved their nesting box out to the middle of the field, away from trees, which HOWRs like (trees, that is). I was hoping there would still be time for Bluebirds to come and raise a family.

This morning I saw a Bluebird sitting on top of the nesting box. As I watched him for a bit, he went inside then came out and flew to the pole where the box used to be. He sat there for a minute or two. Once he flew away I walked out back and looked inside the nesting box. There was the beginning of a HOWR nest inside. I cleaned it out then moved the box over to the original pole hoping the Bluebird would return.

Since that stupid HOWR had started a nest, I decided to put one of the PVC nesting tubes on the pole in the field, hoping he would leave the Bluebird box alone. Shortly after I'd put the tube up, the HOWR returned and started removing the wood chips inside it. Here's a video.

I never saw the Bluebird return today.

I'm fighting a losing battle but there's no way I'm letting another HOWR make more babies in my backyard. The 7 babies in the other nestbox are about 1 week old. Here's a pic of the little devils...

Just when I needed them most

Just before sunset I saw a pair of Bluebirds checking out the nestbox. Wish I knew if they're the same pair who raised 5 babies here last Summer. I didn't get any pics because it was fairly dark and they didn't hang around long.

I'm so looking forward to warmer weather and some younguns again!

The Bluebirds were back today

There were at least four of them. This image isn't very good so I circled the ones that were sitting in the tree.



They kept going in and out of the nestbox and I watched one of them eat some poke berries.





They stayed for quite a while checking things out.

The picnic table:



The Swing:





Sure wish I knew if these were my babies!

New Sightings

With migration in full force I've seen a few new birds this week. Besides the Hairy Woodpecker and the Invisible Hawk, this White-crowned Sparrow was here yesterday. He's more than likely headed south.



And today I spotted this Eastern Towhee who is also on his way out of Michigan. Sure wish I could go with him.



A bluebird also stopped by this afternoon. I wonder if he will stick around.

I wonder...

I was watching the birds at my feeder hoping to see something new, maybe a bird migrating south for the winter, when I noticed this little guy land on the bluebird nestbox. My eyesight isn't good enough to see that far so I grabbed my binoculars to see what kind of bird it was.

To my delight it was a bluebird. Could this be one of my babies who has come back home? I'd like to think so. He hung around for a while and sat on top of the swing frame for a bit. At one point I believe he was flying with one or two other bluebirds in the field out back but it was hard to see.

Empty Nest Syndrome

This morning the remaining 4 babies left the nest. The video shows the last two. I was able to capture one of them taking off but the last one seemed to be having trouble and my memory card filled up before I could capture him/her taking flight.

He sat there for the longest time while both parents came to encourage him over and over again. At one point the mama was hanging by the opening when the baby popped out, knocking her away.

The poor thing seemed scared to death. He tried to take off two or three times, changed his mind, then pulled himself back inside...folding one of his wings backwards as he went back in. I was worried that he had injured himself.

I'm so excited that all five have survived. What a wonderful journey this has been! Now I have to clean out the box so they can do it all over again.

I'm going to miss them. :o(

One Has Flown the Coop

At 3:55PM I saw one of the little ones take flight. He/She flew right toward the house. I hadn't cleared my memory card yet so I didn't catch it...dog gone it! Then I was afraid to leave my 'post' because I wanted to see if the rest would follow. So far, all I've seen leave is the one.

Shortly before take-off:



8:52PM: I can still see at least three babies inside the box. It's been so hot that they have got to be miserable in there. They keep peeking out and looking around. My guess is they will be gone tomorrow. I just hope I'll be able to watch them as they go.

Get on Outta Here!

I was inside the house looking out the bathroom window while trying to catch the babies in flight on video. Mama didn't like it. She came right up near me to let me know, in no uncertain terms, that she was not happy. Daddy was there, too but my memory card filled up before I could capture him.



Still haven't seen them fly but they are getting antsy. One of them jumped up and sat in the opening for a few seconds. It didn't last long enough for me to catch it on video.

What on earth am I gonna do once they're gone! LOL

Peek-a-boo!

Still haven't seen them try to fly but they are spending a lot of time peeking out of the opening.

Hey! Come back here. I wasn't done yet!

The babies are able to climb up enough to peek out the opening of the birdhouse. The male had just fed one of them, then took off. The baby stuck his head out for just a second.

Here's a 'poor quality' video. It's the first one I've shot and I don't know what I'm doing so it's really hard to see!



I thought for sure they would be taking short flights today. Maybe tomorrow.

Babies...and some non-pleasant stuff

It looks like one, possibly two males and the rest are females. They are getting so big and they're crammed in there so tight that you can barely see the nest anymore. This will be the last picture I'll take of them while they are still in the nest. Four of them will be 13 days old tomorrow and they should be strong enough to cling to the opening and look out. By Sunday they will be capable of short flight.

There's poop all over the walls inside the house. Once they've finally left the nest for good I'll have to clean it out to get it ready for a second brood.

More news on the work situation. I've spoken with the union steward and was given the same old tired line that's used every time you try to get help from that worthless, commie organization, "There's nothing we can do."

Useless!

I also talked with my manager and the same thing happened to her when she had her last baby. She was off on leave for 3 months but they don't call it 'maternity leave' anymore. Now it's called short-term disability. Funny, I didn't know having a child made you disabled.

Whatever!!!

This has upset me so much that I've been sick for 3 days. It's a bear going to work when you feel like crap. Today I was so upset that I broke down in tears and had to take a break after only being there an hour and a half.

I have never been so angry in my life. Usually I get over being mad but this is just not right. I figured out how much money I would lose if I took my vacations and personal days anyway, plus what I'm going to lose for all the holidays and it's over $1,000.00.

I hope I can get over this stomach problem because I have to work til 7:30 tomorrow then be back at 6:00AM Sunday morning. I've barely eaten and am very weak. To top it all off, it's yet another holiday weekend. (A holiday for which I'll be losing pay that I've earned). Plus, I'll have to start keeping Gary in tomorrow night so he doesn't eat my babies while they're learning how to fly. He's not going to be happy and will more than likely cry all night. He hates being indoors in the Summer.

Sure hope that stray cat is long gone by now. I haven't seen it for a few days but I've been at work, so who knows where he/she is.

God please help me get past this anger.

The babies are starting to look like birds

Their eyes are open now and it's still very hard to tell if there are five babies. They did not move a muscle when I opened the box but I can see them breathing so I know they're alive.

By July 5th or 6th the little ones will start to fledge. I'll have to keep my cat Gary inside. But last night I discovered another predator. A stray cat has been coming around. Couldn't happen at a worse time. I seem to attract strays for some reason!

The parents feed them all day long. Yesterday, the mama was sitting on top of the box with a cricket in her mouth. I could see it squirming.

She sat there for the longest time, then finally went inside.

Here's a new visitor to my backyard. It's a White-Breasted Nuthatch. I saw it for the first time yesterday. It shares the suet cakes with the Downy Woodpeckers.

The babies are almost 6 days old

They're getting a little bigger and you can see the blue color on some of them. I can't tell if they're getting feathers yet or if it's still just fuzz.When I open the box they all stick their heads up and open their mouths so wide that you can no longer see the rest of their heads. They are so precious!

 

Look who else came back for a visit. I believe I've seen his mate but she looks very different from him. It's hard to tell if it is a female grosbeak.

You'll never guess what I'm going to 'talk' about today...

I was finally able to capture a few decent pictures of the hummingbirds. This is a female. I almost never see any males. There's also a couple shots of the male bluebird. He was sitting on top of the swing frame which is very close to the house. I took these from my kitchen window. It's probably a good thing I have to go back to work tomorrow. I'm going through batteries like crazy with this camera. I'm going to have to get some rechargeables.

How Many Do You See?

The egg is gone now and there are definitely 4 babies but I think I see a fifth. If you click on the image you'll be able to see an enlarged version. It looks like one baby is at the back with his/her head completely covered by the others.

They are so very tiny but still seem to be too big to have ever fit in those small eggs. I'm going to leave them alone now so they can have a quiet start in life.

I've been giving the parents raisins and got some bluebird food at the store. I put it in a container at the back of the birdhouse. I haven't seen them eat it but while viewing the birdhouse today, I saw a male oriole land and try to steal a piece of food. The male bluebird chased him off.




I decided to move the grape jelly to a spot that might entice the orioles more and he finally came down and ate some of it.

Saw this guy at the feeder. He's a rose-breasted Grosbeak. Isn't he pretty?

Babies!!!

When I checked the birdhouse this morning I saw that some of the eggs had hatched. I could still see one or two eggs in the nest. I didn't have much time because I had to get to work so I waited til I got home to get some pictures. I was hoping all of them had hatched by that time. Unfortunately, there are only 3 (possibly 4) baby birds. You can see one unhatched egg in the pictures.

(Click on any image to enlarge it.)

It can take 24-48 hours for all eggs to hatch so they still have a chance. Experts say it's a good idea to remove any unhatched eggs BUT you're supposed to wait at least 72 hours before taking them out. Sometimes the parents will remove them. Also, the babies are very fragile and if they have to be moved to get to the eggs you should leave them alone until they have feathers. Most eggs don't break but if they do, they can contain deadly bacteria that's harmful to the babies.

I'm hoping I'll be able to get a better view in the morning to be sure how many babies there are. The nest is so far down in the house and it was a bit overcast when I took the pictures. Maybe the morning sun will help reveal the 4th.

I also got a few shots of a male oriole. He and his mate are still around but I've yet to see them eating the grape jelly. The ants love it, though!

It's almost time

I checked on the eggs tonight and they have not hatched yet. Tomorrow will be the 14th day of incubation so I'm assuming they will hatch and there will be little tweeters in the birdhouse by the time I get home from work.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

One week into incubation period

I checked on the eggs this evening to be sure all are still there and intact. They appear to be fine. Mama was sitting in the tree chattering at me as I took this picture:



The eggs are a beautiful baby blue and shinier than they were when I took the first two pictures. Just a week or so to go before they hatch. I'm getting nervous!

You know you're getting old when...

... you spend hours sitting in your backyard watching the birds!!! AND you tell anyone who will listen about your bluebird family - whether they want to hear it or not. :o)

This morning I returned the Nikon camera I had bought last week and got myself a REAL camera...a Canon, which is what I really wanted in the first place. I absolutely love it, and here's why:

Look at that clarity!


Click image to enlarge

And now, the birds:

Sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I ...ah, nevermind! (These were taken from 40 feet away.)





The queen of the castle:





She's keeping an eye on me:



There are still 5 eggs, so it looks as though she has finished that part of her journey into motherhood. It was rather cold and rainy yesterday and I worried about them staying warm enough. I don't want to open the house now that she is incubating them.

Hopefully, in 12-14 days there will be 5 very hungry baby bluebirds chirping away!