Spring 2016

The cycle of life starts again..... I have 5 little bluebird eggs in the backyard box and I think the female may have started incubation today (although she started laying eggs over a week ago so I'm not really sure. )   The pairs behavior  yesterday though was very unusual.  They were flying back and forth between the two boxes (back and front).  Strange, as the front box is home to a new chickadee nest.  The male bluebird even chased the chickadee out of it!  Unusual behavior as they already have a nest with eggs. In retrospect though I think  the bluebirds were using box #2 as a decoy in an attempt to keep the predator birds away from their box with eggs.  During that same time period there was a lot of  activity from Crows and Blue Jays in the back garden.    This back and forth behavior went on for at least 3-4 hours - quite frantically at times.  But today all is quiet, and happily the little chickadee started building a new nest in the chickadee box several feet away.

Pair of bluebirds on box without the eggs yesterday

Four little bluebird eggs - but now there are five !

Chickadee box - perfect size hole for chickadee and too small for a bluebird !

It's that time of the year again.....

Spring is just around the corner in Georgia and if you're not sure just watch the birds!  There's a lot of courting going on!!

This little male is flapping his wings to seduce the little female on the box.  They're not building nests  yet, but territory is being claimed, and mates selected.  Last summer's fledgling Bluebirds seem to have stayed close to home, but soon they'll  have to find their own territory.  I wish I could have a garden full of bluebird boxes, but once mating begins they don't share well.  A nest box in the back and one in the front seemed to work well last year.  As long as they don't see each other they seem to coexist, but last summer, when they did occasionally meet at the bird bath, there was a little skirmish.  I think another bird bath will be on the list of things to buy this summer.

A successful summer for my Bluebirds ...

Bluebird Box #1 (backyard)

The fledglings left the nest on July 8 - two successful broods this summer for this pair of Bluebirds.
The fledglings from the first brood were still hanging around the back yard up until a day or two before the second brood fledged. One evening I saw what looked like "play" with the fledglings and one of the bluebirds.  They were hopping and flying around each other on the fence - maybe Mr. Blue was gently trying to tell them it was time to move on.

Mr.. Bluebird - constantly on the look out for predators

One last feeding before they fledged

Fledgling getting ready to take it's first flight!

Bluebird Box #2  (front garden)

Lady Blue #2 has begun to incubate her second brood - 3 eggs at last peek.    

Summary: 17 baby blues !

 Last summer, when the bluebird box  was on the fence (I was a novice)  I only had one successful brood (and apparently that's the norm: usually  about a 50% success rate with each attempt).   Placing the boxes on the poles with predator guards, making it difficult for snakes and racoons to get to them,  definitely improves the probability of success ,

Yeah, little Bluebirds ! I am looking forward to the winter when I will feed them again and hopefully see many of the 17 fledglings   and their parents at the feeder.  

Fledglings leave the nest, eggs hatch, nest building begins

A busy time at Union Hill 

Bluebird Box #2

June has been a busy month on my one acre.  The fledglings left the nest (box#2) on June 12 - I was gone most of the day so only saw a couple of them leave.  The others checked out while I wasn't looking.  Mom and Pop have been busy feeding them but at the same time keeping one eye on their box.  Dad returns every few days to perch on it  for a little while as if to let all other prospective tenants know that this is his property.
Yesterday nest building started again - 16 days after the fledglings left the nest, .   I haven't seen the fledglings from this brood yet.  I don't feed this couple so there's no coming back everyday for meal worms. This box is a box of their choosing - without any coaxing from a human - it feels good to know they're having a successful breeding season without any interference from me.

Box #2 and nest #2

Bluebird Box #1

Life is also busy around this box.  The chicks from brood #2 hatched on June 20 (all five of them) and Mom and Pop have been busy feeding them.  The little fledglings from brood #1 still visit my back yard often.  They continue to perch on top of the box and only get chased away when they try to take a peek inside the hole.  Eventually I'm sure they'll be encouraged to find their own territory. 

Eggs hatched in box #2 - and eggs laid in box #1

Bluebird Box #2

My front yard Bluebirds are busy feeding their growing chicks in box #2 and I'm expecting them to leave the nest in the next couple of days.  No signs yet of them popping up at the hole to check out the world beyond the box,  but I'm not sure exactly when they hatched.  They usually leave the nest by day 17 and I'm thinking that must be quite close.

Bluebird Box #1

The fledglings have now been out of the box for 1 month and Lady Blue has just started to incubate 5 new little bluebird eggs.  The photos below were taken yesterday - two of the fledglings snuggling on top of the box, and probably remembering how close they used to be in the box ......so endearing :)

Fledglings - one month out of the nest

"Remember when we lived in this box".......

Freshly laid eggs - ready for brood #2

You can't help but be captivated by these little birds ......

Overdue Update .... Nest box #1 and #2

There has been a lot of activity around my two bluebird nest boxes during the past 2 weeks.  I'm happy to say that all 5 fledglings left nest box #1 on May 11.  I was fortunate enough to see 2 leave in the morning and 2 stragglers much later in the day.  I was gone for several hours in between so I'm assuming #3 left  during my absence,  Since then Mom and Pop have been feeding the little ones high in the tree tops behind my house.  I put a few meal worms out each morning and Lady Blue usually comes for them, and with her beak full flies off in the direction of the tree they're in.

The past couple of days I've seen a couple of the fledglings follow Lady Blue to the meal worm feeder.  They perch and then fly away quickly so I wasn't able to get any photos.  Today though they perched for a longer period of time and I was able to get a couple   .....

Blue Bird Fledgling

This cute little fledgling is 2 weeks old and still dependent on it's parents for food, but not for long.  Soon it will be getting it's own insects and worms and Mom and Pop will start building a new nest and start all over again with brood #2. 

NEST BOX  #2

Four eggs were laid in nest box #2.   Lady Blue #2 has been incubating them for the past 14 days and  I think they may have  hatched yesterday as both Mom and Pop have been going in and out of the box. I'll try and sneak a peek tomorrow while Lady Blue is out of the box and maybe get a photo.. 

Peeking out... and a little blue egg

Today the baby blues in box #1 have spent a lot of time looking at the world outside of their box . I think they will fledge tomorrow. It's going to be close to 90 degrees here so it's going to get very hot in that little box with those five growing little birds.  When they spread their wings Lady Blue will lead them to a branch under a canopy of protective leaves high in a tree close by.  They will stay in  that location for a couple of weeks and will continue to be fed by their parents.

One of five little Bluebirds peeking out of the box

And we have one egg in box #2....  hopefully she will lay 3 or 4 more over the next few days.