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 !

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.