I missed it. By the time I got home from work yesterday my baby Bluebirds had fledged from the nest. Their house was empty except for the nest and fecal matter, so I removed the nest and will do the clean-up later. I was watching the weather yesterday with tornado watches out. I’ve seen Mama and Papa around, and am watching for the babies. My eyes are leaving me a bit handicapped, but I hope to see them around soon. Copyright ©
This picture was taken on Tuesday, May 13, the last date I dared to peek into the box. If I peeked again I might cause the babies to fledge too soon and they might not survive. Today is Saturday. The babies could fledge the nest anytime between today and Monday. The mama and papa are very busy feeding their babies. Pictures and text copyright © 2008 by Janice Green
In two previous years we have had mockingbirds to nest in our grape arbor. They can be very territorial and agressive and would dive-bomb us if we got too close to their nest. I had already decided that if they nested in the arbor again I would remove the nest because we want to be able to enjoy our arbor and tend to the flowers and plants that are growing on it. Now that the bluebirds have begun nesting in the bluebird
I keep wondering when the bluebird eggs will hatch. I peeked again today and should have counted the eggs. At the time I was only thinking about whether they were hatched or not, so didn’t study them long enough to be sure. There are probably five eggs, though maybe only four. I found a web page about Eastern Bluebirds to gather more information about their nesting habbits. (http://www.alaweb.com/~kenwood/saba/birdinfo/bluebird.htm) I also put some information on a calender to help me keep up
I peeked again today and there were two blue eggs in the nest in the bluebird house. We have been blessed. I’ll be posting along as the family progresses. I dare not peek too often. I understand that preditors can smell our footprints and may lead preditors to the nest. (PS I wrote this two days ago and discovered today that it was still in draft mode. So for the record, the two eggs were discovered on April 14. )