Female EABL Died Suddenly – How to Help Single Dad?

[Deb]

Hello! Long time no posts. It’s been a strange couple of past nesting seasons with sterile clutches and this season is proving to be no different. In April I was horrified to find a dead female in the nesting box that a HOSP took over. I ‘cancelled’ that HOSP’s flight shortly after that and the male EABL found another female that I named hope. I named the male Victor at that point. Sadly I found Hope dead on the roof of my sun room Sunday after seeing her sitting by the birdbath for about 20 minutes. No signs of trauma on her at all. We got 5 babies in the box and the male is working overtime to keep them fed. I’ve been feeding meal worms several times a day. But does anybody have any suggestions on how often I should be feeding? I gave him about 50 yesterday and the babies seem to be growing overnight. Fingers crossed. I can’t take this much longer! :)

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

http://www.bluebirdnut.com/feeding.htm website site has good information on feeding. They recommend 200 a day to a nesting pair (including babies), this split in two, one batch in the morning and another later in the late afternoon. Sad about your BB Hope – but nature sometimes takes over. Good luck the rest of the season.

[tamsea]

I had that happen with a male. Found him on top of my pergola. But he had gouge marks on him from a hawk that was sitting nearby.
Your doing good with feeding. I don’t even worry about how many. He can supplement with insects and should because it’s healthier for them. But Carol’s rule of thumb sounds good.

Tammy

[Author]

Posts