Home › Forums › Bluebird Chatter › Finally – 5 New Hatchlings
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David in Stafford,VA.
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May 25, 2020 at 1:45 pm #8259
David, they will go inside very soon with the top on – and they will definitely fight to make it their own private diner by driving off any unwanted birds. This morning a male cardinal thought he was going to join my blues and papa showed him differently. One time I did have a small female actually squeeze into my cage feeder – I happened to see this and immediately shooed her off.
Isn’t this fun watching their meanderings.May 25, 2020 at 7:35 pm #8260Thanks Judy and Carol. I thought that if they could see the mealworms in the dish in the cage without the top, it would ease the anxiety of entering a closed cage. It seem’s to have worked. Here is a shot of dad bird surveying the cage. I can imagine him saying “What’s with the closed top? We did so well without it yesterday.”
He fluttered around the cage a couple of times, then grabbed onto the wires to survey the inside with the dish
He then entered the cage and started picking up worms for the nestlings.
He loaded up on mealworms twice and waited for mom bird to come out of the nestbox. She never did go into the cage but flew around it and sat on the hook above it and beside it as dad bird did. Maybe tomorrow
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This reply was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by
David in Stafford,VA.
David
Stafford, VAMay 26, 2020 at 9:57 am #8262Thank you, David, for sharing the step-by-step with this new mealworm station! I would never have thought of each step you took. And thank you for the excellent photos!! Wow. I have saved this link for future review and learning. I am so excited to see the process unfold. You take great pics. Thanks for sharing!! I’m happily learning so much from all of you!
May 26, 2020 at 10:41 am #8264Thank you Julie. This is my firs experience with feeding mealworm, like you. So I am learning this mealworm feeding myself. Be sure to listen to Carol and the others that have been feeding mealies for a long time.
Another tiny success this morning. I put the mealworms in the feeder and saw both parents sitting on the other shepherd’s hook watching as I loaded the dish with ~60 worms. Neither one went to the cage after I left. This was about 7:45 this morning. My wife said “Maybe the babies aren’t awake this early. You could have slept longer.”
I think she was right. At exactly 8:30 papa bird left the hook and took a bug or worm from the lawn to the box and then flew back to the cage. I finally got a shot of a bluebird in flight.
The female flew around the cage after he left, looked but didn’t go in.
Just after he reentered the cage the female flew around the cage again and approached it but never grabbed on or tried to enter.
So we will wait to see what happens this evening.
David
Stafford, VAMay 26, 2020 at 10:45 am #8265She will!
May 26, 2020 at 3:31 pm #8270You are making great progress! I do have one easy tip you could try…..find a small tree branch, stick or dowel….secure it to or through the cage. They will sit on it and figure out how to get inside to the goods. I actually have this feeder and it worked for me with other small birds. Terrific pictures! Good luck.
Judy-Michigan
May 27, 2020 at 5:18 pm #8275Thanks Judy. I will try that tonight. Just got my order of mealworms from Grubco and am going to give them a treat tonight (a couple more that usual)
David
Stafford, VA -
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