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Nest building in progress here in the far south! Yay!!! They’ve been very sneaky so I’m not sure if it’s my pair from last year. I just hope all of their babies found good boxes to have their babies in…
Hi, Lisa! Happy Spring! You Are definitely not alone in your feverish anticipation of the nesting season. You are probably just the only one with genuine nesting activity. :(
I still have the entire winter flock of blues visiting the feeding station. They are losing patience with each other, but they all still visit. I will shut the station down on March 1st, bring in the roost box, and put up the nest box. Usually that will get things moving. We do not have any snow on the ground, and it is warmer than usual, so I anticipate an early start, here in NH. Keep us up to date with the progress of your pair. I, too, am interested in my specific pair from last year returning this season. I will know. Papa blue had a unique habit of watching over things from one particular branch, so I will definitely know if it is him.
Best of luck this season!
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireThanks Randy! I wish I could tell if this was the same pair! They were very prolific, so I have lots of blues around…Wish I could put up boxes for all of them! We are way warmer than usual as well with 80 degree days…
Here’s to a great season!Nest looks almost complete!
Crazy winter here, Osteosarcoma in my dog with ulnectomy and chemo, distal fibula for me all cracked up from falling down icy stairs a month ago, and now it’s 80 outside.
Needless to say, dog doing much better than I am, and I can’t wait for some bluebird fun!So sorry to hear of your health issues, Lisa. Glad you and your dog are on the mend.
I got antsy, after reading of your nesting activity this morning, so I put out the new nestbox. Mama and Papa blue from last season went to it in under a minute. Definitely them. Same branches; as if they had never left. Also came right to the beech tree where I had been feeding them mealworms for their nestlings. No worms out there for them, but they hung out for a time, nonetheless. Lots of competition for the box, but I hope my familiar pair wins out!Randy
Bedford, New HampshireLisa!! Already?!! What state are you in? I should remember but I’m helping with a FB Martin page that has over 1200 members… So everyone is mixed up in my mind. I don’t have any nest box interest right now.
Tammy
I am jealous of your deer Randy! Gorgeous!
Tammy, I am in coastal Alabama. Nest looks complete. Now I need to monitor daily for that first egg to put up my sparrow spooker, though I have never had a HOSP problem. HOWR were my worst problems last year, lost my first nest to them.
They went on and on after that first loss. Ended up with 12 babies. So tempted to put up a second box but don’t know if that would invite problems…I am dealing with house wrens at two friends’ houses. I don’t have that issue here. I would much rather deal with HOSP.
Tammy
Randy, very nice picture of the deer. HOWEVER, like those cute bunny rabbits, the deer have our property on their meal list and last year between the two destroyed most of our vegetable garden. We have even put up electric fence at two different levels (and maybe 3 levels) 2 or 3 years and this did not seem to help much. There is only so much money a person can spend on trying to grow a garden. (Our garden if fairly large) We’ve had a vegetable garden for 45 years or more so it may be time to let it go.
P.S. What type of shrub are those? They look like a yew, of which the leaves are toxic to animals I believe. But I cannot tell. They are very common around here – just don’t want to let pets chew on them.Hi, Carol. Great point about the potential for yew toxicity to animals. Fortunately, there are over 80 varieties and cultivars of yews in the landscape trade, genetically engineered for size, color, habit, non-toxic nature, etc. Mine are and English/Japanese hybrid that are safe, with a reasonably controlled growth rate. $39.99 for a 10″ pot at Lowes. :)
And make no mistake, they are ridiculously overpriced, and not all that nice.Randy
Bedford, New HampshireI am so glad to hear about your nesting pair Lisa. I have heard the BB’s early in the AM on a few occasions in my huge Hemlock trees and saw one twice on electrical wires down the road from me. Our weather has been unusually warm but we got revisited by Old Man Winter again last night and have another fresh inch of white rain on the ground
. My BB’s houses are washed and ready and my DH built me a couple new ones over the winter, I am so pumped to get some nesting pairs but it is still a bit too early for that up this way. After my two years of bad luck I am so hoping this year will produce a pair that remains together through the whole fledging process.
Connie
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