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Susan, I would think bird mites would be inside the box in & under the nest. However, I really don’t know if a nest alone gets mites or if they just get on the babies themselves. I do know what bird mites are, since one nest of TRES that perished I believe was because of mites, because when we went to clean out the box the mites got all over us. UGH! But not really sure about this.
Susan, all of the above info is pretty much on target. I do leave the wren guard on a little longer than recommended – maybe 7 or 8 days, just to be sure. Like Randy says, they don’t drop by to just say Hi, so why not leave it on a little longer. BUT it must be off several days prior to fledging so they can peek & be ready and also easier for parents to feed them as they get larger. Oh, also BE SURE that the extension distance from the hole to the guard is a minimum of 2 1/2″ and preferably 3″ we now believe to be better. Good luck!
Connie, this is really tough & sad – you can only do what your “gut” and heart tells you. Like Randy said, their chances are zero without your help & probably next to nothing without it. I had something similar once when I lost a mama about 3 days prior to hatching, and those things hatched without NO incubation for about 3 days. I couldn’t believe it, but they had to be kept warm and they perished within about 2 days. I too tried to find a rehabor and the closest was in Kansas City, about 70 miles away, and she said they would probably not make it up there. Sorry.
Great pictures – glad you were able to post them. Boy, there is a lot going there in your yard! I have never seen this TRES & BB pairing before – looks very interesting. That is quite an interesting sparrow spooker! Also notice you have on a heat shield – good job. P.S. Don’t need wren guard for the BB box? That field of corn in the background looks good, too.
See my edit to picture. One little wrong step will cause failure. Need to be sure to hit the “img” button above and then paste the link.
I’m still not able to see – maybe something in my settings, but I am able to post pics okay. Will try here.
Well looks okay. I use Photobucket but all should work about the same. I just pull up picture from Photobucket (or your photo holding application), go to “direct Link”, copy the URL. Then on the forum need to hit “img” button, and then paste that link in there, then okay. Then post.Susan, I see the 1st pic but cannot open any others, even in a new tab. Sometimes just one little error will keep pictures from being viewed. There may be a limit on number of pictures and space you can use in one post???
Susan, YES you do have to hit Submit & then you should be able to see your picture. Until then, it is just a location of the picture to link.
Wow, no this is not normal at all! However, that does not mean they will lay eggs immediately, don’t believe they will do this. My pair built a new nest about 10 days after fledging, and this was pretty early I thought. But they did wait about 3 days before 1st egg was laid. Boy, they all are anxious to populate this year seems like.
Dene, don’t know for sure in your area. My pair are on their 3rd nesting and have two eggs in a new nest right now. But it is getting a little late in the season for this area. Just not sure about where you live. They will do their own thing – new nest or not. Sure glad your two eggs made it through the storm – that is great! P.S. Now all areas or bluebird pairs have 3 nestings, but I usually do here, although one year I believe they only had 2 nestings, mainly because they couldn’t make up their mind about which of their 3 nests (made at same time) to lay eggs!!
Hi & Welcome Whitney – yes 14 days is usually the time period, AFTER mama begins incubating, when babies hatch. I bet you have babies any time now, like Connie says. She could have began incubation a day or two after the last egg was laid, not uncommon at all. Just hang low and bet they hatch soon. They will lose interest and/or abandon the nest when the time is right if they are not fertile. Don’t do anything at all yet for sure. Keep us informed.
