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Another generation of blues in the works here at Carol’s in mid-Missouri. My parents are on the 3rd nesting with one egg and very likely the 2nd one today. LET’s GO!!! P.S. Babies from 12 days ago are coming to the worm bowl, but still begging from parents.
Wow, Randh – sounds like fun – well at least exciting! Have never had experience with nesting Owls, or really have not seen that many. We do live in a rural subdivision with 5 acres of pasture & yard. Probably there, but my eyes are always peeled for blues. Hope this owlet learns to like you both! Have fun.
Connie, sure hope you are just miss seeing your mama blue, that would be sad. However, since they only have about a week left in the box I’m sure papa blue can take care of them especially with your help with the worms. I believe we “landlords of bluebirds” have more stress over missing parents than the other parent, since sometimes they get another mate in a day or two. Hope you hear something about those dead worms – smelly, smelly . . .
Welcome Percy – 1st year of birding is always a learning experience, to say the least. If this nest was built in the spring and still no eggs, I would be tempted to remove the nest & let them begin again I think. BUT, have you looked inside the box to see what might be wrong – are there any ants, wasps, etc.? Are you sure it is the same pair that built this nest, not a new lady or something? It could be she laid eggs elsewhere and (like you said) like their snacks (mealworms?) at your place. Could be lots of different scenarios. Don’t know where you live, but my pair have built their 3rd nest – but no eggs yet, so I don’t believe it is too late yet, although getting there. You will learn things each year and a GREAT website for info is http://www.sialis.org. Check it out, most of us here use it faithfully, although there are many, many years of hands-on-experience among our moderators and participants here on this forum. Good luck.
So glad to hear you are both okay, Dene and Lisa, and your blues must be superParents. It’s amazing what they can live & survive through at times. Hope everything gets back to normal soon.
Yikes, Connie – I just now noticed your post about your mealworms arriving in bad shape, that is lots of dead worms. You should have called your worm company and they would have probably replaced at least some. Most reputable companies have a live guarantee, that is, they guarantee them to be alive upon arrival. Of course, you need to be home when they arrive & not let them sit outside in the heat. My two worm companies I use put a “HOLD AT POST OFFICE FOR PICK UP” just in case I am not at the house and can get them at the P.O. Yes, if they smelled, that would mean lots of dead worms. If have had to have about 3 or 4 shipments replaced because of this. They don’t charge for the worms, only for the shipping, and one time I didn’t even have to pay this, as the shipping route got all fouled up. Since you are in PA I don’t know what to recommend in the way of worm distributors, but I do know most will replace them if not arriving live. That is why sometimes they will not ship during a real bad heat wave here in the Mid-West – because they don’t believe they would arrive in good shape because of the heat during travel. P.S. I am sure you know this, but the worms do have to be refrigerated, right?
Well, you do have more information that we thought from first post. This seed/pit thing issue may have kept him from fighting for the food – maybe it was sticking to the nest somehow. I am not familiar with this cherry pit thing – unless it is mulberry droppings or something. Yes, it is very sad to lose one so close to fledging, but please don’t blame yourself – you could not have known anything was wrong.
Hi Razblue & welcome! Sorry about your one blue that did not make it. Unfortunately, the survival rate of most all cavity nesting birds is very low, so really 4 out of 5 surviving is really good. That, however, does not erase the hurt and feeling of helplessness. It could be any number of things – genetic or birth defect probably, but who knows. Sometimes, one just is not strong enough to get in there & beg for food. Most people here on this forum have had the same situations – my first nesting of 5 blues died when they were one week old. I attributed it to our cold, damp weather we had at that time, beings they all died at the same time. When just one dies, it would make common sense to suspect birth defect. Sometimes things just happen and we really do not find out the reason. Do not blame yourself in any way – just Mother Nature at work unfortunately. Hope you have another nesting. Or are they usually done this time of year in Georgia?
What a great story – yes, we do all we can for our birds, but in the long run Mother Nature sometimes overrides us! Good luck on your trail the rest of the season.
A bit unusual – did they not let them come to the feeder prior to the new nest/eggs? I would imagine it amounts to food supply/territory. They have taught the babies well and are making it on their own and now have new babies to think of. Other thing could be these are different babies (or are they juveniles) than their own??? I may have the same situation on my hands, as my current fledglings are just 7 days out of box and I see parents bringing them worms in the trees, BUT parents have a new nest completed, but no eggs yet. I don’t think I have ever had a new nest so soon after fledging. The babies have not come to the feeder yet, but they are close by in the trees so I expect them any time now. But you never know – as I say “These birds do not read the book of rules!”
Lisa & Dene – sure hope you all make it through the storm okay and after that being said, hope your blues make it also. My brother in Savannah, Georgia went through that terrible hurricane that went up the East coast a couple of years ago. He had about 12 huge trees uprooted, damage to his home, and yet he said his blues were just a little displaced, since their boxes were blown away, but he did see them!
Yeah – more Missouri blues – my five are out there among the trees – haven’t come to the worm feeder yet, but soon.
Yeah, I also do like Gin says & remove some of the sticks & let some remain – kind of depends on when I find them.
Scott, all situations are different, but I find that If I remove their sticks, they just keep on building. Just today I took out two dummy nests (all sticks) and had done so previously, along with a HOSP or two’s nest. My blues are out teaching their newly fledged babies right now, but I suspect they will try another nest soon, and I sure want them to have access to at least one box. But I, too, usually leave them alone as long as possible when I have eggs/babies. Right now all boxes are empty, so I remove sticks.
Randy, you have quite an imagination – I can do things after I see a picture but cannot just do something from scratch. Looks great! My blues stick around all winter (they always have for 9 seasons now) but they do not roost in their box that I know of. I have caught HOSP in it but not the blues. They have some pine trees just next door in which I believe they spend a lot of their time, especially in the wintertime. Hope your new box works this winter.
