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No to both questions – I can’t see any reason to use expensive grape jelly when they go for the cheaper sugar water. As far as nesting, I have enough trouble keeping my bluebirds in good shape and don’t need any more to worry about. I am not a youngster any more, and this is all I want, but I do enjoy watching them all. Just saw a Downy woodpecker at the nectar feeder this morning – they are cool also.
Dibby, this is sad – Yes, Mother Nature can be cruel at times. If she has laid some eggs she might go ahead and begin incubation on those, but I kind of doubt it since she knows she has no mate and helper at this point.
Absolutely, Tammy – watched both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles today at my nectar feeder, as well as a hummer or two. What a sight those Baltimores are close up! I just made some more nectar and filled two glass feeder up, well 1/2 way up – I like to keep it fresh. I am going to try to get a picture of them feeding when I can.
Dana & Ron – sorry you both have no blues yet this year. I feel very fortunate that I have had nesting blues every year since I began nine years ago. I truly believe location, location, location is one of the most important things. I have a large yard area over 1 1/2 acres and lots of wide open spaces, with trees scattered for perching. I have 4 boxes in my back yard, all at the corners of the lot, which makes them about 300′ apart. Yes, I fight HOSP all the time. If you have both had previous nestings, can’t imagine what could be wrong other than they have moved elsewhere. Keep trying, and maybe try moving pole or rotating it differently or something. Good luck.
Well, Ron, another Missourian here – great. I grew up in Northeast Missouri so I know it is quite a bit colder up there than where I live now, which is mid-western Missouri. I assume that your blues did not overwinter up there, right? Mine have overwintered all 9 seasons now, and have had only two different males, and several females. I’m sure you had your boxes cleaned out from the previous nestings – that is important. All I can say is that they may come around yet, maybe for the 2nd nesting time. Our weather has been really weird this year, having 80 degrees in February, then normal, and now miserable wet and cool. Don’t give up on our previous blues. I’m a little worried today about my 5 that hatched almost a week ago, as we have had about 4 inches of rain the past two days, on top of several smaller rains, and I’m hoping my box & nest are not soaked. I am going to try to look in the box today if and when it quits raining!
David, sorry about the photos – I gave Lisa credit, when they were yours. But they WERE great. P.S. Lisa, I am relieved you saw mama fly out – now take it easy and enjoy.
Lisa, I don’t believe the parents feed them much, if at all, the day they are born. I would let the wren guard alone for now. If by tomorrow you don’t see them being fed, they maybe you could take the guard down, but if mama incubated them for 14 days with the wren guard on, I don’t think she will abandon them now. I know it’s hard, but be patient. The wrens will toss out real small babies in a heartbeat if they get the chance. Let others chime in here with their opinions, and congrats on the hatch, for now anyway. P.S. Just saw your other post about seeing mama come out of box – take a deep breath now and enjoy them!
Great photos, Lisa! By the way, don’t forget not to use a flash on your camera when the babies are still very young (maybe it is before eyes are open – refer to http://www.Sialis.com There is some concern that the flash might harm their eyes when they are very young. And I agree with David that this “perfect half shell) is probably an accidental drop by mama, but I would sure remove it. Bood luck when you look tomorrow.
Yes, I have had Baltimore and Orchard orioles come to my hummingbird feeders the past 3 years and just saw 1 of each this week, actually before my hummers came (they are here now). I have a good setup for the nectar feeders. Mine hang from my backyard deck railing which is about 10′ from ground (have a walkout basement and deck is above the door) and DH (dear hubby) fixed them up so that the feeders are tied up to a metal rod and the orioles cannot tip the feeder and waste nectar. Otherwise I would have sugar water spilled on the deck floor & ground all the time.
Ron, first of all – Welcome! Don’t have any ideas unless something has changed in your setup – maybe bushes/shrubs have grown large or something? Have you checked your boxes? Sometimes they are quite sneaky and we don’t always see them. Where do you live? Have your previous 1st nestings been around this time of year? Sometimes we just don’t know – like Gin, our Moderator on this forum, has not had any blues for 3 years now.
Dene, first of all – Welcome. I live in mid-Missouri, so time frame would be a little different as far as 1st nesting, 2nd, etc. After the mama is doing laying eggs (usually one a day for 4-6 days) she will then begin incubating them (sitting on them most all of the time). They usually hatch around 14 days after incubation begins, and then approximately 17-19 days they will fledge, or leave the nest. They are pretty tolerant of noise, but if possible I would wait on the chain saw until they hatch, unless it is a pretty good distance away from where you need to cut the shrubs. It is really important to monitor a bluebird’s nest, to prevent possible problems, like predators, wasps nests, ants or broken eggs or dead babies. The blues do not mind this monitoring, as long as it is not overdone. She will leave the nest so you can look in for a minute or 2 and she will return quickly to keep the eggs warm.
The suggested pole height is 5′ from ground to box hole so you can monitor. A little more height is good and if needed, use a very short stepstool to see in. But 5′ is really good. I am just 5′ tall so I do have to use a short step stool to see in. Our bible for bluebirding here is http://www.sialis.com – it has about any and all answers you could come up with. My bluebirds stay here all winter, along with the juveniles from the last nesting. I do feed them mealworms (ONLY as a treat) and they come to my whistle every morning and late afternoon. Good luck.Yes, BZ – looks like our 5 hatched same day(s). The parents are already feeding them mealworms, as I watch them go from the worm cage feeder and back about 250′ to the nest box where the babies are. Really fun to watch the “worm train” with mama & papa taking turns at feeding! Hope our “Missouri Blues” make it to fledging and further, as well as all others watching and waiting for the same thing here on this forum.
