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That’s great news!!! Mama blue took charge and pulled the family through. I hope she finds another mate and has another brood with the male helping. She deserves it. Happy Birding.
Judy – Michigan
House Wrens…..grrrr. I prefer not to have them nesting in my yard. I have 2 sets of paired boxes. Usually get bluebirds in one and tree swallows in the other. As soon as the birds fledge from one box, I block the hole until the other box is empty. When they are both empty I open up the holes. I usually get a 2nd nesting with bluebirds. When the blues start another nest I block the paired box entry hole. This has been working great this season. House wrens are in the neighborhood, I can hear them from afar, but not in my yard.
I’m enjoying reading about what’s happening on your trail. Curious on your tally …..does that include tree swallows and other box nesting birds? Out of all your boxes you have 10 empty? Having to manage a trail would definitely be a challenge! Keep up the great job and hopefully enjoy yourself along the way. Best wishes.
Judy – Michigan
Good news the white eggs hatched and fledged. I hope the pair stay around and have more broods. Love the white eggs. Did you ever get them to eat your live mealworms? My bluebird pair in the front box like the live mealworms, but I have a backyard pair that are not interested. Maybe after their eggs hatch they will try them.
On another note…..I had tree swallow eggs hatch yesterday. Took a quick phone picture and could see one egg unhatched. Picture showed the egg was incapsulated with half of a shell from one that had already hatched. I knew I had to get that off or the bird could not hatch. I carefully removed it and put the egg back in the nest. I don’t know yet if it hatched, today was cold and rainy. I did not want to disturb them, I hope to check tomorrow.
Judy – Michigan
David, so sad to see ALL 5 eggs ruined. Do you think it was HOSP or house wrens? And the attack was so close to hatch day. I’m sure you had a sparrow spooker up…..any idea of how this happened? I hope your pair will rebuild soon.
Judy – Michigan
Tim C, you are off to a great start for being your first season. Hope you are enjoying the ride and will continue for many years. You will be an expert in just a little time. I enjoy all your photos and the egg tally. Keep up the great work and keep posting what is happening on the trail. Maybe your dog Rosie can be the chief snake sniffer….lol.
Judy – Michigan
Dana, glad to hear all is going well with your blues. Nest one for my blues had 5 eggs, but only 1 hatched. Nest #2 had 5 eggs and 2 hatched, so I’m up by 100%, lol. Since there was only 1 fledgling from the 1St nest, I get to see it all the time following papa blue around the yard. Super cute.
Judy – Michigan
That is super sad. I’m wondering if there would be a possibility of it growing back slowly. Miracles do happen, let’s hope for the best.
Judy – Michigan
I think you nesters will appreciate the heat reflector. 90 is a bit warm, but good for mama bird, she does not have to stay on the nest for long hours. Enjoyed your egg photos. You are off to a great start for being a newbie bluebird landlord. Keep the texts and pictures coming. Happy birding!
Judy – Michigan
Lucky you….that’s a dream to not have house sparrows hanging around. Good luck with all of your boxes. You’re doing great so far.
Judy – Michigan
Also, on both Bluebird & Tree Swallow nests after the 1st egg is laid I put up a sparrow spooker. You can make them yourself or buy them online. They have worked like a charm for me. They keep the house sparrows from going in and killing the babies/parents and taking over the nest.
Judy – Michigan
Wow Tim you are off to a great start. Do you have the sheet to chart when the first egg was laid, the hatch day and fledge day? I find this every helpful and pretty accurate. If you don’t have one I can send a photo of the one I use. Good luck!
Judy – Michigan
Glad you figured out how to post pictures. Pictures look great. Your mama blues built a very tidy nest. Nice feeder within eye sight of the bluebird box. Your area looks perfect for bluebirds! Thanks for sharing, happy birding.
Judy – Michigan
Yup, better to be safe than sorry. Those house wrens are sneaky little birds. They zip in and out when you least expect it.
Judy – Michigan
Hi Carol, They say bluebird eggs are normally blue, but a small percentage will lay white eggs. If the female lays white eggs they will always be white. So don’t look for any of them to be blue, unless you have a different female do an egg drop. I have only experienced white bluebird eggs once in 10 years. They actually started out pale pink and as they developed they turned white. Everything about the nest was normal except the egg color. All the eggs hatched and fledged. Your long wait this season gave you a special nest. Enjoy!
Judy – Michigan
