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Thanks Carol and Judy. No eggs yet but the pair have had their first brood on the power line across the street. The young ones seem to be very active and I have not seen them all together. I know there are 3 and possibly a 4th.(I did have 4 fledge) They seem to like my neighbors flower bed that surrounds her mailbox. Mom & Pop sit on the wire and watch as they fly from bush or tree to the flower bed and back. When they get tired of bird-sitting they will probably start the second brood.
David
Stafford, VABob – from experience with my birds, they may return in a day or two or it could be a week or more. At a time that they feel comfortable with the house they will start a nest. That said we all have noted that the bluebirds do not follow our rule book. Every time we try to predict what they will do, they do something else. My first brood this year took a long time to start, mostly due to the weather. Once they started the nest though it went quick. The pair now have a second nest that only took 2 days to build. (see other thread)
Try not to get too impatient with them. Watch the box and keep it free of other problem birds (HOSP & HOWR, etc.) The rewards are great. Keep us posted on their progress.
David
Stafford, VAFirst off, welcome back to the forum.
Second, There is NO SUCH THING as a dumb question. It is an opportunity to learn.The bluebird was probably surveying the box for a possible nesting spot. His movement from the hole to the top of the box and then back was most likely “planned” and not a slip unless you have a smooth finished box, which is unlikely. Does the nestbox have a predator guard over the hole? If so, does it have a smooth or rough surface. Some plastic guards could lead to slipping if the bird doesn’t grip it correctly.
Robins and blues do chase one another. It is normal territorial activity. Unless the bluebirds are harming a nesting spot the chasing should go away and the bluebirds should start building a nest if they have chosen this as their site..
I am sure others will have some information for you.
Good luck with nesting.
David
Stafford, VAI am not sure that you can spook a TRES. I walk past a newspaper tube mounted next to a homeowner’s mailbox each morning when I walk my grandsons to the school bus each morning. A TRES pair has built a nest in the tube and I believe here are eggs in the nest. I can not see over the feathers/down on the nest. They do “dive-bomb” us as we walk by but return to the mailbox or street sign across the road to watch us pass. They never go far away. (This is about 8 miles from where we live. I haven’t seen many TRES in our neighborhood.)
David
Stafford, VAI agree with Chris on the modification of the nestbox door. I had the same trouble that Tammy had early on when I opened the box from the bottom. It is easy to cover the hole when opening the box from the top.
David
Stafford, VAIt does feel good to have that nest in the box. You can relax now and enjoy them as the begin the egg-laying process. They must feel at home now. Good luck on this nesting. ENJOY!!!
David
Stafford, VACan you tell if she has started to incubate the 2 eggs? It is unlikely that she would have another nest going.
David
Stafford, VAIt does get habit-forming doesn’t it? If it were not for “real-life stuff like my Handbell choir, taking care of grand-kids, shopping with the wife, etc., I would probably just sit on the deck with a coffee, tea, or soda and my camera and watch the birds all day and never get anything else accomplished.
David
Stafford, VAThanks Carol. My wife thinks that I bother the bluebirds too much and take more photos of the birds than I do of our grandkids. (Guilty…)
David
Stafford, VAThanks Judy and Connie. I saw the male bird on a wire across the street this morning but none of the little ones. I cleaned the nestbox and left it to dry while I mowed the lawn. I will put it up tomorrow and wait for the pair to start another nest. I have a heat shade ready to attach to the top of the box.
David
Stafford, VA
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