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Let me add to my previous post in response to the removal of the nest with eggs in it in February. The female was on day 8 of incubation when she disappeared. I didn’t want anyone to think I had removed this nest without being certain that she was gone, or that she had delayed incubation.
Thanks Carol, I initially thought she wanted more worms but she does this behavior only when the other female is present and trying to feed the babies, and often times they still have worms in their feeder. But I am in agreeance that I am humanizing her behavior. It is easy for me to do especially since I feel as though I have a bond with these birds.
I was fortunate enough to see fledglings feeding their siblings last year when we had 4 broods in the nestbox by the same pair, but I am fairly certain this is a sibling of the female that is here. I believe we had the momma to all the fledglings attempt to nest this year in February, but I believe she was somehow injured or killed because she had completely abandoned the nestbox for several days before I removed the nest that contained 5 eggs. I videoed the nestbox for several days and there were no visits by the female, only the male, and by the next day he was already paired with another female and they chose the other nestbox. I only believe it was not the same female because the eggs and nest were undisturbed from the first attempt and the current female that laid 6 eggs wanted no part of the nestbox that contained 5 eggs.
I am not sure of too much except that I really enjoy watching the bluebirds and am happy they feel safe enough to reproduce in the bluebird habitat that we worked so hard to create for them.
Lisa, our blues are here in southwest Louisiana year round. I thought when I started feeding the 20 I have visit my feeder (a result of a pair having 18 babies that ‘made it’ last year), that they would only be here for a season. Boy was I wrong, and I’m glad I was! I now have a pair that just had 6 babies! Boy are they busy!
David,
Thanks for the response! I am fascinated by these devoted birds. Happy birding to you as well!
Tammy,
Thank you for the support & thoughts. I am new to this and had such a flawless experience with the first brood and knew it would likely not be like this the second go round. The nest for this brood was remarkably clean compared to the first brood and no parasites or pests were visible when I cleaned the Nestbox out after the last fledgling left….. I really did need to hear that this behavior was normal. I also would like to know if it’s normal that the mother has already started building her 3rd nest just two days after all babies have fledged!? The second nest was started two weeks after fledge day, but this morning I observed the mother going into the second Nestbox location in my yard with straw every time she leaves the pine trees from feeding the new fledglings.
Thanks David I have calmed down a bit, lol. I know that I have done everything I can do and I do feel better now that the parents don’t seem to be upset anymore. (It’s difficult to not humanize their feelings.) I do see the parents actively feeding the babies very high up in the pine woods behind my house and the neighbor’s house. I’ve for sure seen them fly to 4 locations and there could possibly be a fifth location so they get out of sight frequently. I feel much better today than I did yesterday. Thanks to everyone for the support.
Donna,
That does make me feel better, thank you. The first brood fledged on day 16, and the second brood fledged on day 16 & 17. It could have had to do with the direction in which they fledged the box. The first brood flew straight out and the second brood fledglings all flew to the right. The one on the fence did make it off of the fence and eventually flew to some brush in the back near the woods. I have been so worried about these babies.Well the baby that was hanging on the side of the building made it through the night and flew off this morning to the roof of my house then tried to land a tree and missed. It’s now near my neighbor’s backyard which they will be letting their dogs out any minute. Anyway, I’m hoping for the best. :(
Tammy,
Great info, thanks so much! I do have white millet that I purchased just for this trap. I also have another Nestbox that isn’t in use so I am waiting on the Van Ert trap that I ordered after it was recommended to arrive. I do have to say though that the two house sparrows that I was seeing daily near the bluebird Nestbox have not been seen for at least four days now. Is it possible that they moved on and found another nest site? The bluebirds put up quite a protest when they were around and I do spend a lot of time watching the bluebirds so I think I would have seen them if they were still coming. Should I bait the trap anyway?
Nicole,
Thank you and also congratulations on your second nest! 6 babies from the first nest, how awesome! My baby bluebirds did the exact same thing… Started coming to the feeder and fountain exactly two weeks after they fledged. I was hoping they would return so I would know they were all ok. I was hoping the parents would return to start a second nest, so I would know they felt safe enough in my yard to do it all over again. I know that may sound crazy, but I’m sure a lot of us on here have felt that way at some point. Today the female laid her second egg. They are just the perfect example of love and family. It warms my heart to watch them interact with each other.
Dogsandbirds,
Thank you for the info, I do have a sparrow spooker, but she has not laid her first egg yet. And I had no idea I needed an in box trap for the sparrows. Thank you for the information and links!!
Carol,
The trap I bought isn’t a ‘Nestbox’ trap, I didn’t buy that type because I was scared it would catch the bluebirds. It is a cage style trap that hold multiple birds and is pole mounted or it said you could put it on the ground or on a picnic table. You are supposed to bait it and it said a decoy would help. The trap had great reviews, I just have never had to deal with sparrows before so I don’t know much about trapping them. Thank you for all of your responses, I really appreciate you taking the time to give me much needed advice.Thank you guys for responding/reassuring me! It is nice to have a great forum such as this, I just wish I would have seen it a little earlier, lol, might have saved me some worrying. I doubt it though, I’m sure I’ll always worry about these little guys. Like today for instance, I saw the first house sparrow. I’m so disappointed as I saw zero for their first nesting this spring. I immediately ordered a sparrow trap online, I’m just hoping it’s not too late. The bluebirds seem very aware and bothered by this bird. They do succeed at running it off but only temporarily. Hopefully the trap will work and not be too late. Any suggestions on the setup? I ordered the trap from Uncle Blaines sparrow traps, hopefully it’s a great one. It seemed to be and was recommended by Sialis.
Carol,
Thanks for your response, it kind of does appear that the male doesn’t like her furnishings, lol, she doesn’t seem bothered by him removing the material.
I’m sorry to hear about your first nesting attempt, I would be devastated. It is amazing at how much we can worry about nature. This is the first year I put a Nestbox up because last summer we had 10 resident bluebirds. I am completely obsessed with these birds already. For the first two weeks I did not see the fledglings, but over the last week or so I have been seeing them regularly due to them staying close to the pair that are starting a second nest. This morning I was shocked to see 21, yes 21, young bluebirds on the high line near my house accompanied by 3 pair of adult male and females (1 pair being “my” pair). It is just amazing to me that so many are doing so well this spring. Maybe that’s normal, I’ve just never seen that many at a time. Anyway, thanks for listening, I just had to share that with someone who could appreciate it, I’m driving my husband crazy with talking about these bluebirds so much, ;)
