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Hi, Connie! So happy that your blues are visiting, this autumn! Whip up some suet/crumble, and they will stay. I must say, it is unusually warm here in NH, as well, and my flock of blues are all over the property! Everyone is getting along, as they always seem to, but what is so funny is how all of the males are singing, loudly. As if they are claiming territory, during the spring. Beautiful to hear, at this time of year, but just unusual. The flock numbers about 20, and there are at least a dozen males singing at the top of their lungs, day-in and day-out. They are a riot! A little Downy Woodpecker seems to have claimed the roost box, but it’s 70 degrees out, so no one really cares…
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireHi, Deena! HOSPs tear into bags of nyger seed and white millet in the outdoor lawn & garden areas at Lowes and Home Depot, all the time. Not uncommon behavior. In general, HOSPs are too lazy to crack open a black oil sunflower seed. They prefer the “easy” meals of nyger and millet, so I feed neither.
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireThat would be great, Gin. Mid-February would be the perfect time to send one along, to ensure full-blown clinical depression, on my end… :)
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireI currently have an unhatched egg in my nest box (1 of a 3-egg clutch, 2nd nesting of the season). Mama and papa have shown no interest in removing it, and I have decided to leave it alone. The two nestlings are 9-days old. Spring clutch was 5/5/5 (eggs/hatched/fledged).
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireThanks, Connie and Dana! Two nestlings; one egg actually did not hatch. Calling this one “the country club nesting”, as my pair are enjoying the easy life of only two mouths to feed. They have settled into a relaxed routine, disrupted only by the owls and hawks. They used to get upset, but now they just keep an eye on them, while going about their business. Papa took a 45 minute nap, during the middle of the day, on a low branch of the beech tree. Seriously.
Lisa, I am extremely sensitive to the stress and concerns of all of you with hot weather concerns, but you are right, NH weather is pretty consistent: 6-months of winter, and 6-months of beautiful! :) Our next five days…http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg554/nhhawk6/Weather_zps7qea93lo.png
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireI have never dealt with your situation, Carol, but in my humble opinion, there is no downside to finding out for certain whether the 4th nestling is dead, or not. If he/she has expired, then there is no downside to removing the dead baby. 11 day old nestlings would seem far too large for the parents to remove them from the box, hence papa is sitting on the clothesline at a loss for what to do. I have a pair of 9-day-old nestlings in my box, and there is no way my parents could remove one of them, at this point. Too big. I hope all of yours are still fighting!
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireLisa and Susan, I am so rooting for you and your blues; it cannot be any fun for them in all of that heat. I wish I could send you both some shade. :(
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireThanks, Gin. I have enjoyed my anesthesia career, and I have enjoyed my healthcare executive roles since. I just wish someone would pay me to fish (full time) and serve as a bluebird landlord (after hours). I have run the idea by my wife, and she didn’t “shoot it down” so much as… well, laugh…
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireMy pair, really just papa, is extremely grumpy these days, Susan. I am just leaving them alone for awhile. The predator pressure is extremely high, one of the eggs has not hatched, and we are having a mini heat wave. I gave them a few mealworms as a “keep your chin up” sort of gesture. They ate some, and fed the rest to the two babies, but the mood remains decidedly sour, around the nest box. :(
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireLisa, Bedford is insanely nice. Beautiful, safe, and ultra-convenient. Very lucky to live here.
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireI think climate changes and fluctuations are serving to create new geographic norms. Seasonal extremes seem to be moderating, at least up here. This will be an interesting season for me. There will be no weather-related reason for my blues not to nest a third time. We are not going to have a prolonged period of oppressive heat; it is simply not going to happen (it rarely does, anymore). September through October is the most stable and temperate time of the year in NH, so we’ll see if the bluebirds continue to nest. I hope so.
Randy
Bedford, New Hampshire
