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Connie, I am so sorry for your loss. Hang in there; your two remaining babies will be beautiful!
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireHi, Mrsblu, and welcome! Sorry to hear the sad news about your poor mother bluebird. It is certainly difficult to speculate what happened to her, but I am sure your papa blue will get the job done. In my opinion, the great teaching point that could come out of this, for all of us, would be to learn “what happens with your papa blue for the rest of this season?” If you were able to obtain a close-up photo of him, to help with positive identification, it would be fascinating to learn if he finds a new mate this year? How quickly does he do it? How many eggs does she lay? And what is the outcome of that nesting? I am keeping an eye on my pair, who are beginning to nest for the second time, this season. Papa is around everyday, all the time. Mama sightings are rare. I know both very well, so if he nests with a new female, I will know it, and I will take my own advice and document the characteristics of the second nesting.
Good luck with your “single dad” and his 5 nestlings!
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireThanks, Tammy and Lisa! This thing has potential, but as we all know, the blues cooperate if and when they want. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the roost box remains vacant all winter, or filled with “less-desirables”. It would disappoint me, but it wouldn’t surprise me. My wife walked into my workshop three times yesterday, and just rolled her eyes. When I tinker with it, today, she can’t do that, because it’s Father’s Day (I’m operating under the assumption that she has to tolerate my BB obsession, today). It is unseasonably cool down there, Lisa?? That’s great! Glad your pair are blessing you with another round of joy/stress/interest/anxiety! :)
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireCongratulations, Carol! Way to go! I am thrilled for you and your blues!!
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireHi, Carol. I was just reading this, but while I bet they will be just fine, 6.5″ does seem like quite a distance to the bottom of the entrance/exit. Many schools of thought, here. One being that if it is difficult to reach the bottom of the entrance, then they won’t be able to fledge until they are good and ready… i.e. premature fledging, solved! I consider it a bit differently, in that I always tack a section of hardware cloth to the inside of the front of the box. This makes it easy for them to both “peek” and fledge. It makes for quite a show! My five that fledged on June 1st were a riot; they took turns peeking for four days! Hardware cloth installation is obviously not practical for your current nestlings, but with that distance to climb, you may want to try it, for the next group. Just a thought.
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireMeg, you may have the same problem I do, in that chickadees do not comprehend the term “territorial”. Everybody’s welcome, at least in my yard! I threw a stick, today… hit a chickadee. Tripped on a pebble… fell on a chickadee. I cannot get away from them! :) I plan to let this pair “play out the string” with this nest and one egg, but as soon as Junior heads off to chickadee boarding school, that box will become a permanent decoration in my shed. Bluebirds only. Those are the rules. :)
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireThat’s great! It is 95 degrees here, today. Mama and papa blue have ceased all nest building activity. Cooler temps by the end of the week. Good luck with your impending fledge!!
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireMeg, I have the same exact thing going on with a pair of chickadees out back, in a Gilbertson box that my blues hate. Now please don’t get me wrong, I like black-capped chickadees; they are handsome, friendly, and a source of entertainment in the winter at the feeding station… but as for their nesting habits, it’s amateur hour! These guys have no idea what they are doing. In my box, for example, I do not even have to leave the house to monitor it. The Gilbertson box is prominently placed in the backyard; I can see it from my favorite chair, and I know all of their comings and goings. I had one egg for 41 days, then the pair left town. Another, less mature pair shows up, she lays one egg, and nothing… in and out of the box for 3 weeks, now… nothing. The funny thing is, they have no competition for the box. No one bothers them, yet they still can’t get it together. I have no HOSP, no HOWR, no snakes… nothing. As soon as I document abandonment, the Gilbertson box is coming down. I only left it up because I was hoping for a pair of tree swallows. No such luck, for me…
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireSorry to hear, Cardon. First things first: Leave the egg. Until such time as there is objective evidence that the nest is abandoned, you actually are not allowed to remove it. Also, they may press on and incubate the lone egg. Second, you apparently have a predator problem (house sparrow HOSP, house wren HOWR, squirrel, snake, etc.). The question is: Is your nest box protected against such things (i.e. baffle, predator guard on the entry hole, sparrow spooker, wren guard, etc.?) Easiest thing might be for you to post a picture of your set up. Maybe we can help you diagnose. Additionally, I feel it always helps to carefully observe, inventory, and catalog what you are up against on you property. What predators do you have? What challenges do you face? Do you have snakes, raccoons, and house wrens?? If so, take the necessary precautionary measures for your blues There is a wealth of information at http://www.sialis.org/
It is a great place to start!Randy
Bedford, New Hampshire
