Eastern Bluebird nestlings day six!
Greetings baby bluebird lovers! We are on day six for our nestlings, and here’s your look inside the nestbox! The picture is not as focused as I’d like because I’m shooting into a mirror to get a look straight down into the nest. The camera keeps wanting to focus on the mirror rather than the reflected image.
I removed the unhatched eggs yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, so we’re officially down to three baby bluebirds. The good news is that the nest won’t be as crowded, so we should get a better look at the nestlings as they develop. You can really see their color changing now, especially on the head, wings, and spine. There’s less of the fuzzy hair now, too. The eyes are still closed, but they’re much less bulged out (because the heads have grown). Still no feathers, but the sheaths are emerging. Feathers will burst forth in a few more days from the sheaths.
Incidentally, it was really neat to reach into the box while I was getting the unhatched eggs out. I could just barely feel the softness of one of the nestlings as my fingers brushed up against it. I’d love to just pick one up and hold it, but out of consideration for the parent bluebirds and not wanting to disturb them more than we already are, I’m refraining.
Hope you’re enjoying the pictures! Dave
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Comments
Anya, I completely agree! I was really hoping to add five more bluebirds to the growing family in our yard. Still, three will be nice, and I’m especially rooting for some of them to be bright blue males. The two that survived from our first brood appear to be females. Thanks for writing, and congrats to you on the latest family member for you guys!
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So sad that you had to remove the eggs. By the way I am Adam Johnson’s niece.