Day nine of baby bluebird watching!
Welcome back! If you’re just joining us in this journey, today is day nine for our three Eastern Bluebird nestlings. You can scroll down the page to see their development and the changes from previous days. And if you’ve been here for a while, can you believe how fuzzy they’re getting and how crowded the nest has become? Imagine if all five eggs had hatched! The pink skin is almost completely gone now, and we’re seeing even more blue and white colors appearing on the feathers. Wow!
For those of you new to bluebirds, one of the neat things about how they’ve been created is that they are fastidious nest keepers. We had a house finch nest once on our porch, and by the time the baby birds left the nest, it was trashed…bird poop everywhere! Not so with bluebirds (yet another reason to love them). The parents will faithfully take the garbage out, which also cuts down on ant problems. Here’s a picture from this morning of our mama bird carrying out one of the fecal sacs, as they’re called. If you’ve ever seen a bluebird flying out with something white
in its mouth and wondered what it was, now you know! I even saw our male bluebird one time accidentally drop a sac on his way out, and it smeared down the front of the box. He literally went back and wiped the spot clean with his beak…that’s how neat they are!
Finally here’s another picture from this morning of our male loading up on his favorite…mealworms! He will get five or six in his mouth at a time, fly to the roof, reposition them, fly back for one or two more, then drop them off at the nestbox. Remember, we’ve only been boarding bluebirds since February, so once they get accustomed to you, they can be trained quickly to eat out of your hand. And a bluebird eating out of your hand is a treasure, a special gift. You’ll love it, and all it takes is some patience and lots of mealworms. Give it a try! Dave
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Comments
Doris, I heard you saw one at Kris and Brian’s, so I just discovered you were a bluebird fan. They are so beautiful! Glad you can come along and enjoy ours…what have you been doing to attract them? I can see how the hawks would be a discouragement. I’ve seen ours look up and then disappear when something big is soaring high in the sky. Thank you for your kind words!
We probably haven’t done enough to attract them to our yard. We have 2 boxes some distance apart and in the outer edge of the woods. We have baffles around the poles to discourage predators. We had a special feeder in which we put peanut hearts, mealy worms, and other foods reccommended for bluebirds. One year in February we had a large flock of bluebirds land in a foster holly tree and before evening every red berry was gone.
I have four 2-day old bluebirds in my nesting box!! I’ve been trying to find out what the parents feed the babies. From your story, it sounds like it’s mealworms. Is that right? Are the babies fed anything else?
It is fascinating to watch! In past years, we’ve had the eggs stolen from the nest box several times. Our bluebirds are rather timid, and it is so sad to see a more agressive bird take over their property!
If you have time, please let me know what the babies are fed. Thanks!
Cindy, congrats on your baby bluebirds! On their own, bluebirds will feed the nestlings any variety of insects, which are very plentiful right now in the summer. If you are wondering what they like for us to feed them, then it’s definitely mealworms. Our adult bluebirds also love sunflower chips (without the shell) and peanut halves (also no shell) but not usually for feeding the babies. Mealworms are their favorite, and they will eat as much as you can afford to put out! Suet is another option.
Sorry to hear of your stolen eggs in the past. Do you know what birds were the offenders? Also, what part of the country are you in? Thanks for writing!
Dave, we have had blubirds nesting in our mailbox for the past couple of years, despite the special bluebird house I put up! They had 3 babies this year. Two have successfully left the nest but we didn’t see them go. The third is pretty large, about 3 weeks old. He apparently jumped out of the mailbox. My husband gently put him back and he came out again. He is on the grass under the mailbox but will not, or can not fly. Mom and Dad are close by and very vocal but we don’t know if they are feeding him. Although he is plump and fluffy with feathers, even showing some blue, he does not appear to have eyes, or is blind. Any ideas of how we might save him, or should we let nature take it’s course? We gave him water through a glove with a pinhole, but don’t know if we can do anything more. Suggestions?
Jean, wow…tough situation…you’ll probably get a different answer from each person you ask. My first thought is that a blind, baby bluebird just sitting in the grass won’t last very long. Surely a snake, raccoon, or cat is going to find it quickly. If he truly is blind, then I don’t think he’ll be able to survive long-term anyway without someone’s help. Personally, I’d put him in a shoebox (or something taller) with some grass or pine straw and then try to contact a wildlife official…someone who works with injured animals and has a caring heart toward them. Maybe they can help or point you in the right direction. I’d rather intervene than just watch something sad happen. Thanks for asking, and please let me know how things turn out.
Hi, I’m SO interested in your bluebirds.. We have them for the first time in our backyard–and I can’t stay away from them… If you’d like to read my blog (there are two and some photos), click on my blog page: http://www.lightblog.com/member/slohiker/
I’d love to hear from you and get more info on these gorgeous birds. I’m a rookie when it comes to them!!!!
Thanks,
Betsy Adams
Crossville, TN
Betsy, welcome! You have such a fun nestbox…very unique! I love it! I’m happy to be a resource and answer anything I can for you. It’s amazing how much fun it is to have bluebirds nesting in your backyard!
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Hi, Dave. Diane told me about your blog last weekend when we were all together. I dearly love bluebirds and your journal and pictures are so exciting. We try to attract them to our yard, but only one year have we been successful. We think the red winged hawks that are always nearby discourage the blue birds. It’s so exciting to watch the parents care for the young and then see the babies fly from the nest.