Bluebird egg watch…day 11
“Houston, we are go for launch!” Today is day eleven of our female bluebird sitting on her five lovely eggs, so hatching is imminent…perhaps as early as tomorrow! Typically Eastern bluebird eggs hatch sometime between day 12 and 15, so we fully expect some baby bluebirds this weekend (hence the Apollo 13 reference above…that and it’s and one of my favorite movies of all-time). Here’s a close-up of the eggs below. Note their different position from the earlier blog entry. Mama bluebird tends them well and keeps them turned.
You’ll also note the obvious omission of the easy “Easter egg” reference in today’s blog. Easter is supposed to be all about Jesus, not eggs or chocolate bunnies. :-) Of course we do have two fun boys (pictured below), so we’ll do some chocolate and have an egg hunt, but that’s definitely not our focus. One of our family traditions this week is putting up drawings that show Jesus’ suffering on his way to the cross. Then early on Sunday morning, we replace them all with signs saying, “The tomb is empty!” or “Christ is risen!” Our oldest son loves going around the house and finding them before church.
Hope you’ll check back tomorrow and on Monday to see what we have in the nestbox! Have a joyous Easter! Dave
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Great photos of the eggs. Also appreciate the way you celebrate Easter and teach your boys the true meaning.
Well Dave, a new father again..god/bird/father… I guess!!
5 this time..at least you can look forward to being able to get more sleep this time!
Love your pics of those awesome eggs and really can’t wait to see those first baby pics..
both your guys look great..can’t get over how big little brother is getting!! Wow!
Do have a great Easter..and keep us posted on the births!!
I am looking forward to seeing those new babies soon.Excting!Yes,Easter is about Jesus and not the Easter bunny as some would say.I love chocolate,but let’s keep the focus on Jsus and what He hsa done for us.Praise the Lord.
Blessings,Ruth
What great Easter chicks you will have! I do love the photograph of the boys. That little one is really growing!
I don’t have any eggs yet – I checked…finally figured out how to open that box ;-)
Your egg picture is quite beautiful – just think – five baby blues in there – neat!
Sweet boys! Have a wonderful Easter with your family, Dave!
I have never been fortunate enough to have a bluebird here in my backyard and no nests, obviously, but most birds lay eggs in a prescribed sequence and the oldest gets fed first as it is the only one hatched, and then they all hatch out in sequence and are fed that way and the oldest leaves the nest first. It would be interesting to see if this works with bluebirds too. So the actual hatching might begin on day 11, and on 12 the second one hatches and so on.
HI DAVE AND FAMILY,
I ALSO HAVE FIVE EGGS. SO SAD TO SAY THAT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO MY DADDY BLUEBIRD. HE WAS AROUND FOR THE BUILDING OF THE NEST, BUT I HAVE NOT SEEN HIM SINCE. WHICH BRINGS ME TO THIS QUESTION. WILL SHE LEAVE THE BABBIES TO GET FOOD. NOW THAT I’VE SAID THAT,OF COURSE SHE WILL. THAT WAS DUMB. I JUST WORRY ABOUT THEM. I CAN’T GET HER TO EAT MY MEALWORMS. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO TO HELP?
SIS IN KY.
Sis, she should definitely feed them. Our female leaves the nest and returns with food often. The male either feeds her or takes things in himself. Sorry to hear about your male bluebird. Hopefully he will return still!
I also have 5 blue bird eggs in my blue bird box. I have a problem though. My husband found a dead blue bird on the ground below the box. We think a neighbor down the roads cat got the bird. We don’t know if it was the male or female blue bird. It was pretty messed up.If it was the female blue bird will the male sit on the eggs? One of my neighbors also has a martin house with martin’s but it is not real close to the box.Could it have been them that killed my blue bird? Would they be that mean? We have blue birds every year and my husband and I are so upset over this. One time we had some other small birds try to take over the nest and pecked the baby birds and killed them. The blue bird box is in a good location but I may have to move it. I went to 4-H camp with my youngest daughter years ago and she built the blue bird box.I loved the bird blind and have been watching and feeding birds ever since. I love the Blue bird the best than the Cardinals.Well loved your pictures. Thanks,
Mary, sorry about your dead bluebird. I have not heard of purple martins as potential enemies for bluebirds, but house wrens, house sparrows, and even some types of swallows are. Since the bluebird was dead below the nestbox, it’s unlikely that it would be a cat or even racoon or possum because they would have taken the bird somewhere else, and there would have been very little remaining. More likely in my opinion is either the house sparrow or house wren. They will peck an adult bluebird to death in order to gain the nesting space. If that’s the case, you may have to move the box further away from trees and bushes(house wren) or away from barns/animals/corn feed (house sparrow). House sparrows might even need to be trapped and relocated. Check this site for more info:
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Oh Dave, that is just so neat. I hope they hatch soon… What a story: New Birth at Easter!!!!! That’s a great story for your boys. That little guy is really growing. What Cuties–both of them.
Keep us posted about the Bluebirds.
Hugs and Happy Easter to all of you,
Betsy