First pictures of baby bluebirds out of the nest

Aren’t they just so cute? I’m sure you are waiting for the next brood already.

Wonderful pictures! Thanks so much for sharing them. As far as I know, there aren’t bluebirds here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We have plenty of bluejays but no bluebirds at our feeders!
But I loved your posts of the nest, eggs and now the birds on the branch. They were all terrific!

Oh, Dave, how beautiful, I am in TOTAL envy!!

He is so cute sitting proudly beside Papa.
Blessings,Ruth

So cute, Dave… They are remarkably big already, aren’t they??? The colors are strange —but I’m sure that blue will come through soon!!!!

Betsy

Morning Dave,
They are babies no more… but very handsome birds!! Their parents should be proud..and the co/birdparents should also be proud (that’s u)they might not have made it w/o your help!! All those meal worms sure came in handy, I’m sure!!
Always nice to see the young come back home for a visit!!
One difference tho, these guys don’t clean our your entire frig and your bank account before they leave again! tee he

Wonderful photos! I live in Cary, NC, too, and our baby bluebirds will be 18 days tomorrow. We were saying all day today that we expect them to fledge tomorrow. I wonder if they’ll be like yours and wait yet another day. Your photos are fabulous. I, too, have been monitoring the bluebird house for weeks now. So glad I discovered you here. Congratulations on your wee ones!

ps
We’ve had babies several years in a row now–this must be a good area for the bluebirds. They’re such a treat to watch, aren’t they?

Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing. I live in Clayton and we are always excited for the arrival of the bluebirds to nest. I was on day 13 checking our 4 bluebird eggs and they were all on the ground broken – all pecked by most likely a sparrow. Hopefully we can get another bluebird to nest. I

Sue, welcome and thanks for commenting! I think it is a good area for bluebirds…seem to be lots around here. Have you ever been over to Historic Oakview Park in Raleigh off Poole Road? They have a great, uncrowded park with probably about 20 bluebird boxes around the place. Excellent spot! Here’s some pictures I took in the fall…

http://wake.mync.com/site/Wake/news/story/14175

Shirley, thank you. Very sorry to hear your story, though. Have you seen Bird Girl’s post? The same thing sadly happened to her last week. Here’s the link if you are interested:

http://mybirdtales.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-heart-is-broken.html

I checked my bluebird box and found that all the birds were gone and the nest was also gone. Is this usual? I did not see any feathers or anything to indicate they were killed. I have not seen the Mom and Dad today. I did see a starling on the top of the box this morning and made him leave. I cleaned out the box and the dust from the nest – what will happen now?

Doris, with all of that, it sounds like a human cleaned it out. Is the box on your property or somewhere else (trail, field) that someone could empty it? House wrens can clear out a nest and remove nestlings, so that is a possibility as well. Starlings wouldn’t fit inside the box if you’ve got the right size entrance hole. Tough one to figure out… Try here for more ideas:

http://www.sialis.org/predatorid.htm

If the bluebird box is close to trees or bushes, move it out in the open to discourage wrens. I imagine the bluebirds will soon build another nest there and try again. Let me know if you figure out the mystery. Sorry!

I watched three fledgling bluebirds tumble from the nest yesterday. They congregated under a Hosta plant in my flower garden. How long before they are self-sufficient? Will they stay where they are for a time? There are lots of small predators around and I’m worried about them on the ground.

Brenda, what a special (and rare) treat that you got to see it! I’ve missed all of ours. That said, I’d agree that the hosta plant is lacking in its protective qualities. My understanding is that the parents will quickly come near and try to lure the babes on over to a bush or low branch and then higher up to the treetops for a week to 10 days. I’m guessing that the parents have done so by now…I hope!