All Gone

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

The young Eastern Bluebirds have all fledged. The birdhouse is now empty. I took it down and opened it. Nothing inside except for a nest made with dried grass. There was no eggshell (maybe it was eaten by the babies or their parents), and the nest did not look too bad. No fecal sac, just some dirt at the bottom of the nest. Still I used a hose to spray it with water thoroughly to make it clean again. It is now back in its old place waiting for the Bluebirds to raise their next brood.

The fledglings are flying around our backyard practicing their newfound skills. Some also dive to the grass to look for food. One newly fledged chirped plaintively as it landed near me on the deck.

Bluebird fledgling.

Bluebird fledgling.

An older sister was at the top of a magnolia tree, looking all around her to see whether she could spot her parents.

Female fledgling.

Female fledgling.

However, the parents are keeping their distance, perched very near the top of the surrounding trees. They won’t intervene, unless there is a threat from a bigger bird, like a Blue Jay.

Bluebird fledgling contemplating a new world.

Eastern Bluebirds – First Fledgling

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

Yesterday was an almost perfect, sunny and dry day. A male Bluebird was perched high on a tree, calling the babies to come out and try flying.

Male Bluebird.

Meanwhile, Mamma Bluebird was still carrying out fecal sacs.

Mamma Bluebird.

Seeing that, I thought it would be several more days until the babies start fledging. Then a young one poked its head out.

Young Bluebird.

It chirped, its parents called, and then it jumped out, landed on the grass with parents in tow. Quickly it flew away with the parents, a beautiful threesome. The only bad thing was that I was caught flat footed and did not have time to take any shot!

After a few minutes, another baby appeared in the birdhouse entry hole. It made plaintive calls asking for food.

Young, hungry Bluebird: “You are not going to let me starve, are you?”

Soon enough, Daddy flew in with a juicy worm.

Daddy with worm and youngster.

Daddy with worm and youngster.

Daddy feeding youngster.

Young, hungry Bluebird, still hungry.

It could have been a different youngster.

Mamma Bluebird flew in with an insect.

“Happy now?”

Eastern Bluebird – Babies First Look

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

Yesterday I finally saw the baby Bluebirds in their birdhouse.

Eastern Bluebird.

Eastern Bluebird.

They stayed inside the birdhouse, and had not fledged yet, although it could be a matter of days now. There were probably two or more baby birds. Their parents were busy as usual.

Daddy with food.

Mommy retrieving diaper.

Mommy with food.

Both parents kept a close watch on their birdhouse.

Keeping guard is essential for the survival of the Bluebirds. Last week, while both parents were away, a House Wren inspected the birdhouse thoroughly, and even went inside for a few seconds. It exited without dragging out any baby, but that was scary. House Wren can kill Bluebirds, adults as well as babies.

I have also seen a Black Crow and a Blue Jay landing on the roof of the birdhouse and bending their necks to look inside through that round hole. I had to shout and shoo them away forcefully. Later in the evening, the male Bluebird dive bombed a Blue Jay that came too close the nest.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

Female Bluebird.

Male Bluebird.

No Plumbing 2

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, fecal sac, photography, postaday

Today there is plenty of sunshine. I was able to capture very clearly both Bluebird parents doing their chores.

Female Bluebird getting fecal sac while male Bluebird waits with food.

Got it!

She flew away to dump fecal sac.

Following that both parents fed their babies and checked, but no fecal sac was retrieved. They flew away to look for more food.

Male Bluebird flying away from nest.

Female Bluebird flying away from nest.

One more trip for Bluebird father. Maybe Father’s Day is not celebrated in the realm of birds.

Male Bluebird flying away from nest.

Incidentally, once they fledge, young Bluebirds will not produce fecal sacs.

No Plumbing or Why Parenting Is a Hard Job

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, fecal sac, photography, postaday

A Bluebird nest has no plumbing. Therefore, in addition to constantly flying around to look for worms and insects, the two parents have to keep the nest clean so that their babies can grow up in a disease free environment. The little ones naturally don’t do anything but eat and poop. Fortunately, nature has come up with a way for the parents to deal with their no-plumbing environment.

Lately I have seen them carry out what is called “fecal sacs” that they collect from the rear end of their babies. These sacs contain excretions (poop) from the digestive system, and the parents take them out to throw them far away from the nest. They are like diapers for birds.

Following is a series of photos I took these past few days to show how both parents perform their diaper duties.

Male Bluebird inspecting nest.

Male Bluebird reaching in to get fecal sac from a baby bird.

Male Blurbird carrying fecal sac away to dump somewhere else.

Male Bluebird taking fecal sac away.

With a brood of 3 to 7 babies, it really takes two adults to hunt for food and to carry out fecal sac disposal many times a day.

The female Bluebird shares with her mate the same diaper duties. The following photos, taken at different times, show her doing her share. She was too fast for me, or there was not enough light, so the photos turned out blurry.

Female Bluebird flying fecal sac away from nest.

Female Bluebird flying fecal sac away from nest.

Female Bluebird with worm.

Feeding their babies and cleaning after them constantly have taken their toll on the Bluebird parents. I think they have lost a good deal of weight compared to three or four weeks ago. Since Bluebirds usually have 2 to 3 broods each year, these parents may have a second set of babies to care for in a month or so!

Feeding Time 2

Tags

american robin, Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

Both Bluebird parents are working hard to bring food back to their babies. They disdain the store bought mealworms I put out, and prefer to catch fresh insects and worms. Still the mealworms disappear, and I suspect the Robins have something to do with it.

Female Bluebird flapping her wings as her mate approached.

He’s flying in!

Each parent with their food package.

She flies first to their nest.

She feeds the babies.

“Don’t worry. Daddy has more food!”

“Come quick, they are still hungry!”

“I’m ready with a nice insect!”

He feeds the babies.

Daddy feeding.

“All done, but they are still asking for more.”

Female Bluebird, with more food.

Wary female Bluebird.

Nearby an American Robin was looking at the Bluebirds.

American Robin eyeing Bluebirds.

Feeding Time

Tags

bluebird, Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

Both Bluebirds have been busy going out to find food and bring it back to their nest. I suspect they now have babies, but I have not seen them yet. Meanwhile, the parents have been flying around our backyard, paying little attention to me.

Male Bluebird with insect.

Male Bluebird with mealworm.

Male Bluebird on top of birdhouse.

Female Bluebird with worm.

Female Bluebird with insect.

Male Bluebird bringing food to nest.

Male Bluebird feeding babies.

Male Bluebird after feeding.

“Honey, we need more food!”

Eastern Bluebird and Others

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, house finch, photography, postaday

Twice a day, the female Eastern Bluebird flies out of the birdhouse to preen herself and maybe look around for food. I’ve placed some mealworms on a big oak tree stump, but so far she has not come near them. It has been stormy with lots of rain coming down, which may explain why. In the meantime she has posed gracefully for the camera. First in the afternoon.

Female Eastern Bluebird in the afternoon sun.

Then in the morning.

Female Eastern Bluebird.

Female Eastern Bluebird.

Female Eastern Bluebird.

I have not seen the male bird these past few days, but I am sure he is somewhere nearby protecting her and their nest.

Meanwhile, other birds keep coming to the vegetarian bird feeder.

Male House Finch.

Female House Finch.

Eastern Bluebird Couple

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

The Eastern Bluebird couple nesting in our backyard today made a joint appearance for my camera. It has been at least five years since I put up the first birdhouse, and finally this year Bluebirds are using one of them!

Female Eastern Bluebird.

Female Eastern Bluebird singing.

This afternoon, I first saw a male among the crape myrtle branches.

Male Eastern Bluebird.

Male Eastern Bluebird.

Male Eastern Bluebird jumping as his mate landed nearby.

Eastern Bluebird couple.

Eastern Bluebird couple.

Following the above shot, she flew away, perhaps after seeing a worm or insect on the ground. Bluebirds do not eat from the bird feeder filled with sunflower seeds that I put up for other kinds of birds.

Male Eastern Bluebird looking in the direction where his mate flew.

Eastern Bluebird

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

A pair of Eastern Bluebird is now residing in one of the birdhouses I put up around our backyard. Recently I have seen them flying around, but today I finally saw a female come out of a birdhouse. After some waiting, I saw her perched on a nearby crape myrtle branch, preening herself and inspecting her surroundings.

Female Bluebird preening.

Female Bluebird.

Female Bluebird.

Eastern Bluebird, Finally

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

The Eastern Bluebird is one of the prettiest birds with its vivid blue and rusty colors, at least for the males. As usual for birds, the females are gray and not as noticeable in the wild. It’s a bird I have not been able to photograph successfully until now, despite putting out four Bluebird houses around our backyard. House Wrens usually end up taking over those birdhouses and I have not yet found a way to discourage them from doing so.

Today, I was photographing some yellow Magnolia flowers when a male Eastern Bluebird flew by and perched not more than 10 feet (3 m) from me. It stayed there for a while, perhaps checking out a nearby birdhouse, and allowed me to take the following photos.

Male Eastern Bluebird.

Male Eastern Bluebird.

Male Eastern Bluebird.

Male Eastern Bluebird.