The lovelies were back!
It has been a couple of days since I last saw them - the Bluebirds paid a visit! Whenever I go outside I listen for them, but they have not come as frequently as in previous years. It was a whole group, and once I saw them at the caged feeder (that I use to keep the Starlings away from the mealworms), I ran out to put worms in the camera bowls, and here they are 💙
The BBs came over today
and did not disappoint. Grumpy faces, beautiful detail and overall loveableness. I heard them when I got out for the second refill of the day and decided to try and put some mealers out in the camera feeders. I cannot set the clock to when they come but they are hagning around. Having mealers out in open feeders at all times would give me a bunch of Starlings, so I try to listen. Come good into the week!
Speaking of blue...
Yesterday, eight Bluebirds swooped into the yard. I noticed they were around when I first got out in the morning. I could hear them. They have the sweetest call and song, and once you know what they sound like, you might find that you have them around without knowing it. I think it is the family of Dr. Clara and Mandrake. They will share food for a bit but are also often in a fighty mood. I love them so much.
Left is a female, in the middle a male and a female, and the third photo shows a male.
As I promised,
here are some more Bluebird photos. And it is funny, but sometimes I feel like my setup was just made for them, they usually get the best shots and videos. It might be their size but maybe also their behavior. They seemingly like to sit and examine. With resting birb face 🤣 The second to last photo nicely shows the color difference between male (left) and female (right) 💙
MONDAY's (almost) HERE!
The BBs have returned every single day since they first started showing up again the other week. There is four of them, and they always go straight for the nestbox and excitedly sit and move around it, taking turns on looking in, and also go to the mealworm feeder. I am short on mealers right now but whenever I notice them, I will add a couple to the cam feeders. Curiously enough, the Starlings almost immediately show up too. How do they freaking know?! More BB pics tomorrow. Nighty and come good into the week!
I don't know if it is really them,
but I think Dr. Clara and Mandrake came back! The Bluebirds are somewhat camera shy and I feel horrible still because of the Wren debacle but this morning, they were back! A group of four! They checked out the nestbox and Mandrake (I will call the resident male that this year) even came to the food bowl. I always have mealworms out for them but they haven’t been touched in months. I hope they will come back and stay as it gets colder. I also saw the first Juncos today. Fall is really here. Happy Monday!
Dr. Clara and Mandrake
have not returned to the nestbox recently, but they are still hanging around, and with them are usually two to three young ones. This Bluebird season has been a bit less exciting than in previous years, which kind of fits the whole birdwatching summer this year, but I hope they stick around and will be frequent visitors in fall and winter, which is what they usually do.
Video: Dr. Clara at the pool
The camera was struggling a bit because of the constantly moving leaf shadows but I thought this scene was too cute not to share. Dr. Clara is behaving like me when I first go to take a dip 😆 Also, I just love their slow wing display. Bluebirds are magical.
It is hard not to feel
with Dr. Clara, the resident Bluebird lady (even though she is a bird and has no human emotions). The whole family is around, and as you know, Mandrake comes to the nestbox several times a day, bringing stuff in or “forming the nest cup”. Yesterday, she was with him, and finally she also got into the box, checked things and formed the nest cup. And I am wondering if they are getting ready for maybe a last try this season. It is getting a bit late, though.
Video: Dinner with the Blues!
The Bluebird babies have been in the yard for a couple of days, but the male always fed them by the caged feeder (that has no cam on it). Last night, they finally led them to the open tray, and Mom and Dad joined in the feeding duties. I have seen all five babies at some point but harsh weather, natural predators or individualism might have separated the siblings. Anyways, here is some happiness to make your Saturday better. (No, the babies are not considerably larger, the angle makes it appear so.)
Nature can be cruel.
This morning, Dr. Clara laid her third egg and despite the extreme heat, things looked great. However, at 9 pm, a House Wren went into the BB box, pierced all three eggs and threw them out. I am not sure what is going to happen now but I am heartbroken, tbh. This has never happened in the five years I’ve been doing this, and it feels like this season is cursed. I will think of solutions, and the nestbox that is currently occupied by the Wren will be removed once the babies have fledged.
If you want to learn more about the impact of House Wrens, I recommend sialis.org.
Another nestbox update
Dr. Clara laid her first egg of brood 3 this morning and Lady Corleone is diligently incubating her clutch of seven. Meanwhile the yard is starting to fill up with bird babies, yesterday I saw a Cardi feeding a youngster, they seem to have two. I hope they go and visit the cameras too! The birdbath is a good point to watch right now too, the baby Orioles and Grosbeaks like it a lot. I am still waiting for the second clutch of the Bluebird babies to come to the yard too but that should also soon happen. Things are picking up again finally!
Video: A nestbuilding timelapse
Dr. Clara the Bluebird has been very busy building her nest, a lot faster than the first two. I always find it fascinating to see them build, and the timelapse shows nicely the different sections. First a base, then some framing, then bedding and then embellishments. Since she started in such a hurry I expect her to start laying eggs soon too.
I have been a little behind here with posts lately but there is not a lot happening, and then there was all this rain. The rain has mucked up the pond quite a bit too, so it needed a bit more cleaning than usual but it will be up and running later today. And more photos :) Happy Thursday!
It looks like Dr. Clara and Mandrake
are going for another round. She has started building a nest yesterday, and once again was not too happy with Mandrake trying to help 😄 The House Wren has laid a total of seven eggs and is currently incubating. We had some nasty weather here recently and I am happy to see the nestboxes withstood the storms just fine. I hope the same goes for the bird babies in the area. I am expecting to see more any day now.
Video: Fledge day!
Four of the Bluebird babies left the nest early this morning. There is a runt, and he / she is still in the box, all dry with torrential rain outside. It was cool to properly see and hear the process of them getting ready to leave, it’s gotta be such a big decision for them. They do a back and forth call with the parents, and once they feel save enough, they just go In the second video you can hear the parent answering outside a bit too. The third video was a cute scene from the other morning. Mom came to check on the babies, and the sun made her shadow appear on the wall like a little movie.
Update - all five babies have fledged now. That a big day for them! The last one left the box at around 2 pm during heavy rain. Such a little trooper.
Things have been busy
for me work-wise lately, so I wasn’t able to dedicate as much time to bird photos as I wanted, but I have put the cameras out every day and curated the harvest. But there is also a relative calm in the backyard. The Wren has now five eggs, which is wonderful. I can hear baby Blue Jays and mostly baby Grosbeaks but they are rare to see still. The Bluebird babies are ready to go and I think they will fledge tomorrow. The weather forecast is a bit nasty, but I think they are so sick of the nest they will go for it. There will be photos tomorrow / Friday. Good night!
Video: Dr. Clara and Mandrake
both take turns to bring caterpillars, flies, moths, yellow jackets and spiders to their young. It is amazing what these tiny shrimp can swallow, but often, they need to empty themselves right away too. Which is what you see here. Mom takes the white fecal sac, the "diaper", and either eats it or discards it away from the nest.
Nestbox update: Bluebirds
I have enjoyed peeking into the nestbox via camera all week, and am happy to report that everything looks fine with these Bluebird babies. The fifth egg hatched one day later than the first four, but all babies look healthy and have been growing well. The summer weather is a two-sided coin, I am always a bit nervous about them getting too hot, but I think it is also giving Dr. Clara a break because she does not have to sit in the box the whole time. When she does, Mandrake often comes to bring food. There are plenty of insects in our yard so I am fairly sure that this brood has a good start in life. I will post some more videos later this weekend.
Videos: Finally!
It’s hatch day for the Bluebirds 🥰 Very early in the morning, Dr. Clara and Mandrake's babies started to hatch. In the first video, you can see her helping and also eating the eggshell. In the second video, you can see Mandrake coming in, making a call and bringing food. The vocal interactions during incubation have been sparse, but now there is communication each time food is brought. Four have hatched, one egg is left. It is swampy outside today, so they should feel nice and comfy.
Bluebird nest #2 - 2021
Dr. Clara and Mandrake's second brood is underway. I am very excited about this and hope to get some cool videos with the new cam. The sparrow spooker is also installed now and Dr. Clara accepted it right away. If you want to know what a sparrow spooker is and how you can help Bluebirds and other native cavity nesting birds succeed, I recommend visiting sialis.org, a website that covers nearly every aspect of the topic. I will collect photos of the egg laying here.
May 26, 2021: Dr. Clara spent another night in the box. We finally got some rain last night, and it stormed for quite a bit. Temperatures have dropped a lot too, and today it is a lot more bearable outside. she is in the box a lot but I am not entirely sure if she is already starting to incubate or if she will lay another egg tomorrow. I guess we wil lsee then.
May 25, 2021: Like clockwork, Dr. Clara laid another egg this morning. She also spent most of the night in the nestbox which I found a bit unusual. Now it will be interesting to see how many more eggs she will lay. I had a clutch of six one year, and this is the “main season” brood with the best amount of bugs around and the mildest temperatures.
May 24, 2021: On time, egg three was laid this morning. Temperatures have fallen after a hot couple of days, and it is a bit rainy out. Dr. Clara has not spent a lot of time in the box yesterday but I was happy to see her coming right back this morning.
May 23, 2021: The second egg is laid, at around the same time, between 8:30 and 9 AM. Temperatures outside are very mild in the morning and turn hot in the afternoon, so the female is not visiting a lot. Both adults and the babies are hanging around.
May 22, 2021: Dr. Clara lays the first egg early in the morning.
