Video: Blue love
It was rainy and sleaty (is that a word?), the ground turned into a mud pit, and the sky remained dark all day. I have a little roof over this feeder, so the seeds, nuts and worms are not getting completely messy, and this merry feathered group shows that the birds appreciate a dry spot to feed. In turn, it made me happy to see the color splashes. (It’s Bluebirds, Goldfinches and House Finches)
Happy weekend!
March is generally a month
that is full of anicipation for me while nothing really much is happening yet. We might still get snow, but there are signs of spring. Like Bluebirds scouting nestboxes. The March couple in the calendar are a female (left) and a male (right). I give them new names each year because I can never really be sure if it’s the same couple. Bluebirds are very territorial, and I have seen males and females alike fight the most gruesome battles. They are one of my favorite birds, and I immensely enjoy being able to watch them raise their babies.
You can get an Ostdrossel calendar in my shop here or following the link here at ostdrossel.com.
The Bluebirds
know that they can still get to the mealworms in the caged feeder without being bothered by the Starlings (the openings are too small for them), so they are coming around frequently. Visiting the bath, going for mealworms, and delighting me. I guess they do have their nickname for a reason :)
(male, female, female w/ House Finch, male, male)
Ragnar the Bluebird man
is having a relationship with the golden morning light and the camera. There is no bird that looks better on my setup than the Bluebird. It is no wonder that they are one of my favorites. And the inspiration for my alias. “Ostdrossel” was what came up when I first tried to find out the German name for the Eastern Bluebird. An automated translation result. In reality, they are Rotkehl-Hüttensänger (“red-throated hut singers”), which is also not too bad of a name.
The smurf family
is here regularly now, finding their way back to the caged feeder, the bird bath, and also peeking into the nestbox several times a day. I wonder what they are thinking because I made a little bed of dry grass in there for the Downy that is using it as a roosting spot. Here is a female BB. I am not sure if it is Lagertha, it might just as well be one of her kids. It is the same bird, these are from a series of photos.
It is wonderful
to see the Bluebirds returning to my yard. I have to admit, I almost took them for granted because they were so much around in recent years. But this year’s couple was a bit different, they never returned after the last brood fledged. It looks a lot like the family of Ragnar and Lagertha are here to spend the winter.
Ragnar and Lagertha
and their brood have been pretty much absent since the last set of babies fledged. I have heard them in the trees and seen them hunting nearby though, so I hope they will be visiting more frequently when it cools down. Last night, one of the first babies showed up, in all it’s teenage feather glory.
Big day for the BB babies!
Yesterday and today were big days for the Bluebird babies! Two fledged yesterday, and the two remaining ones made the big leap this morning. I saw all of them fledge except for the second one. The video shows the last one leaving from box view. I will clean out the box later today, and then we will see if Lagertha goes for another round. And we can finally have a bonfire tonight :)
The Bluebird family
has four thriving babies. We are experiencing very hot and dry weather, and I have to admit that there are times where I am concerned about the babies in the box. But they are doing good. Tonight, Lagertha is not staying with them for the first time. According to my calculations, they should fledge around Thursday/Friday/Saturday.
Last but not least,
after three Bluebird babies hatched yesterday, the fourth seems to have made it out this morning as well.
I have been slacking a bit
with Lagertha nestbox updates, but she has been busy 🙂 She has laid three more eggs after the first one, so now the clutch has four eggs. Tomorrow, we will see how big the clutch is going to be. I never had a BB lay more than five eggs. Meanwhile, Ragnar and the three babies (I haven't seen more than three) are around, playing in the pool and figuring out the food options around here.
These babies.
The Bluebird babies seem to be much more alert this year. Usually, once the parents bring them down to the yard, they sit on the cameras while the parent flies from the bowl to the baby to feed it for a couple of days. But these babies are jumping down on the bowl themselves on their second day in the yard. I have a very good feeling about them, and I still don’t know how many made it so far. But I am madly in love.
And Lagertha is building again too.
Now that the first set of Bluebird babies has fledged, she is ready to give it another go, and has started to fill the box with nesting material again.
The Bluebird babies
are at what I call the “strawberry stage” right now. they are basically done, and wear their gray kiddo PJs with the white dots, which on the nestbox cam makes them look like strawberries. They have been very agile for the last two days, exercising their wings and also peeking out of the nestbox with their little froggie faces. They hatched on May 7, which means they are very close to fledging. It has been rather hot and humid today, and I feel like tomorrow might be fledge day, even though Wednesday would be day 20 and more normal. They just look so incredibly lively already. The parents will then lead them away a bit to teach them the basics of BB life, and bring them back to the yard to show them the feeders after a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Lagertha might start another nest. I cannot wait to see them outside!
The proud mama
Here’s Lagertha, proud mama of at least four Bluebird babies. One egg did not hatch so far but it might be a straggler. The mama bird only starts incubating the eggs once her clutch is complete to make sure that they all hatch at the same time. Often, that works, sometimes it does not work completely, so we will have to see what happens. She helped all the hatchlings to get rid of any excess egg shell by eating it. The babies all look great, and Ragnar is very attentive, bringing her snacks to the box, so I am sure they will make it through the coming cold snap just fine. They are Vikings after all :D
Ragnar, the Bluebird
has been kind of absent throughout the day but came back in the evening for a fierce portrait. Sometimes I feel like my camera loves the Bluebirds because they almost always get fantastic shots. Lagertha is spending the night on the nest, and while it is pretty cold outside right now, I think she has actively started incubating. Hopefully Ragnar brings her some goodies to the nest tomorrow.
Eggciting times!
Lagertha laid a fourth egg yesterday and then a fifth this morning. She also spent last night on the nest and is in there right now. I think she might be done laying and will begin incubation now. After all, this was pretty good timing because it seems like the weather might be warming up now. For those who are curious about the timeline, here is a link to a great overview with photos. But I will keep you in the loop too :)
BB nestbox update
I forgot to post yesterday, but Lagertha is a steady layer, which makes me happy. She laid a new egg yesterday, and the third one this morning. We still have light night frost, and I hope the eggs will be ok. Oh, and happy Earth Day :)
Here we go :)
On this sunny Monday morning, Lagertha, the Bluebird lady, went into the nestbox and stayed there a bit longer than usual. I was hoping the day would finally have come, and I was right. Shortly before 9 in the morning, she laid a beautiful blue egg, starting a new clutch that will hopefully be successful. If things go normal, she will lay an egg per day from today until she is done with the clutch. During that time, she will only occasionally check on the eggs and not sit on them permanently. Once her clutch is completed (usually between 3 and 5 eggs), she will start incubating, meaning that she will sit on the eggs, warming them with her brood patch, a skin fold on her belly (you can see some sort of a “crevice” on many birds right now - that is where it is) and turning and moving them to incubate them evenly. She only starts incubating when her clutch is complete so that all chicks will hatch on the same day. Most of the times, that works perfectly, some times there are some that lag a bit behind.
I am still waiting
for Lagertha, the Bluebird lady, to lay her eggs. she is still prepping the nest, and I wonder if she holds out because of the snow. Ragnar, her partner, is patrolling the yard and making sure there are enough mealworms there to feed him and his future family.
