Nestbox news
I have recently also replaced my Gilbertson with a slightly larger version (6 instead of 4 inches in diameter and homemade), and it looks like I made the switch just in time.
There has been lots of Bluebird activity today, both are taking turns bringing things in and out (even though he looks to be a bit more excited than her, even making the nest shaping "shuffle"). I added the needles to make the transition for them easier and the box less "new". The larger box is supposed to help them raising stronger and healthier chicks, providing more room to exercise the wings and also better air flow during hot times.
They are very entertaining to watch and I am excited to see what happens next.
Nestbox: Meet Gayle and Mr. Business
These two are coming several times a day now, go in, go out, take or bring material. There is not active nestbuilding yet as far as I can tell, this is more like a courtship ritual. [And while I am writing this, she looks like she is actually bringing stuff in right now, cheered on by him. Time will tell, she took a whole month to make the first nest last spring too.] Everytime they come, he is first and then excitedly waves with his wings to greet her. I turned the camera a bit to include the entrance in the view, and I like that it will show a bit more of their interaction. I have also finally decided what the names of this year’s couple are going to be - please meet Gayle and Mr. Business. The weather is still on the frosty side, so I am happy they are having fun and are not busy with babies yet.
Happy Women’s Day!
The Bluebirds
are showing some real interest in the Gilwood, they have been coming back every day to check it out and rearrange the wood shavings. I have seen her in there more often than him, which I take as a good sign. Yesterday, she jumped to the entrance and looked back down, jumped back down and looked back up, as if she was estimating the ceiling height. I built the box according to plans (here is a link, but I added a camera housing: Gilwood plans), so hopefully it fits her needs. Regardless of that she continues to crack me up with her grumpy little face.
Video: BBs checking nestbox
These two have been coming back every so often recently, each time taking a piece of a wood shaving. I love to see them but it is also so cute how they vocally communicate. The box is a Gilwood that I built, the camera is a Wyze. It is not a perfect setup yet but I loved this little video.
Nestbox update - House Wren
After no adult bird came to feed the Wren babies for almost 24 hours, we thought and pondered all day and then took them out the nestbox and brought them to a rehabber (Wild Wings in Hazel Park, they will be happy about donations, it is how they finance their good work). They were nine days old yesterday, not ready to fledge. The day before, the parent had fed them almost every 5 to 10 minutes, then suddenly nothing. The camera takes videos when there is motion or sound. It did not malfunction and I checked the clips as well as the livestream regularly to make sure. I did not want to see the babies die in the box, and I think waiting until the next morning would have sealed their destiny.
No adult bird has returned to the nestbox since. There are strong little birds and I hope they make it. Birds have a rough life, and unfortunately it happens that baby birds lose their parent/s too soon. The good thing is that there are licensed rehabbers who will take them in and care for them until they are ready to fledge.
I hope I get some updates. Be well, Wren babies ❤️
Hatch day for the House Wrens
Yesterday, the House Wren babies have started to hatch. It was interesting to see how the female was taking the egg shells out rather than eating them. But maybe she ate some and threw some out because seven eggs make a lot of egg shell. In the video, you see her tossing out two shells and then you also get a glimpse of the teensy babies. Since they built the whole structure so well, lighting in the box is a bit murky but hopefully things improve a bit once the babies get bigger. I think that so far, all but two eggs have hatched. I am curious to see if the babies will keep them busy enough so that the male loses interest in the BB box. So far, he has not returned with any sticks. The BBs are still around too. They feed their babies from brood 2, and at least the male checks by the box regularly.
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.
Wren update
While the Bluebird babies have grown and started to fledge, the House Wren has gotten comfy in her nest and enlarged her clutch. This morning, she laid egg number six. It is possible that she does another one tomorrow, but then she should be done.
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.
Video: The House Wren has been diligently constructing the nest,
and I am so intrigued by witnessing the whole process. He builds something like a little fortress, with ladders going all the way down to the nest. Here, you can see him adding spider egg sacs. There are several theories about why they do it, one is that the spiders will help with mite control, another that they are purely ornamental. I have decided to call him Sir Corleone because "Lion Heart", "cor leonis" is one of the names that has been attributed to these fierce tiny birds in the past. He is a strong singer, and I am excited to see if he can attract a female.
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.
Video: House Wren cleaning up and starting nest
The "Starling-proof" Flicker box that we built and hung did not attract the species it was designed for, so I decided to change things up a bit and hung the Troyer that I built in that spot. I saw a Downy checking it out and packed it tightly with wood shavings in case she wanted to excavate a roosting spot. Then, a differently looking beak showed up and started to get to work. A House Wren! It started taking the shavings out, one by one, hyperactively, and now has begun to bring sticks in. Wrens have nested in that spot before and I am happy to see them back. I don't want to tinker with the door to restrict access to larger species now, so we will have to see if the Troyer style works out. At least with the camera I can monitor precisely.
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.
Video: I have always loved
the song of the Bluebird but it is awesome to hear them up close, communicating around the nest. Here, the male, Mandrake, goes in to "rearrange the furniture" while the female, Dr. Clara, is waiting outside. It appears that she soon has enough of him doing that, and she demands that he come out 😊
In the second video, he is showing off his vocal skills when he again went into the box to “fix things”. At the end, you can hear a little warning call that they do when they feel that they need to take cover.
