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Bluebird Behavior (Part 2)Also see Aggression and Anting and Emotions From: "Kellams, Dina M" dmkellam"at"indiana.edu Okay, I'm trying very hard to keep an eye on my box, particularly after reading the horror story about grackles snatching the baby blues! But papa blue just doesn't want to cooperate. Yesterday I walked up to the box, talking the whole way so mama would know I was coming. I started to get really concerned when I didn't see papa nearby, mama didn't fly out of the box, and there was complete silence. After quickly checking for papa once again, I opened up the box to have a look and saw that there was a nestful of quietly slumbering (or 'possuming!) babies and then here comes daddy, diving at my head!!! I quickly shut the box and got out of there, so I didn't get to see if all 6 of the eggs had hatched - from the looks of it, I would say yes. My question - have any of you actually been hit by the divebombers? Do you get out of there when they start diving at you or do you try to finish up your monitoring? Will they every STOP?! LOL And thanks to those who gave suggestions on non-toxic poisons. I went out there the other evening with my combo of water and dish detergent and went to work on those darn bagworms. I at least got them away from my doors and off the porch and the numbers seem to be dwindling (probably drowning with all this rain we've been having!!). Dina From: "Randy Jones" randyj"at"enter.net They won't hurt you. They are definitely communicating! Still, when I was being dived at, I wore a hat. Right now, I'm feeding mealworms, and they know me, so they don't dive at me at all. When I whistle on the way to the feeder, they both fly there even before I arrive, leaving to a nearby branch to give me time to put the mealworms in the feeder, then rushing back as soon as I go on to their nestbox to monitor. They look over at me, but are not at all bothered by me. It's also interesting to me that, although this female is almost all brown, a
different coloring from any I've had nesting here prior to this, both of this
pair flew directly to the feeder the first time I put out mealworms, which was
the first day one of them showed at the nestbox, and before they began
nestbuilding. I guessed that one or both was fledged from that same nestbox last
year or the year before. The first bluebirds I had here four years ago took two
weeks of my constant efforts before they took their first mealworm. Randy Jones ... From: "Dusty Bleher" dusty"at"fsinc.com Good morning Dina & all; ----- Original Message ----- divebombers? Do you get out of there when they start diving at you or do you try to finish up your monitoring? Will they every STOP?! LOL I know that they can be disconcerting when they're trying to defend their nest. But you can safely ignore them. Ya gotta keep in mind that they don't come equipped with talons, a hooked beak, or weigh-in at 10+ kilos...(:-)! Yes, I've had a few actually tap me...kinda like getting slapped by a flutterby. And not all that dangerous or damaging. Don't worry about them. As passionately vicious as they appear, they're just trying to do their best to defend their nest. But you'll find that it's all flutter and chirping, and very little blood & guts...(:-)! Have fun y'all, From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"srnet.com Dina, From: "BONNIE A. YEAGER" dement"at"frognet.net Keith, Fred Yeager, ----- Original Message ----- ... From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas I feel certain one of the adult female bluebirds killed in a PVC box last year was from a second pair of bluebirds seen fighting them for control of the new box. I drove by everyday and observed only bluebirds fighting for this site and after removing the dead bird only bluebirds nested within several miles of this site for the entire season and the box was too deep for starlings to reach. (I have fledged 7 bluebirds a couple of times from 4" PVC nestboxes.) Patricia Gowaty, one of the premiere bluebird behavioral experts feels that bluebirds can and do kill each other on occasion. This is probably very rare where nest sites are numerous and bluebird populations are low but in high concentrations these birds are forced to nest in horrible locations! Example: Why you should leave eggs in nestboxes longer! You check a box on April 1 and find a complete nest. April 8 you have five eggs with female incubating, same on the 15 and same on the 22. Toss the eggs and nest on the 29 and wait for bluebirds to renest. What if anything removed the five eggs 30 minutes after you checked the box on the 8th. On the 9th another bluebird began laying eggs and was incubating when you checked on the 15th. There is a possibility that 15 eggs could have been removed and re-laid by three different female bluebirds and you would NEVER have known these were new eggs. This is one of the reasons where bluebirds are numerous that you need to check your boxes twice a week! IF you decide to remove "abandoned eggs" only remove one and break it and look at it closely to determine if you have made a horrible accounting error or the birds have renested and you were not aware! You don't want to know how many accounting errors I have made when I first began checking boxes! KK From: "BONNIE A. YEAGER" dement"at"frognet.net Keith, I also use PVC (4" diameter) nest boxes. The number of fledglings per box has been consistent at 4 over the past 2.5 years. Wow, seven fledglings in a 4" pipe - that bluebird pair definitely had type A personalities. I'll be content with 4, that seems to be just the right number. I have never had a problem with eggs not hatching on time, but who knows what will happen next. I'll remember your advice if I ever run into this problem. Fred Yeager, ----- Original Message ----- ... From: "Seymour, Beth" Beth.Seymour"at"KMHP.com Does anyone know how the bluebirds feed their young? Do they regurgitate or feed the insects whole? Just wondering. -Beth CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail may contain information that is
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internal records. Please then delete the original Message. Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 11:07:32 -0400 Throughout the winter we had a large flock of bluebirds that would use a mealworm feeder daily. As expected, sometime in February, the dominant pair claimed the backyard nestbox and chased the other bluebirds out of their territory. All except for one female that they allowed to remain. I figured this female must not have found a mate, as she continued to hang out in the yard throughout the first nesting, although she never assisted with the task. Even after the first clutch of eggs hatched and the nesting pair was taking mealworms to the nestlings, they still allowed the other female to sit on the feeder with them. I could tell which one she was, as she never gathered any worms in quantity, but just ate them one at a time. A couple of weeks ago, (after the first clutch fledged but before they returned to the yard), I noticed the 2 females and the male on the mealworm feeder, and all 3 were gathering mealworms in their beaks! The lone female would then fly toward the front of the house, and return empty-beaked to repeat. She must have nestlings to feed! I used a cell phone and positioned myself one streeet over in the general direction she headed, then called my husband to signal that he could put out mealworms and "call" the bluebirds. We waited until he saw the lone female take a mouthful of worms and he told me she was on the way! I was able to track her three street over this way, but then lost her. Interesting! Any ideas on why this female is being allowed in the territory of the backyard nesting pair and all other bluebirds were chased away? Pam in Harford County, Maryland From: "Emily Smith" emilys7"at"earthlink.net I've been impatiently waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Blue to begin a second nesting (first babies fledged May 7th). I've seen them around the nestbox quite often, but nest building hasn't begun. This morning when I awoke, both adults were in and out of the nestbox numerous times, so I took that as a very good sign that nest-building would soon begin in earnest again. A bit later this morning, I noticed a commotion outside my kitchen window. It was two male bluebirds, fighting furiously, for the attention of the one female, who was frantically chattering and wing-waving nearby as if to tell them to "Knock it off, guys! Let ME choose who I want to make babies with!" By this time I was outside, frantically snapping photos, and also tried to dissuade them from fighting by throwing bits of bark mulch at them, but they paid me no mind at all and let me get amazingly close. At some point, they flew off, only to return and fight some more a half-hour later or so. At some point the fight broke up (thankfully), and they all flew off. Now, about an hour after all the excitement, one male is sitting in the tree by the nestbox singing and calling. Every time the female comes close, he follows her all over the trees or wherever she flies. He keeps going into the nestbox to entice her. I have seen her on top of it, but haven't seen her go inside since the "war" this morning. I'm almost wondering if her "favorite guy", the one she went in and out of the nestbox with this morning, lost the battle for her affections, but she's not so sure if she likes this new suitor as much! I am sure I am anthropomorphizing heavily, but this has certainly been an interesting morning! Would appreciate any comments/theories from the more experienced bluebirders on the list. Also have a question about the fledglings. I saw one with "dad" in the birdbath a week after fledging, and have seen no more since. Does that mean they are just doing their own thing elsewhere now, or is it a sign that they did not make it? We had some cold nights here last week - the lowest temp we had was 39, so nothing below freezing, and no rain. Thanks all! Emily From: hubertrap"at"webtv.net (Joe Huber) Hi TomGary, mY guess is that this lone female that is allowed to stay in the area of a pairs nest is that its a young from one of their previous nests. I've seen them help build nests and help feed young birds in the next nest. I've seen two adult female EABL fight over territory. They tumble on the ground clenching each other with their legs and feet. Don't understand how they determine who won but eventually they break up and one heads away and the other stays. Males fighting for territory is why they don't nest close together. One time when two pair nested about 100 ft apart, there was a face off in the middle of the street between the two box locations. The two males faced each other about 6-8 inches apart and circled each other like a dance. They kept this up for several minutes and finally flew back toward their own nest locations. What made the difference was the nest starts were about a week and a half apart when neither had chicks to feed so this may have lowered competition for the moment. This pair of nesters fed in different directions so didn't run into each other very often. Both had successful nests. Joe Huber venice, Fl, Charter member NABS, Charter member OBS, Life member OBS Joe Huber http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/HOUSESPARROWCONTROL
http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/RoostingBluebirds 27.1171494 N Lo -82.4124222 W From: TomGaryH"at"aol.com Any ideas on why this female is being allowed in the territory of the backyard nesting pair and all other bluebirds were chased away? Mother-in-law. Peace! Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 11:04:35 -0400 I've been reading on this list how some have experienced a female bluebird
holding her ground, or "sitting tight" when the box is checked while incubating.
Although I only have five boxes and 3 years under my belt, I've never
experienced this. Even the backyard, mealworm-fed blues are wary and leave the
box whenever I get within ten feet of it. They don't seem to be too concerned,
however, and just sit a little way off before returning to the nest quickly.
This year, as I've written on this list, I've had 5 other species nexting in the
house foundational planting (one actually in the First, the Robin. She was quite skittish nesting at the front door and even caused two of her eggs to fall out of the nest in her initally frantic efforts to flee. However, she quickly grew accustomed to people at the front door (she was two feet away, and then sat tight unless someone poked their head into the Juniper. The Mourning Doves in the garage are nesting at eye level (my eye level, not Bruce's legendary level). This large bird will sit and pretend she's invisible unless a noise or unexpected moment spooks her. Then she flies around and around the garage (I thinkg she's trying to deliberately poop on the offender!) until sh settles down again. I don't think the Chipping Sparrow could be pried off her nest with a crowbar! Her nest is in the top two inches of an Abelia bush righ next to the front walk. It gets constant traffic. I've been within an inch of her and she still stays put! The other extreme is the House Finch. Nesting in a Juniper on the corner of the house, they have experienced Cowbird brood parasitism, and have lost two of their five eggs (I don't know to what). No one can get within twenty feet of the tree within them panicing, leaving the tree in a twitter and sitting on the roof top making all kinds of noice. My question is this. Obviously, there are differences in individuals among birds. But, is there a species generalization? Perhaps based upon the style of nest, location, etc? Any thoughts? Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 06:46:01 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, I found 6 'fresh' feathers in an empty EABL nest. With the amount of orange on the feathers they just had to be an adult EABL. I found the feathers two weeks ago on my Indiana nestbox trail as I cleaned out the old nest. The feathers were too brightly colored to have been part of the used nest. The 4 nestlings were gone as I expected. Last weekend I watched to see both the adults and fledglings without much success. The fledglings were well hidden and inclimate weather kept all birds from moving about much. This weekend was a different story; just absolutely beautiful weather the majority of the time. All 4 fledglings and both adults were seen at a mealie feeder and a birdbath. They just love to mix it up in a bath. Were they marking the box in their territory with the feathers?. I had never seen the feather thing before. This past week she built a new nest in a nestbox about 50 yards away from the box which was used for the first brood. Yesterday, the 4th egg was layed. Finally, I am up to 13 nestboxes with TRES in them. I have only had at most 1
TRES nest in any previous year. The EABL fledge and the TRES move in immediately
before I can even clean out the old EABL. The TRES even removed some HOSP nest
material before building on top of what was left. Looks like I am going to have
to do the pairing thing otherwise I may loose my 2nd EABL brood each year. Have a good day Bob Sitarski a.k.a The Doctor Jackson County Indiana ( 385244N 086023W ) & Clay County Illinois ( 384008N 0882908W ) From: "Fawzi P. Emad femad <at> fpemad <dot> com Hi Doc (Bob). I pair *ALL* my boxes. They are 22' apart as a pair, and each pair is at least 300' away from the other pair. This is true for boxes at home and in the park. The EABL and TRES seem to like living as neighbors, and often I see the EABL perching on the TRES box, and vice-versa. As Bruce mentioned, I often see many TRES around a single site. Only two are the parents-to-be, while the others are single TRES, just there for company... TRES are very gutsy little birds, and will allow me to get very close to them. If one is sitting on her eggs, she will not leave even when I open the box. Generally, I leave them alone if I see them sitting on eggs. Fawzi Fawzi Emad in Laytonsville, Maryland ----- Original Message ----- ... From: "College Town" collegetown"at"I-55.com I hope that was not a stupid question. Last night between 8:30 - 9, I was taking my dogs out and noticed the blue bird (I assumed the male, it was dark) sitting on the perch outside the nest box. I have seen him throughout the day fly to the perch to bring food. The babies inside will be a week old this weekend and I have seen the mother inside with them while the dad brings the food. Back to my story....Last night he (?) sat on the perch for several minutes. I was watching and waiting for him to fly away before I went back inside my apartment b/c I did not want to startle him. Finally he(?) went inside. It made me wander if they all stayed together at night. Just curious. Kim From: "Randy Jones" randyj"at"enter.net My experience is that bluebirds will defend their territory. Despite reports from others, my paired boxes have not resulted in both TRES and EABL at the same time. The bluebirds, both last year and this year, have driven off TRES who showed interest in the paired box. Keith Kridler has frequently suggested extra boxes to deal with competition, including that from HOSP (a trap box), but I have not gone that route either. I have stuck with two boxes, about 12 feet apart, one about 20 feet from the tree line (a Peterson, which the bluebirds invariably choose) and a NABS box which is 12 feet further from the tree line. I have two additional paired boxes at 100 yard intervals. Currently, I have EABL only in the Peterson closest to the tree line. Figure that! Randy Jones ... From: "Randy Jones" randyj"at"enter.net I have never checked inside at night, but the books say that the male perches in a nearby tree. The female stays with the nestlings, at least until they have sufficient body heat to be OK without her. Randy Jones ... From: hubertrap"at"webtv.net (Joe Huber) Hello Kim and all, No adult Bluebirds don't generally stay in nest box over night, They find other roosting place like before nesting. Perhaps this male was bringing in the last feeding before night fall. Joe Huber Venice, Fl. Charter member NABS, Charter member OBS, Life member OBS Joe Huber hubertrap"at"webtv.net http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/HOUSESPARROWCONTROL
http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/RoostingBluebirds 27.1171494 N Lo -82.4124222 W From: "Fawzi P. Emad femad <at> fpemad <dot> com When I put my boxes at 12' apart I got either EABL or TRES and never both. When I increased the distance to 22' I am getting many sites with both EABL and TRES... Also, at home I use the pairing idea for trapping HOSP, whose wings I trim and let them loose in our yard. I see these HOSP all summer long... Right now at home I also have a pair of boxes with EABL and TRES! At home I have two additional pairs of EABL. All four pairs (3 EABL and one TRES) are happy building nests now. The EABL are on their second nesting. In the park there are more nests, and I plan to visit there sometime later this week. Fawzi Fawzi Emad in Laytonsville, Maryland ----- Original Message ----- ... From: chicker"at"snet.net Saw 3 bluebirds 2 females were fighting and rolling on the ground while the male was trying to break them up. I went out as the last thing i wanted was a dead bluebird!Read up on it, I guess she didn't want her to steal her husband..Something like that.. Is that true...The more i learn about different birds behaviors the more incredible and worthwhile it all is.. Bea in Bethel CT Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 23:16:33 -0400 Hi All, We have some boxes placed at my in-laws. There is a bluebird nest with 4 eggs and a TRES nest with 6 eggs. The male bluebird flies to the picture window all day long and just looks inside. He doesn't peck at the glass. He just sits there and looks inside. My mother-in-law loves seeing him up so close. We thought that he saw his reflection but wouldn't he peck at the glass? What do you think is going on with him? Patty in Fairview, WV From: hubertrap"at"webtv.net (Joe Huber) Hi Patty, This happens a lot, and it is believed the bluebird sees his reflection and is trying to chase away a competitor. This may go on for weeks. YOu can stop this by placing something inside the glass where he flies up to the window. He may give it up once serious feeding starts ,but you can't be sure. On a golf course where I once had nest boxes there was a bluebird that kept flying up to mirrors on owners truck . He kept it up for weeks. Messed up mirrors big time every day. Didn't matter if truck was parked in different place,the bird found it. Joe Huber, Venice, Fl. Charter member NABS, Charter member OBS, Life member OBS Joe Huber hubertrap"at"webtv.net http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/HOUSESPARROWCONTROL
http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/RoostingBluebirds 27.1171494 N Lo -82.4124222 W Sun, 2 Jun 2002 23:17:04 -0400 (EDT) ... Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 22:46:12 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Now this TRES nest has 3 or 4 eggs - so it is well established. Usually our EABLs don't like even TRES nesting within view of their box in the front yard. Well, they seemed to do fine with it in view this year -but we think when we mowed the box "stood" out more visually -even though the box is 200' away. They've been attacking the box all day long! The EABL have 5 nice warm eggs - so not like they are looking for another nesting box. We even moved the TRES box out of sight of the EABL box. Which by the way was something. Thom picked up the box on the pole and moved it while the mom stayed right on her eggs. Both T and I decided it was the female instigating the whole thing because she'll sit there near the TRES box wing-waving up a storm and we both feel like she is "making" him do the dirty work by attacking! So far the TRES have persevered. :-) H From: Lynn Ward lWard"at"pmai.org Diane Seward wrote: It seems apparent to me, from observing the male's hovering at the nestbox
and hanging onto one side for a time when his new mate enters it, that he is
aware that his previous mate perished in that box and is listening for any
problems. Okay, perhaps I am reading too much into this blue's behavior, Diane Seward Diane, I have a similar situation with a male in my backyard with a second mate. His first mate was trapped and killed by a HOSP inside this particular box. He too exhibited the behavior you described. I also have never seen a BB act so aggressive towards any HOSP he encounters. I've seen him physically attack (and I mean attack!) a couple of male HOSP who happened to wander into the general vicinity. Both times, the HOSP screeched and flew out of the yard as fast as they could. Boy did that make my heart glad!! I think the first experience taught him the necessity to be extra vigilant and cautious. Lynn Ward From: "Emily Smith" emilys7"at"earthlink.net Hi all, We're on our second nesting in our sole backyard bluebird box, and Mama is currently incubating the eggs. It's been really hot this week in NC (95+ highs), and I've noticed that she is sticking her head out of the box for long periods of time. Is this how she regulates her heat? It would seem so, especially since she didn't do this nearly so often with the first nesting. We see a couple of the fledglings from the first nesting cycle around our backyard nearly every day, drinking from and bathing in the birdbath, hunting, and perching, and it's a wonderful sight. Even though we're doing this on a very small scale, I am thankful for every new bluebird we're able to help into the world! Happy bluebirding, From: TomGaryH"at"aol.com Hi Emily, I understand that a female will use her wings to fan her nest if it is too hot. I don't know where she would be while fanning - perhaps this varys. I don't know how long she could be effective with this. It is not unusual for the female to spend long periods off the nest and out of the nestbox on hot days. Have you thought about shading the nestbox? Various things can be used to shade the box like an umbrella, leafy limbs, etc. I have very large plywood shade roofs that I tie on to existing roofs. The shade roof is separated from the nestbox roof by small wooden blocks which keep the two roofs about and inch apart. The idea here is to slow down or stop the trasfer of heat from the shade roof through the separator blocks to the nestbox roof. A large shade roof can be positioned to shade the walls of the nestbox, too. If you try shading make sure that whatever method you use to keep the shade in place does not assist predators. Tom Heintzelman Backyard Nestbox Landlord ----------- Your Bluebird-L Post ---------- ... From: "Karen Louise Lippy" brdbrain"at"superpa.net Tom, ... From: TomGaryH"at"aol.com Hi Karen, In your 02-06-15 18:53:05 EDT Bluebird-L post, you comment: I have never before heard of the hens fanning the chicks with her wings. It may be possible. I have heard of and even seen birds that were brooding chicks fly down to water, wet their breasts and return to cool the chicks this way. I've never heard it mentioned specifically that bluebirds do this, but it may be possible if they are near water. You may have caught me passing along or starting a whopper. It certainly wasn't intentionally meant to be a falsehood. If I come up with where I came across this information I will pass it along. I've heard of the female wetting her feathers to cool her brood, but I have never seen it down here though it is hot for lengthy periods, there is plenty of water available, and I've sweat gallons observing nesting bluebirds. I'm glad you made your comment. It is a good reminder for me to pay more attention to what and how I word a post. Tom Heintzelman Backyard Nestbox Landlord Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2002 07:21:33 -0500 Well, I went to the archives and read all about window strikes, and I really have a crazy one! I was very successful (I think) as the first nest of 5 has fledged. I have yet to see babies fledge, though both this year and last, the pair continually finds food and flies into the woods, so they must be feeding. I am guessing the 5 are out there somewhere as of a week ago. Well, the male has been hitting every window in my house for the last two weeks. We have a large log house with a walkout in front, so there is no way I am going to put anything in the windows. (I can't reach the high ones from inside or out anyway). The male goes to the top of the window, taps it, and gently flutters down to the wide ledge where he leaves me a record of his presence. He does the garage, picture windows, circle top, bedroom windows, solarium etc. He isn't fussy. Luckily I have no neighbors, so it is only us. I am an early riser, and I love the birds keeping me company all over my yard. So I am not too concerned. The male does not injure himself and you tell me, but I am guessing he is either defending his territory or gathering insects off my windows. I assume the female will be laying her second clutch soon, so hopefully this will end. It didn't start until the young were quite large..... Any comments would be appreciated. Our weather has been wet, wet, wet, and this behavior has appeared on both sunny and cloudy days....... From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"srnet.com Join the club, Jeanne. The window-banger Robin that I first mentioned back in late April is still at it today - what's this, June 18? - usually starting at about 6:00 AM. Most of the time it's my woodshop window, down at ground level. The window has a huge Rhododendron right outside, so he has a place to sit and contemplate his next moves. I have no idea why they do this, though I've heard a number of theories. We must remember that these birds have brains about the size of a pea, so there's not much room up there for complex thoughts, reasoning, contemplation, pros-and-cons, and so forth. I doubt that this Robin has any interest in my power tools, per se. My best guess is that the bird himself has no idea why he does it; he just does it. Our cat used to be fascinated by bird-watching shows on TV, but she had a relatively enormous brain, (though of course, Wendell, not nearly as big as mine.) Bruce Burdett, SW NH P.S.: But then we have that great line from Donne, or was it Blake? : "How do we know but that every bird that cuts the airy way is an immense world of delight, shut off by our senses five?" From: "College Town" collegetown"at"I-55.com Just wanted to let ya'll know what's going on around here. I am expecting 4 eggs to hatch over the next several days. I checked the box yesterday and mama swooped down at me several times. This is the 3rd time I have had eggs this season, but the first time with this female. I have never had any of the other bb's swoop me. In fact even with this female, you could actually get close to her without her flying away and she has watched me before on several occasions checking the box. Maybe she knows it is time for them to hatch and is getting "protective". That is fine with me. Dad has not been around as much lately. Not even for mealworms. Last week I saw him checking out another nestbox several times. When I did not see him any longer I assumbed something bad had happened or he had found another "lady" and was with her. The other times I had babies the male and female stayed around--until the female died. Anyway, I saw him briefly yesterday morning and several times this morning. He was checking out the other nestbox again. I would think it would be to late for them to nest again, but who knows. By the way, once a baby has left the next how long before they will start a family themselves? Kim From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"srnet.com Kim,et al, From: "MJShearer" eshearer"at"attbi.com Hi, I had a somewhat similar incident last year when the last fledgling of the second clutch was coaxed from the box by the adults and a fledgling from the first clutch. The parents and older siblings kept flying down to the baby, coaxing it from the lawn to a small bush, but the fledgling could only fly a couple of feet. When it went to an area where I had seen copperheads, I decided to intervene and place the frightened fledgling in a tree. The adults did not appreciate my efforts and dive-bombed me until I left the baby on a low branch. The adults then coaxed the fledgling to a large tree in my neighbor's yard where it climbed the trunk like a little nuthatch or woodpecker! Do you suppose your baby birds were frightened into premature fledging, and the parents are just trying to encourage them to move to a safer place? MJ ----- Original Message ----- ... To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu Hi All, I saw something funny today. One of the baby Bluebirds who fledged 6/11 would fry down and pull a feather out of the Robin. The Robin would send him frying about 5 feet and the Bluebird would come right back again. This is one of the boxes in my back yard. Five more babies hatched out of this box today. Maynard Sumner NABS MBS GAS OBS OBC NAHC NAFC Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Date: Sun, 07 Jul 2002 12:20:34 -0400 My backyard bluebird pair has begun their third nesting in a half formed nest cup. There is a well formed front half of the nest and the back is almost bare. I looked at the numbers from their previous nestings this year to see if perhaps there was less time between building and laying, but there wasn't. The numbers looked interesting though - they are in the table below. It seems this pair likes the number 17! (Couldn't get the table in the email without using rich text - sorry in advance to those who cannot read it)
There was no HOSP pressure or anything obviously causing the bluebird to be
unable to build - and the Lord knows there's an abundance of dead grass with
this drought! What else could cause the partial nest? (Perhaps she's tired!)
Should I try to add grass to the bare bottom and back, or leave Pam in Harford County Maryland From: "Molly Jo Miller" johnson-miller"at"email.msn.com Greetings all, Late this spring I shared the saga of my whacked-out female EAstern BLuebird from last summer. She built three nests and for her fourth she removed the feathers from an unused TREe Swallow nest and then reshaped the cup. (The TRES had built two nests, but used only one.) Of course, the female EABL used only one of the nests. Her mate was taken by a hawk (probably Cooper's) when she had laid only three eggs. She continued laying eggs and fended for herself quite nicely... until another male showed up. Just before the five eggs were supposed to hatch, they disappeared. The female and her new male went on with their lives and fledged four of their own. So, this year, I was hoping to get the female back... but no. A different female showed up (I can't tell about males) and they went about their business (although nesting started a bit late due to crappy weather). She laid four eggs, they hatched and the night before they were to fledge, the female disappeared. The male continued... and the young ones have spent a lot of time in our yard (a first for me). They fledged Wednesday, June 19, and as of Sunday, 6/23, all four were fine. Then they moved out of the yard towards the woods that the EABLs usually move to after fledging. A female was here by herself on 6/30 and on Monday, 7/1, the male and female were here pretty much all day. No juveniles in sight! (Oh no, are they really able to care for themselves already?) So, I'm wondering if this is last year's female... because she has the same very pale coloring. Lo and behold, she came to the mealworm dish when I whistled! Well, the next day (7/2), the male must've felt like he'd won the female over and it was okay to reveal his baggage.... two juveniles showed up. (For those keeping track, that means two out of four died within 9 days. I knew it was going to be tough when, the day after they fledged, I watched the male take on Blue Jays by himself.... leaving the fledglings to their own devices while he went after them.) Since then, the two juveniles and the two adults have been hanging out around the yard, so I've been able to watch their behavior closely. The juvenile male is quite aggressive and digs in to help himself to mealworms. The juvenile female will fly to the mealworm feeder and beg someone to feed her! She's even begged her brother to feed her. Hope she makes it. Anyway, I've never had a second nesting in my yard after a successful first nesting. (I think I usually get EABL's second nesting attempts.) So, after quickly wooing the female she proceeded to build three nests starting on 7/3. She is now incubating four eggs. What I miss is the rapport between the male and female that I'm accustomed to seeing. The male was all-consumed with the two kids and isn't feeding the female AT ALL. (Although the last couple days, I don't see him feeding the kids either. Today, every now and then he'd chirp at them, but didn't feed them or fly to them.) The male and female don't do the wing-waves or chitter-chatter talking with each other. I know she is tough from watching her last year, but is this how a female is typically treated during a second nesting? The only deference he pays her is that she gets first dibs on the mealworms... he doesn't feed her like I'm used to seeing (although during that quick wooing stage he did), but he lowers his head and lets her eat. (She's taken on the juveniles a couple times, taking them to the ground and pouncing on their backs when they got in her way.) Anyway, for those of you who have multiple nestings in your yards and have been able to observe them, is this normal behavior? I'm kind of concerned because we'll be on vacation shortly after the eggs hatch until probably fledging and I won't be here to help if there is trouble... because right now I'm not expecting the male to help feed her or the nestlings? It seems like as of today he might really be weening the kids, so he should be available to feed new nestlings... but dang-it, why can't he at least get a little munchy for the female? Thanks, Molly Jo Miller From: "emcooper" emcooper"at"bayou.com Do bluebirds choose a mate for life or do they choose one every nesting season? Evelyn Cooper From: "emcooper" emcooper"at"bayou.com Thanks, Linda and Bill Darnell. I needed this to send to some people who asked this question today, Evelyn ----- Original Message ----- It is my understanding they are just like people; ... Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 13:07:33 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, We put up our first 2 bluebird houses this spring and have had 3 nests between them, but we hadn't seen the babies fledge and didn't know if any survived. We saw the parents flying up to a nearby tree with bugs for a couple of days after the first nestlings disappeared around June 1st, so we were hopeful. Last weekend, near sunset, we noticed groups of 3-6 birds perching in the tops of trees and on the TV antenna/tower that would repeatedly fly out a short distance and feed on insects in mid-air and return to the tree top. We watched without moving around and they stayed at it for about an hour, high overhead. Although there was an adult bluebird with them, this wasn't the typical bluebird feeding behavior and I've been wondering what those birds were. Yesterday, with an overcast sky just before sunset we were able to see blue feathers on the speckled juveniles--and they are definitely bluebirds. The oldest would have fledged about 7 weeks ago, the first fledge from the second nestbox would have been about 5 weeks ago. In watching for a couple of hours, I finally saw 2 of them briefly go to the ground for bugs (halfway across my neighbor's yard). They didn't seem to be feeding as much as on Sunday, but were catching bugs in mid-air at tree-top height more often than going to the ground from a 10-15' high perch. These birds seem shy and quickly leave for the far side of our neighbor’s
yard if they see us walking around with binoculars, following and watching them.
Monday evening, I did get a glimpse of 3 on top of the empty nestbox, after
sunset, as it started to get dark. One poked his head inside to check it out.
Are my young bluebirds unusual or did I just happen to observe less-common behaviors? I would speculate that bluebirds that are accustomed to human presence and perhaps a regular supply of mealworms tend to stay lower and feed from the ground, and hence are easier to spot than my high-fliers. We have one adult male that sits by himself on the antenna or treetop and
calls. Is he looking for a mate this late in the summer? The 2 boxes are both Nancy Johnson Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 14:59:28 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Since the season is ending and the List is slow, I'd like to know how many others are seeing three bluebird adults feeding a bluebird clutch and whether the occurrences could be the result of nestbox shortages. This year on my established trail, there was more competition for nestboxes and there were three sites with adult "helpers." If adult "helpers" are result of limited nesting sites, perhaps bluebirds could develop colonial nesting habits similar to tree swallows. On the flip side, it is just as important to know whether monitors with plenty of vacant boxes (lack of nestbox competition) are seeing adult bluebirds who are helping the nesting pair. From: "Pam Tellier" wknight"at"erols.com This is the first year I have had EABL's successfully fledge more than once. Since I have been feeding mealworms I have been able to watch behavior. Parents fed fledglings for a couple of weeks and then babies came to feeder with parents and fed themselves. As soon as babies were independent the parents laid three more eggs. As soon as these eggs hatched the parents have been very aggressive towards first babies. Will not let them feed at feeder. Is this typical. I have always heard the whole family sticks together and the first babies even help feed new babies. I am interested if any others have information. Thanks. Pam in MD From: "Phil Kenny" philkenny1"at"cox.net Pam, This is the first year I have had EABL's successfully fledge more than once.
Since I have been feeding mealworms I have been able to watch behavior. Parents
fed fledglings for a couple of weeks and then babies came to feeder with parents
and fed themselves. As soon as babies were independent the parents laid three
more eggs. As soon as these eggs hatched the parents have been very aggressive
towards first babies. Will not let them feed at feeder. Is this typical. I have
always heard the whole family sticks together and the first babies even help
feed new babies. I am interested if any others have information. Thanks. From: "d.rohde" d.rohde"at"attbi.com Pam, The behavior you described is pretty typical of what we've seen with our backyard pair. It is typically dad that's most agressive with the "old" babies. I've always attributed it to him saying "you're big enough to hunt your own food". Most of the time our "old" babies just wait for an opening and feed anyway. We have seen them "help out" with the next nestlings, but dad still tries to run them off. Doug ----- Original Message ----- ... Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2002 12:56:25 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA However, once autumn rolls in and it gets colder, the family including those
previously fledged will often meet up and spend the winter in a family group.
They'll all come feed for mealworms, suet, etc. But once spring begins, the
parents will kick all the fledglings out. They'll have to go establish their own
territories. :-) H From: Pam Tellier ... Haleya Priest
mablue"at"gis.net From: "emcooper" emcooper"at"bayou.com A pair raised one nestling in my back yard last year and I saw them together all fall and winter as they were in my yard every day and at the feeder. When Spring came, I saw the pair start their nest and I saw them kick Jr. out. Evelyn Cooper ----- Original Message ----- ... Date: Sun, 01 Sep 2002 11:15:11 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. My observations with western bluebirds mirror Evelyn's experience: The family stays together as a unit during their first and subsequent clutches. In addition, I frequently observed fledglings from first clutches feeding the second clutches. After the second clutch fledges, sometimes an older first clutch chick will seem to "fledgling-sit" the newly-fledged youngsters. They will fly over and sit on a nearby branch watching (overseeing?) the youngsters for a couple of minutes, but not as part of the tight fuzzy clutch bunch. In warm (hot) So. Calif., we have western bluebirds year around and after the last clutch of the family gains flight experience, they are seen less and less at the nestbox sites until there is only a random bluebird siting during my trail tours during the fall months of Sept/Oct/Nov. emcooper wrote: ... From: "Chris Turnbow" cturnbow"at"midsouth.rr.com Dear BB Enthusiasts, I have had the same little family of BBs in my yard since the summer: One female, a male, and a juvenile. I've seen other BBs passing through, but they don't stay. Is this because this little family has claimed my yard as theirs? I work out of my home and have a clear view of my bird feeding station from my drafting table, so I see them come and go all day. They are the first bids to show up at the feeding station in the morning. They eat peanut butter suet from the window sill and check out the BB feeder for mealies. I've seen other BBs at the suet feeder down by the pond, but they don't come up to the feeding station at the house, where my 3 little BBs hang out Trying to get my neighbors interested in putting up BB feeders and birdboxes -- we have lots of BBs out here!! Sent out flyers with BB info., asked neighbors to contact me by email, only got two responses out of 25 flyers. The flyers were great! Plan to start a web site, even though I got little response. I will ask the Home Owners Association to include our web site address in their literature. This is rural TN, and these people just aren't environmentally conscious, or bird conscious. Any suggestions?! Thanks! From: "ke4fej1" ke4fej1"at"email.msn.com Hi Talia, Sounds like you got the BB bug, and that you want ...to share... your enjoyment of Bluebirds. And you have a good start. Since I am new and also excited about helping the birds and my community, I
would first suggest..."Do what makes you happy to do." Certainly keep in Like a quote on my web site, which I still don't know who said it, but it is ..A Goal is only a wish if you don't have a plan. So what do ..you.. want to do? List all you can think of, but pick only about six items to really work on. Sending the papers to your neighbors was great. But did you ask that they ..write.. back or ..e-mail.. back? Makes a big difference. Writing means they have to find paper, envelopes, stamps, and then mail it besides writing what they want. An e-mail is just a click of a Reply button. But to start you did get two out of 25, and that is wonderful. Now work with just those two people to get them started with the information they need. Books, BB Box, or just a feeder, visit their yard. They may have a neighbor they will bring into the group. Once they are satisfied reach out again. It is not that your ideas will be ..all successful.. or that you then will think you have failed. Each thing you do is a success even if you don't go on. So you can only be successful. As to your Web Site, if ...you... want to do one.... then do it. It is mainly for you, and because you want to share. If other people do not want to help, or look, or comment, that should not interfere with your ideas and happiness. Talia....Go for it! Know you tried to do a good job, and you probably will. And you are certainly far ahead of those who did not try .. to do, or share. Christy Sarasota, FL ----- Original Message ----- ... From: "Chris Turnbow" cturnbow"at"midsouth.rr.com Dear BB Enthusiasts, The little female BB and family has been staying in my yard since summer. Every morning for months now, she pecks hard on the south bathroom window. This window gets full south sun. The BBs live in this area of my yard (very large side yard, which get full unobstructed south sun). This small south window has orchids growing in it, so no chance the BBs will hurt themselves hitting it. They don't, but the female comes every morning first thing and bangs on it hard and loud -- I see her do it. I rush to the window, and there she is banging away looking right at me. What does this mean?? What is she trying to tell me -- "We're ready for breakfast, get your _ _ _ out here and put mealies in my feeder"? I am curious why she does this. I do hurry up and put mealies out as soon as she bangs. I'm not pulling your leg, I swear it. Oh, and these BBs are not so frightened of me anymore. When I walk out to fill feeders they fly off, but don't go as far as they used to, in fact not far at all, and sit there and wait for me to finish. Talia From: "Jim & Ann" jimnann"at"midwestinfo.net Very simple. they associate you feeding them with this behaviour, Somewhere
along the line, they got fed a couple days in a row when she had done this & now
it still works for them so they keep doing it. You probably just used to feed
them first thing in the am anyway & thus the habit? ... From: rindfleisch12"at"elknet.net If I'm not mistaken, the little lady may also be trying to defend her territory from the intruder that she sees in the window. Females are territorial with other females and males take care chasing off other males. I've had a similar experience which was my "first introduction" to the bluebird world and this list. I was concerned for the birds safety. First thing every a.m.... knock, knock, knock on my BEDROOM window (no more sleeping in on the weekends!). I now keep my windows filthy (or keep a can of Xmas window snow spray handly) to minimize the window's reflections - if needed. Good luck! On Wed, 5 Feb 2003 08:25:57 -0600 "Chris Turnbow" wrote: but the female comes every morning first thing ... From: "Burnham, Barbara" Barbara.Burnham"at"zzz.zzz Hi Talia, -----Original Message----- ... From: "emcooper" emcooper"at"bayou.com I received the Message below from one of our LBBS members and have never seen this behavior. Have any of you seen the female taking material out of a nestbox that she just recently built a nest in? Evelyn Cooper Delhi, La. Louisiana Bayou Bluebird Society Bluebirds along the bayous.....where we lend a helping hand! www.labayoubluebirdsociety.org ----- Original Message ----- Hi Mrs. Cooper, I have been watching my pair at my house all day and it looks
like she is pulling the nest material out of the box. They started putting From: "emcooper" emcooper"at"bayou.com I have received some good posts about it. One said that a female had been killed and the male got another mate and she took out the nesting material and built her own. Another said that it was probably material put in there by another bird and she was removing it. Then, another said that the female sometimes attempts building before she makes up her mind to accept the one that the male has chosen. Evelyn Cooper ----- Original Message ----- ... From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Re:Weird; I have placed video cameras on nestboxes while the bluebirds are building and you will see that just like "contractors" that the bluebirds often carry in a piece of building material that was cut and fit or looked like it would fit and be "perfect" out in the field and then it just does not fit in the box.....They carry it back out of the box to find one that fits....I have watched the female carry in grass and the male remove it......Everyone should get a tripod and a camera set up to watch this activity at least once......You fast forward and back up and watch every blade of grass being carried in....I had a complete nest of Tufted titmice ready for eggs...I added another box about 20 feet away, checked the "complete nest" two days later and every speck of moss was GONE! Twenty feet away there was a new nest with one tufted titmouse egg in the second box.....They can move to a better location even when they are about to lay an egg. Pine needles... Where short leaf pine needles are available very often these soft short needles are used exclusively for building a nest....Bluebirds do not fly very far to collect their nesting material if they can find soft grass that was mowed and dried in your yard the entire box may be "Bermuda grass" even if you have pine trees in your yard.... You can rake pine needles up out of your territory and bring them into your yard scatter them around and run the lawn mower over them and see if they use them....I have found entire bluebird nests built out of only the pollen tassels from oak trees.....They use and build nests out of whatever is available....Enjoy these birds because you will see things NO ONE has written about!!!! Keith Kridler Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 10:24:12 -0500 Haleya Priest Amherst MA The online Bluebird Reference Guide:
http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirds/ From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"tds.net Jim, et al, Based on what I've read on the subject, and on my own experience, I would say that Bluebirds do not "mate for life" in the sense that birds like geese and swans do. For one reason, small birds like Bluebirds are getting picked off pretty regularly by various kinds of predators, so an individual's life is often quite short. They just don't live long enough, on average, to enjoy a lengthy mated life. Also, when mating season starts in the spring, there always seems to be a lot of pre-mating competition going on. The males are trying to convince the females of their virility, their competence, their skill at finding good cavities, their ability to provide food, and for all we know, their handsomeness and their fine singing voices. If a Bluebird loses a mate somehow during the mating season, he/she often
finds another one. Also, we read often about apparent bigamy among them. ----- Original Message ----- Bruce, I am new on the bluebird site and I don't think my last Message go to you...Here in Missouri I saw several bluebird pairs this January and February. Do they mate for life or remate each spring? Thanks JIM From: "judymellin" judymellin"at"netzero.net I am far from a scientist but I do know that recent research has shown that, even for birds like geese and swans that were always felt to be mated for life, that life link lasts only as long as both of the pair are alive. It has now been shown that the widow or widower will remate the following season in many cases. I agree with Bruce on the concept of small birds, though. Paul Ehrlich in the Birder's Handbook says, "most birds, however, are monogamous" although he defines polygyny where one male mates with more than one female while each female mates with only one male and polyandry where one female mates with more than one male while each male mates with only one female. Throw in a little philopatry (the tendency of previously mated adult birds to return to their previous breeding territories) and your head will be spinning with the Ps of pairings! Judy Mellin ... Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 07:29:01 -0500 At 06:52 PM 4/20/03 -0400, Rudy Benavides wrote: Judy, can you please explain why the presence of the reed canary grass Bluebirds get most of their insects from the ground, so they like short or thin grass to forage in. It makes spotting the insects on the ground much easier. Thinking of having to peer down between blades of grass 4 or more feet high to see an insect! Kate Arnold From: "Rudy Benavides" rbenavid"at"hotmail.com From: Kate Arnold bbnestbox"at"1starnet.com I just responded to Kate off-post and explained how I seldom see them feeding on the ground along our bluebird trail. At the refuge here the nestboxes are in fields and meadows surrounded by thousands of acres of Eastern forest (mixed mid-Atlantic deciduous-pine). From my casual observations, it seems like most of the time they fly directly from their nestboxes into shrubs, nearby trees or the woods and return later with insects (caterpillars and other bugs). I know they are getting ground-dwelling insects also because the remains of legs, wings, and other parts are left in the nests. In this particular habitat, my guess is that their major food source is found at the forest edge or just inside the forest. I'm curious now to check out their ground-feeding behavior here a little closer. -Rudy in Maryland From: khussie"at"localnet.com This might sound like a really stupid question, but does a BB fledgling from
a March nest ever mate/nest late in the season (Like late July or something), or
do fledglings only mate the following year? Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 10:52:08 -0700 (PDT) Hey all, I've been dive bombed before but two EABL are especially agressive.
They chase after me and even follow me under the car port. Just
astoundinding.... maybe it is the cat colony that is present at my Illinois
rental property which keeps them on the defensive. I even supply these two with
mealies. In fact, I saw the male EABL dive bombing a red bellied woodpecker that
was on the mealie feeder today. There were 5 eggs which hatched last week
Tuesday and/or Wednesday. I did get to stick a mechanics mirror into into the
nestbox (slotted opening) for about 5-7 seconds before the the Blues were all
over me. I saw three distinct beaks on nestlings which were covered with
feathers. There very well could have been more than 3 nestlings. Eyes wide open; always hoping for the sun Bob Sitarski a.k.a The Doctor Jackson County Indiana ( 38.5244N 86.023W ) & Clay County Illinois ( 38.4008N 88.2908W ) From: "Mike Chaney" chaney"at"tis4000.com When I first moved into a home in Reisterstown, Md, I saw some EABLs and decided to erect a BB house. The male BB was the toughest damn little critter I had seen in a while. One time he had a black bird on the ground dive bombing him and then the female joined in. The black bird was laying there as if he were dead. After awhile, the BBs tired out, I guess, and left him alone. When the sustained attack was over, the black bird got up and flew like hell for safety. Pardon my English. I witnessed the same male BB wrestle to the ground a HOSP. It looked like the BB version of the WWF. I was so proud of him until there were fledglings and then he started to attack me whenever I would leave the house. He was a tough cookie and I am sure if all BBs were like that one, we would probably be protecting other bird species. : ) With him as the example, I was given the false impression that all male BBs were the same. This is why I took no action when this year, I wasn’t worried when I saw a HOSP competing for the house that I now have on my PA property. I had the false notion that as soon as the male BB came around, the HOSP would soon be in trouble. I guess I learned a very important lessen that all BBs are born equal. Mike Chaney Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 13:43:48 -0500 I've been taking advantage of all the great advice posted on this list since
last summer, when I finally (four years after putting up a box) attracted my
first pair of bluebirds. I haven't had much time to read the list this year,
though, so please excuse me if my questions are repetitive. I won't go into the long, incredible story of that first pair of birds, but I have to say that the male seemed to be the perfect husband. He came to the box frequently during the day to feed his mate as she kept the eggs warm...I never saw her leave the box unless a human came too close. Later in the summer, another pair took over the box. The new Mr. Blue almost never fed his mate, but that was OK, it was very hot outside, and she could leave often without a problem. For about a week , though, I never saw him and I actually thought that he was dead or had abandoned her. Once the babies were born he was like a differnt bird, and I think he worked harder to feed the babies than Mrs. Blue. He also defended his territory aggressively. I'm quite sure that its the same pair (the male at least) nesting in my box this spring. Mr. Blue hardly ever feeds Mrs. Yesterday morning it was freezing, and I did see him feed her once. Today I hadn't seen either of them for ages, so I went outside and made some noises as I walked toward the box...Mrs. Blue peeks out of the box when anyone comes close, and usually we don't get /too /close because it has been chilly and we want her to stay on her eggs. Today I walked right up to the box, and got no response. I tapped on the box...no response. I opened the box, and there she was! Not a feather moved, and I thought she might be dead, but I closed the box and got out of there. After about 20 minutes she left the box, and I did see her reenter the box about 10 minutes later. I thought she had starved to death! I could hardly believe that she would sit
motionless like that as I opened the box and looked at her. Is it common for the
male not to feed the female? Can she manage alone if the weather stays cold?
Last year it was easy to monitor the box because the females always flew out if
we came close. How can I monitor the box if Mrs Blue stays put? Judy Carver Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 15:55:10 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA What she is doing is called, "sitting tight" - literally you could probably lift her from the eggs and she wouldn't budge an inch. Obviously all is well in your box. I wouldn't worry one iota about whether Mr is feeding her or not.... These birds are wizards at staying alive through hot, cold and cool weather. It isn't until the weather is *exceedingly* cold or hot that you have a thing to worry about! All bluebirds have different personalities and it is good to trust that each pair will be different than the next- but no problem - they know what to do - as they've been doing it for a LONG long time.... When I have a EABL that "sits tight" I don't disturb her unless I absolutely have to. If the box is located in your yard, you can watch for when she leaves the box to go eat or to take a break and then you can go check the eggs. I always say the same thing or sing the same tune before I come up to a box. This way, the mom can come to know my sound and will often then leave the nest when I approach. But some moms are just so darn tough, they'll "sit tight" no matter what! What a miracle. :-) H -------------------------------------------- The online Bluebird Reference Guide:
http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirds/ ---------- ... From: "Randy Jones" randyj"at"enter.net Looks to me like things are just fine. Relax and let them do their thing. I think some feed their mates and others don't. Randy Jones ... From: khussie"at"localnet.com I went down to the trail this morning and in the afternoon and no sign of the bluebird. Is it normal for a bluebird to hang around for a day leave and come back some other time? Does anyone know what the typical behavior of males and females are when they begin migrating? Does the male arrive first and go back to find a female or does the female usually arrive with him? What should I expect? I almost hope he didn't come back today, because a bunch of people were setting off rockets and firecrackers in the field this afternoon. Uggggh! Something tells me that's not a big attractant for bluebirds! I wish you lots of luck! I lived here four years, never saw a ... From: "emcooper" emcooper"at"bayou.com Our speaker for our meeting for next weekend in Baton Rouge came out and filmed my trail. At one nestbox, (the one with 6 babies), both the female and male dive-bombed me. I have never had the male to do that before. It was really a sight with both of them coming at the same time! He got some wonderful footage of that! This pair is very protective of their babies. Usually the male sits right up above the nestbox on the power-line while she dive-bombs me. He got some very good footage of them sitting on the wire. We took pictures of babies from a few hours old to 10 days old, eggs and nests being built. We also took a shot of the two nestboxes that we have to park some equipment between to block the view so they will not see each other. This is better than Christmas! Evelyn Cooper Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 08:08:40 -0500 When "my" bluebirds act this protective, I try to monitor and get away as quickly as possible--I'm trying to train them to be protective by making them think their dive bombing works! :-)) Kate Kate Arnold |
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