Bluebird Nest Update

Last Thursday we peeked inside the nestbox and this is what we saw. You can tell it's a bluebird nest because it is mainly made of grasses and needles - no hard twigs for mama bluebird.

They twitter to each other in the trees and always keep an eye on the box.

Yesterday we peeked again and it looks like a little Tiffany's gift was left, but yes, it is a bluebird egg. (Makes me wish we still had Cool Caribbean in the SU repetoire!)

Bluebirds usually have a clutch of 3-5 eggs so we'll be checking again in another couple of days to see what the progress is.

Mama won't start incubating the eggs until they're all laid - strangely enough. Then they'll hatch in about 12-14 days.

Oh, and it is a wives tale that the birds will abandon the nest if you bother it. We would never take the eggs out, but it is recommended to check the nest and the babies when they hatch for parasites, ants, and to keep the box wasp free.

Once they hatch, mom and dad will take turns fetching food and feeding the babes. They are also in charge of removing the egg shells to keep predators at bay and to remove the baby poop. Aren't you glad you only had to change diapers!

Bluebirds are mainly insect eaters and we have just received an order of 40,000, yes that's right, 40,000 mealworms to help supplement their diet. I was going to take a picture of them but thought better of it. While adults may eat earthworms, they are not good for baby blues, however, they all like mealworms and they may eat some small berries. The trick is putting them out for the blues and keeping the other birds away.