It was only one week ago when the nest box at the Cow Pasture contained a mere two pine needles. It now has a complete nest and one bluebird egg behind its wooden walls.

It took these bluebirds a while to get started, but they wasted little time since the last time I checked this box.

I suspect I’ll find more eggs in the nest box next week.

Last week the nest box next to the Bungee Jump (Take Off) held a chickadee nest, but no eggs. When I opened the box this morning a chickadee flew out. She had been sitting on five speckled eggs.

I didn’t want to keep the incubating parent off the nest too long, so I quickly took a few pictures, closed the nest box door and headed off to the Sailboat Pond.

Opening the Sailboat Pond nest box, I was greeted with much the same as at the Bungee nest, a chickadee flew out, I looked inside, and five speckled eggs looked back at me. The chickadees seem to be doing well.

It was now off to the Amphimeadow where last week I found a bluebird nest, sans eggs. The nest box now has five bright bluebird eggs.

Next, across the street to the Picnic Dome nest box where last week there was but one egg in the box. There are now five eggs in the cupped, pine straw and grass nest within that box.

Finally, the Butterfly House nest box. A female bluebird heard me coming up the path and was staring me down from the entrance hole when I walked up to the nest box. I took her photo just before she took flight. Inside the box was an empty nest, but the female had formed a neat cup in the nest material. I’m confident that I’ll find eggs in this box next week.

So, we now have four bluebird nests, the Cow Pasture, Amphimeadow, Picnic Dome, and Butterfly House nest boxes, with 1, 5, 5, and zero eggs, respectively. Chickadees have settled in to their two traditional nest boxes with five eggs each at the Bungee and Sailboat Pond nest boxes.

And, they’re off!