All’s quiet of the Bluebird Front. While last week we had two empty nests, those nests having fledged six chickadees, and four nests full of nestling bluebirds, we now have only one occupied nest. The Butterfly House nest is the only active nest at this time. It contains four bluebird nestlings who are ready to make their way out into the world. They won’t be there next week, that’s for sure. I did manage to find one unhatched egg inRead more
Posts tagged: #nest box
Bluebird Update 5/13/14
All bluebird nests are currently occupied by nestlings and the two chickadee nest boxes are empty and waiting for someone to move in. Two weeks ago the bluebirds in the Cow Pasture nest had only just hatched. It now looks as if we may not see them again, they will have fledged by next week’s inspection of the nest box. I’ve cleaned out and reinstalled berry baskets in the nest boxes at the Bungee and Sail Boat Pond. Both ofRead more
Bluebird Update 4/29/14
There are six chickadee nestlings, three in the Bungee nest and three in the Sail Boat Pond nest. A fourth egg in the Bungee nest, for whatever reason, failed to hatch. We now have three bluebird nestlings and 15 eggs in the remaining nest boxes, Cow Pasture, Amphimeadow, Picnic Dome, and Butterfly House boxes. One of the eggs at the Cow Pasture nest hadn’t hatched as of Tuesday (4/29), and one egg that had been in the nest last week was missing.Read more
Bluebird Update 4/22/14
There have been a few changes since last week’s inspection of the six nest boxes here at the Museum. All nest boxes are occupied, as was the case last week. But now, all bluebird nests have full compliments of eggs, all are being incubated by their respective parents. And, all but one chickadee egg has hatched. There are still 5 eggs in the nest at the Cow Pasture. The female flew out as I approached which means the eggs areRead more
Bluebird Update 4/1/14
The first thing to report is that there were no eggs in any of the nests this week. I had predicted there would be eggs in at least one of the boxes. Proof again that the birds know better than I when it comes to when and where to lay their eggs. A few of the nests were worked on but several looked to be unchanged since last week. Chickadees have had a hand in the construction of four ofRead more
Bluebird Update 3/18/14
With tree limbs sheathed in ice and icicles dangling from the roof of the nest boxes, it may not seem like bluebird time, but it is. I did a check of the six nest boxes here at the Museum and all save one has seen activity in the last week. Only the nest box behind the Sail Boat Pond in Catch the Wind is empty. Three of the nest boxes show signs of bluebird activity while the nest boxes nextRead more
Bluebirds and Chickadees!
Spurred on by Tuesday’s warmth, I decided to gallop on out to our bluebird trail and see what, if anything, was going on inside those freshly cleaned and refurbished nest boxes. Tuesday is the day that I set aside to inspect the boxes during the nesting season, although I had planned to wait at least one more week. I’m glad I checked. It appears as though at least one chickadee and one bluebird have gotten the urge to build. IRead more
Bluebird Update 7.2.13
I was anxious to check the nest boxes this morning. With all the torrential downpours we’ve had lately I worried for the nestlings in the two remaining active nests. As it happens, it wasn’t the rain I needed to be concerned about. The birds in the Cow Pasture nest next to the Train Tunnel seemed content as I opened their nest box. It’s difficult to see but it appears all five birds are still present. They will surely fledge beforeRead more
Bluebird Update 6/11/13
I was a bit apprehensive as I started my nest box inspections this week. Last Friday we had a day of very heavy rain and thunderstorms and I wasn’t sure of what to expect when I opened the nest boxes. Some areas received five plus inches of rain! I had also been told by Ranger Rock that, out of curiosity, he had looked inside the nest box next to the Bungee Jump on Saturday morning and had found three deadRead more