Thursday, April 9, 2009

Introducing the Bluebird babies

Here are the new babies. They don't look like much except naked little baby birds with some sparse fuzz. They will remain in the nest 15 to 20 days cared for by both parents. Both parents have been busy feeding them all day. Here are pictures from today. The first ones were with my small point & shoot. I had walked out with it at lunch just planning on getting a picture of the babies but both birds were at the box. The male wanted in the box to feed the babies a big juicy worm but the mama bird would not get out of the entrance hole so he kept flying down hovering in front of her.
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These are from tonight.
The coloration of the eastern bluebird differs somewhat between adult male and female birds. The male is dark blue on the head, back, wings and tail. It is reddish brown from the chin down over the breast. The belly is white. Females are a lighter bluish-gray on the back, wings, head and tail. They also have a lighter reddish color on the breast and are white on the belly.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Bluebirds babies

I noticed the Bluebirds constantly going to & from the nest box with food in their mouths when I got home from work today so that means some or all of the eggs have hatched. I didn't open the box to look because it is so cold today and I didn't want to chill the babies. Here are a few shots of them bringing food to the box.
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Monday, April 6, 2009

"Short Tail"

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Something must have happened to "Short Tail's" babies; she has totally abandoned her nest. I caught her short little tail hopping all over the place this past weekend (see in the pictures above) and she never did go anywhere near her nest. Before the rain storms last week she was always near her nest or if she was on the ground when I walked out she would run up the tree and perch on limb beside her nest and watch my every move. Her nest did not totally come down in the storms but there were some twigs from it on the ground underneath it. I guess that is just nature.