A NEST FULL OF BERRIES

I cleaned out my Bluebird nest box in hopes that they will return to raise another family this year. In the abandoned nest I found, in addition to one unhatched egg, that the nest was full of uneaten berries. It appears that the baby Bluebirds did not care for the berries their parents tried to feed them numerous times and just let them collect in the bottom of their nest.

Bluebirds have left the nest

The Baby Bluebirds fledged the nest last Friday morning. I knew Thursday evening that they probably would leave the nest sometimes Friday because they were so alert and poking their little heads way out of the nest box looking all around. They were also flapping their wings constantly in anticipation of leaving the nest. What I didn’t know was how early they would leave the nest box before daylight. I was able to locate 3 of them right away. I found one hiding in my back yard, one in my front yard and one was dead. I didn’t find the 4th one until Saturday. I was in my backyard pulling up some plants near the nest box and when I disturbed a big Corn Snake that was camouflaged in the pine straw. I almost had my hand on it before I saw it and managed to jerk my hand out of the way just as it drew back to strike me. To start with I wasn’t sure if I had gotten my hand out the way in time but I did. Corn Snakes are not poisonous but I still didn’t want to get snake bit. After I calmed down, I noticed that the snake had a big lump in it about the middle of its body. It was my missing Bluebird baby. (You do not want to know how I know this.) Nature is tough. Out of the 5 original eggs, 4 hatched and only 2 survived their first day out of the nest. Until this morning I haven’t seen the 2 surviving babies since they left my yard last Friday so I was happy to see them both in a tree in my back yard this morning with the parents were bringing them breakfast. At least we know they have survived a week out of the nest.

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The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake is a harmless non-venomous snake. Average adult size is 18-44 inches. Adults are orangish-brown with black bordered orange, red, or brownish blotches. The belly usually is a black and white checkerboard pattern. There is a spear-shaped pattern on the head and neck. The Corn Snake is primarily active at night. It is both a terrestrial borrower and extremely good climber. It feeds on lizards, frogs, rodents, and birds and their eggs. The name, 'Corn Snake', is from when southern farmers stored harvested ears of corn in a crib. Rats and mice came to the corncrib to feed on the corn, and corn snakes came to feed on the rodents.

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE PARK

Different times of day have different lighting.

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Scenic Park

I snapped this picture of one of the bridges in MacIntyre Park today on the way home. I drive by it everyday and think it is so pretty, especially this time of year when everything is so green.

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Various Bluebird Photos

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Angel Wings

The female Bluebird's wings in this photo remind me of angel wings.

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Mockingbird pictures from Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

I snapped a few pictures of the Mockingbirds in the bush beside the backdoor as I headed out for lunch today. As I walked across the parking lot to my car I was reviewing the pictures I had just taken when suddenly, I felt a swoosh of air right behind me as something hit me in the back of my head. It was one of the Mockingbirds. After it attacked me, it then flew up onto the light wires and watched me until I got in my car.

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They are all mouth!

YOU OKAY IN THERE?

The parents frequently check on the baby Bluebirds from the roof of the nest box. The mama bird will almost stand on her head to see into the nestbox.

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Mocking Birds at office

We have Mockingbirds nesting in a bush just a few feet from the back entance to our office. I got these pictures today of the week old babies and the parents standing guard. Mockingbirds will aggressively defend their nest and surrounding area against other birds and animals. They are also known target humans they consider a threat. This could make going to work very hazardous until the babies leave the nest next week.

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TAKING OUT THE TRASH

Bluebird chicks enclose their waste within a flexible bag known as a fecal sac. These sacs are made of strong mucous that the parent birds can easily pick and dispose of. The parent birds meticulously remove these sacs and dispose them some distance away from the nest to help keep the nest sanitary and to reduce the chance of predators locating the nests through visual or chemical evidence.

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To start with the parents would go in the nest box grab the sac, turn around and come back out head first.

As the babies got a little larger the parents would just stick their heads in the nest, grab the sac and then back out of the box and fly off with the fecal sac. Now the baby birds just back their butts up to the nest hole and deposit the sac in the opening for the parents to get.