Eastern bluebirds are busy staking claim to the nest box. Yesterday they faced brief competition from a nest-shopping house finch, but the male bluebird was having none of it. He shooed it away and resumed calling to a nearby female bluebird, trying to convince her that this is a suitable home. They also have to share the mealworms and insectivore suet (that chunky stuff on the top of the box in this pic) with juncos and robins. I had hung a mealworm feeder on the fence a couple days ago, but heard something (raccoon? possum?) knock it off at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday. So all day yesterday there was a crowd of bluebirds, robins, wrens, and juncos (not to mention mealworm-loving Happy) acting like it was the best sample sale ever at the base of the fence.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Dan // Mar 14, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Racoons use a fence as their sidewalk. One of the reasons it is suggested not to install a nest box on a fence. The fence makes it easy access for predators.
Good luck with the bluebirds. They should be making a nest soon. It will take about a week to construct, usually out of pine needles. Then about a week to lay the eggs. Usually one a day, with a total of four or five blue eggs. Sometimes, on a rare occasion, the eggs will be white.
2 Iris // Mar 17, 2008 at 5:09 pm
They’re fine, just one load of mealworms lighter. Interestingly, the most competition they’ve been facing so far are some aggressive robins that are taking over that part of the yard. Go figure.
I curious—how do bluebirds defend natural cavity nests? I’m thinking about the pair that nest in a tree in BarkPark. There are lots of raccoons there as well, and nothing to stop them from getting into the bluebirds’ nest. We’ve got bluebirds nesting in the woods here, too. I’m guessing it’s a numbers game: have a few broods and hope a few make it to next year.
3 Dan // Mar 17, 2008 at 7:06 pm
It is a numbers game. Predation takes place in the wild with 50% or more of some species’ nesting attempts being unsuccessful. A difference is when you look at the woods it is more difficult to see a cavity in a tree than noticing a box while walking down a fence or hammered on a tree. Our manmade boxes are not part of the natural scene and stand out like a flashing red light. When bluebirds were in great decline people tried all kinds of things to increase the populations. The “best practices” surfaced as success was observed.
Eastern Bluebirds are doing fine with over 27,000 reported on checklists during the February’s Great Backyard Bird Count. Enjoy observing the breeding season. You are probably hearing birds calling way before sunrise and after sunset. Some Northern Mockingbirds call all night, if the have not found a mate.
They all need the protein from the insects found in your yard to feed those growing nestlings. After they hatch, in two weeks they are ready to fly. That is a lot of growing in a short time.
There will be lots of fights over territory. I wonder why more birds do not die from the exhaustion of defending territory and providing food for all of those hungry mouths.
Happy Spring!