garden bluebirds

We have a pair of bluebirds nesting in a house in the middle of the community gardens. As I understand, this is not a good location for bluebirds. The risk is high that gardening activities and aggressive birds, especially sparrows and wrens, will interfere with their nesting. But so far, so good. Both parents are bringing food to the box, which means their chicks have hatched. They need a few more weeks without interference to raise their family.

The following Eastern Bluebird information is from Alabama Wildbird Conservation Association at http://www.alaweb.com/~kenwood/saba/birdinfo/bluebird.htm.
# Egg Laying - Egg laying takes from 3 to 6 days. One light blue egg is laid each day until the clutch is complete. The most common clutch size is 5 eggs, but 3, 4, or 6 eggs is not uncommon. 2 or 7 eggs in a clutch is rare.
# Incubation - The female incubates the eggs for 13 or 14 days. She starts incubating on the day she completes the clutch. For this reason, the eggs will all hatch on the same day.
# Nestling Stage - The baby bluebirds will remain in the nest for approximately 15 days. They will be brooded by an adult bird every night, and on cool days until they are fully feathered. During the nestling period the youngsters will be fed by both parent birds. They do not leave the house during this time. All droppings are removed from the house except on the day the young birds fledge (fly from the nest). Once the young birds fledge they do not return to the nest.
# Fledgling Stage - At the end of the nestling period, the young birds fly from the nest. They will be fed by the parent birds for another 7 to 14 days. During this period you will see them in the vicinity of the house. Very soon after the nesting cycle has been completed the parent birds will start over. They may raise as many as 3 broods in a season. Certain management techniques should be practiced to help them along.


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garden centers bird nests

I like to buy my plants from small local garden centers. I've been enjoying looking for vegetable and flower plants for my gardens - especially interesting heirloom tomatoes. I also like looking for birds' nests at the garden centers. Three times now, I have found one hidden in the plants somewhere. The photo above is a nest of robin eggs I photographed this morning.

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garden birds

It was so noisy at the community gardens yesterday evening! Every kind of bird was singing at the top of his lungs. The gold finches almost flew into me in their play. I did my best to focus on my planting chores, but hard with such commotion. Not clear photos, but here are my best: tree swallow, gold finch, ring necked pheasant and a chickadee.



garden birds (Hortus Aves)

bluebirds at the community gardens

Its spring! The birds are nesting. Skippy and I walked through the gardens at Rock Meadow (Belmont) where I hope to have a community plot assignment on Saturday. I was enthralled by the nesting birds. I didn't look too hard, but found several nesting tree swallows and 3 beautiful pairs of nesting Eastern bluebirds!

There's a big open field of conservation land adjacent to the gardens where the town has nesting boxes scattered. It is a beautiful habitat for many species.

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Belmont Victory Garden

Rock Meadow Conservation Land, Belmont

birds in the meadow

Can I get any help in identifying this wing flasher I saw in Rock Meadow yesterday? Mockingbird? Shrike?

The meadow and woods adjacent to my community garden has great wildlife. This weekend I flushed a pair of wood ducks in the woods by the stream. I still haven't seen the noisy ring necked pheasant, but I keep looking. I'd like to check for the nesting bluebirds again today.

garden birds (Hortus Aves)
Belmont Victory Garden

Rock Meadow Conservation Land, Belmont

May 29, 2006: Memorial Day-1

This is a special posting in honor of Memorial Day. The photos are from a visit to Mom and Dad's house. In the flower border, the columbine is in full bloom. Iris and poppies are fully budded. In the lawn, the mower has left tall patches of buttercups and ajuga covered with honey bees. Dad has planted the tomatoes, basil, pumpkins, peas, cukes, beets, spinach, etc. in the vegetable garden. Best of all are all the nesting birds. Wrens are nesting in the house at the edge of the yard, chickadees in the green birdhouse, a robin has made a beautiful mud-lined nest in the lilac (no eggs yet), and a catbird is in a hemlock near the deck and has laid 4 bright blue eggs.

garden bees
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watching for spring birds

They are finally arriving! Last year I saw bluebirds in the meadow by the gardens on April 11, so I'm watching for flashes of blue.

The birds I saw yesterday include a few spring migrants and a lot of NE residents: white-crowned sparrow, eastern phoebe, red-winged blackbirds, lots of American robins, one lonely cold tree swallow, chickadees, nuthatch, downy woodpecker, ring-necked pheasant (no visual), starlings, and blue jays.

The fields and woods are still bare and brown. But if you look close, small grass shoots are coming up, leaf buds are ready to pop. As I wrote a few weeks later last year, "Once it starts, spring comes fast". Today will be 60*F! and I bet this will move things along.




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Birds have fledged

News from my parents is that all of the birds have now fledged. The catbird babies snuck off sometime mid-week and the wrens and robins made a commotion of it yesterday. My parents were occupied the whole day, it sounds like, watching through their binoculars and worrying about the fledglings, which they said looked very vulnerable on the lawn. But no hawks decended, no cats, so it seems like a success.

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baby birds

I just got some new photos of the baby birds (robins top, catbirds bottom). My dad took these pictures. They look pretty cozy in there - not much extra space. I think its about time to fledge.

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Nesting birds

Here are photos of the baby birds in my parents' yard. The top two pictures are the four baby catbirds. Lower picture is the three baby robins. Photos of the catbird eggs in the nest 3 weeks ago are at http://carletongarden.blogspot.com/2006/05/may-29-2006-memorial-day-3.html
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garden crew

Here's a group shot of my garden crew. I guess they are on their coffee break.

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the early bird gets the hay

This robin is very happy I mulched my garden with hay this year. She (he?) is helping herself to big beakfuls and carrying them off. I'm trying to figure out where the nest is, but haven't yet. I have a lot of hay, so am very glad to share with the birds.

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ferocious house wrens

Perhaps putting up a wren house was a bad move. An article on the aggressive and destructive nature of house wrens is here, at an Audubon Blue Bird site. I have an enormous racket in my backyard often times now: the battle of the house wrens and the house sparrows.

Last week I posted photos of baby house sparrows ready to fledge. I never saw them after that day. But rather than attending to their family, after that day the sparrow parents have been battling the house wrens.

I perhaps should not worry that it is only sparrows that the wrens are fighting with, but the Audubon article suggests that no other birds nests are safe within an acre of a house wren nest. Sparrows are also very aggressive and will destroy the nests, eggs and nestlings of other species in their territory (see this Cornell article). Sparrows and house wrens are both believed to be factors in the decline of the Eastern Bluebird.

I have been moving the sparrow house progressively further from the wren house. But on my 1/8th acre property, I can't go very far. So, I listen to the battle noises outside. I just want them to do their job and eat the bugs in my garden!

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robin in the snow

The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

The North Wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will the dormouse do then? Poor thing!
Roll'd up like a ball, in his nest snug & small,
He'll sleep till warm weather comes in. Poor thing!
-author unknown, traditional nursery rhyme

This robin was eating berries from the snow covered holly bush in my back yard this morning. We have many robins that over winter here. They seem out of place, but are nice and fat. I noticed my holly has more berries than usual this year. With all the summer rains we had, I bet there is an abundant supply of berries for the winter birds.

Today have about 5 inches of fresh powder snow. This on top of about 5 inches of old snow. Boston has had a season to date total of 27 inches of snow. Well above our normal amount. Fortunately much of it melts before the next storm.

(By the way - its an American robin. And here's some information of winter robin habits.)

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Another bird update

News on the nesting birds at my parents house: the chickadees and wrens have fledged. Robins and catbird are feeding their young big juicy worms and other bugs. I hear they bring back enormous mouthfuls of food and share it amoung all of the young. Mother Robin has become white and fluffy on her underside and seems to sit on the nest most of the time. It appears that it is Dad doing the feeding. Same with the catbirds. The Mrs is on the nest most of the time, even when people pass by on the walkway that is right next to the nest.

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Bird update

News on the nesting birds in my parents yard: the catbird, robin, chickadee and wren are all still sitting dutifully on their eggs.

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american robin

Cheer-up, cheer-up! My garden workers are returning!

garden birds (Hortus Aves)

local furred and feathered wildlife

These are the "wild" things Skippy and I came across today. I can identify most but not all. Top is a house sparrow - of course. These guys empty my feeders instantly. Since they do good work in my summer garden, I refill. All are fluffed up with the 20 degree weather this week.

The next is a female cardinal who blends very well in the background of leaves. A lovely bird. She's very shy. Next is one of the squirrels who frequents my backyard. They're finding the sunflower seeds I've strewn under the leaves we need to rake tomorrow.

Next is a pair of ducks at the big pond nearby where Skippy and I walk. I don't know the type. Finally, an enormous red tailed hawk by the pond.

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bluebird news

Good news! I hear the bluebirds in the meadow have 6 chicks that have fledged! How great! That's a lot of mouths to feed.

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Belmont Victory Garden

robin fledgelings

I was enjoying watching a couple of American robin fledglings in my yard today. The mom is busy tending them. In the bird house next my home garden, the sparrows must have just hatched as I can hear a quiet peeping coming from inside. I bet the bluebirds at the meadow are busy feeding young, too.

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