it's a bluebird day!

Well, "a bluebird day" is supposed to mean a beautiful day. I can't say it's that today. Low temp was 16F last night. Still snow on the ground. The magnolia blossoms that were just opening have turned mushy brown. And I don't think the forecast is looking very good. But, yippee for the bluebirds! They are beautiful. (So are the gold finches that are turning bright yellow now.)



I'm hoping a bluebird pair will nest in one of my bird boxes this year. Last year I had both my boxes up against the woods on my garden fence. Not a good location for bluebirds, who need at least 80 ft of open area all around their box. So I had house sparrows. This year, I moved one of the nest boxes out to the center of the yard. Not quite 80 ft from the woods, more like 50 I think. But I'm hoping it will be enough. If not, maybe a swallow will like the box.

The bluebird in the picture perched on a post on my patio. I was able to take his picture from the kitchen window. It was the second time I saw him perch there today. The first time I got so excited that the dogs started barking and he was gone before I grabbed my camera. The second time I was very calm and quiet. The dogs didn't know anything was up.

bluebirds in the gardens

Bluebirds! Just passing through maybe. Flashes of blue and russet. I definitely saw 4 of them today, and there may have been a whole flock of a dozen or so. They are quite shy and I didn't have binoculars.

We have a great bluebird restoration program at Rock Meadow. But this year was not its best year. There was only one nest attempt and this one was disrupted by sparrows. The previous year was very successful with (if I remember correctly) 6 broods raised. Bluebirds need mowed areas to forage and there are large areas ready for them now. Hopefully as they pass through, they'll remember the nice houses and fields and check back in the spring.

Some information on Eastern Bluebirds: They have actually never been on endangered lists, but numbers declined drastically since the early 1900's when they were one of the most common birds of eastern US suburbs. Probably the most significant factors in their decline were the introduction of House Sparrows and European Tree Swallows, pesticide use, and loss of habitat. Since 1970, bluebird numbers have been steadily rising. The most significant factor in their recovery is volunteerism: putting boxes in appropriate habitat and discouraging House Sparrows. (bluebird history)

It seems a timely topic after the panda opinions expressed today. ABC News report: "Conservationists should 'pull the plug' on giant pandas and let them die out, according to BBC presenter and naturalist Chris Packham".

And are the bluebirds just passing through? It seems they sometimes migrate south and sometimes overwinter in Massachusetts. Depends on the winter weather and the food supply. So maybe they'll stay around!

a bluebird is here!

Last year the bluebirds arrived at Rock Meadow by April 10. On this date several were here. I've been watching for them this year and finally one is here. I think this year is running about a week later than last year for blossoms, birds and weather.

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.


garden birds (Hortus Aves)

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.

garden birds (Hortus Aves)
Belmont Victory Garden

bluebirds in the Meadow

I was pleased to see the bluebirds are still in the nesting box at the back of the meadow. I've seen them there since early April. A surprising thing is that there is a new nesting box that has been added very close to the occupied ones. A bluebird pair has had the front box and a swallow the back box and now a new box is added with these. I wonder why someone placed it so close???

Another good sighting is a second box with a nesting bluebird at the front far end of the Meadow. I never saw this one before. The trail runs closer to this box, so I came get a better photo.


gardenbirds

rock meadow bluebirds

I spent an hour at my community plot today after a long absence of at least a couple days. I was glad to see the bluebirds are still in the house on the Meadow that they have occupied for a month or so now. I think this probably means they are nesting, in spite of the swallows. I hope they will raise a big family! The photo is not the best resolution - I didn't want to go too close. That's Mr Bluebird on top. I suppose the Mrs is inside.

gardenbirds
Belmont Victory Garden

Rock Meadow Conservation Land, Belmont

bird house and bluebird update

My dad helped me with putting up a bird house at my plot. Well, he actually transported it, dug the hole, and put it up for me. I can't say I did more than take the photos. Thanks Dad! Its an old chickadee house that was in my backyard with no residents for many years. I'm hoping it may find an occupant at the gardens.

Here's an update on the bluebirds nesting in Rock Meadow. My parents and I went for a walk and checked the houses where I previously saw nesting bluebirds. I had seen three pairs. (My photos are here.) But that was before the tree swallows arrived. Now we could only find one of the pairs left. Its in a house at the far end of the meadow. The swallows are very aggressive and as we watched, it they swooped and dove at the bluebirds. I wonder if the bluebirds will stay to raise a family? Doesn't really seem likely. I'll keep an eye on them. Here's an excellent article on swallow-bluebird competition, that Jim pointed out to me. I was pleased to read that, though swallows are aggressive, bluebirds are larger and stronger and are able to defend themselves. Go bluebirds!

gardenbirds

Rock Meadow Conservation Land, Belmont

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.

garden birds (Hortus Aves)
Belmont Victory Garden

Rock Meadow Conservation Land, Belmont