Made me couple Bluebird homes last week. Already getting couples checking them out! Must admit, one of the better selling points is the location. Also the small ornamental pond with flowing water is a nice amenity. One of the birds flew right in front of camera. I also built a feeder located near homes with copious amounts of meal worms. No need to fly long flights for food. I'll update with new picks every so often. This location also has armed security just in case the Starlings start moving in...As in 17 caliber HMR
Every day now this pair of BB's come by to feed at feeder and inspect house. In fact a sparrow started to build a nest and the female BB had nothing to do with this intruder. Through out all of twigs ha ha. The pic below show the male BB jumping out of house with wings tight against his body. Planted some shrubs that they like for food and protection close to bird house. Holly and Cotoneaster, both have berries that they love.... 90% of the Bluebirds population have died in Ohio.
Rookieshooter, What part of Ohio are you from. My daughters still live in N.E. Ohio. I will build some houses for them also. Roger C.
So glad your helping "The bird that carries the sky on his back". I live about 2 hours West of Columbus, not too far from IN line. Here in my opinion is a must read. It explains many things about the Bluebird and why we must help. I'm planning to join the society. Need to get houses out quick for nesting. I'm actually raising my own meal worms also. The birds love those suite cakes that cater to bluebirds. Need to crumble them up. http://www.ohiobluebirdsociety.org/about-bluebirds/
Now you can see why a 1.5" hole. Note one pissed off Bluebird hovering above. http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee362/rookieshooter1/Bluebird/WGI_0005_zpsbg5ypkpj.jpg
Here he is, looking like a bag of chips and all that. Meal worms are sooo tasty. Couple of male birds. Decisions, decisions, decisions? Meal worm or suet cake. The feeder is located about 2 feet from bird house. As of yet the female has not started net building, but has been going in several times a day You can see my live Bluebird cam at extreme left in pic. May have it looking inside birdhouse next year.
Well, she finally started her nest building on 3/20/2016...well, that's if she can figure out how to get the building materials in the entrance. https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/FA4F8CE0685F68EA
Wind blew the hinged roof open today as wind hit 50+ mph. Used bungy cord to secure it. A few minutes later the male Bluebird flew over checking out my work as the female sat on feeder waiting for his approval. The male stays constantly with the female.
Here's a pic of the inside of the bird house. Opened the top when both birds were off feeding. I like how she did wall to wall grass carpeting.
Watch how the male BB will actually at times share food with his mate. This is telling me she is close to laying eggs. https://arlos3-prod-z2.s3.amazonaws.com/4c20c696_8283_4f4b_b01b_37fbe87a5877/336-3847690/48B45A7LEEDD3/recordings/1459961328395.mp4?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIX75SLQI36ZLDMZQ&Expires=1460048990&Signature=GJK1XWly2RoJBU57RFJ9hEMIXnY=
When I read your first post, something triggered my mind but it was your second post that prompted it. I have lived in my current location, Columbus area, for 13 yrs. When we first moved here we had Bluebirds abound. The past several years the population is or seems to be diminishing. If you didn't see them you could hear them. I have only seen and heard one this year so far. What do you think the main problem is ? We have large wooded areas near that haven't changed over the years. Regards.....Gerald
Lack of nesting sites due to the introduction of the English sparrow and the Starling which are not indigenous to the US. Both these bird nest in tree cavities which the native Bluebird are having a hard time finding nesting sites, hence the importance of man made Bluebird nesting sites. My home was built in the 1850's which originally sat on 600 acres, and is on the list of Historical Underground Railroad Society of Ohio. On the property are very very old Locust trees that used to line the old road leading to the house. There are literally dozens of old cavities in these trees...not one Bluebird nest. All are Starlings and sparrow nest. Everyday the Bluebirds at the nesting box have to fight Starlings and Sparrows. And yes, the home does have secret hiding places. So you might say, this old home has a history of giving a helping hand to others.
She laid her third egg on 4/10/16. I read that she'll lay one egg a day and then only start sitting on them until all are laid. Depending on conditions, she could lay more. The pair of birds are very used to me as i make a vocal call each day as I replenish their food. In fact so much so that they fly into the tree over my head and then fly down when i leave. Once the Bluebirds accept you, you can actually monitor the nest each day. I try to do this when both are out feeding, which is never to far. One time i thought she was gone,but only when she flew out when i was only about 2 feet away that i was wrong. No biggie, she flew back in when i left. One can monitor the young hatchlings for about 12 days, but never after that. Cause if you do open the lid when their eyes are open they could fly out way to early. I'll post more pics later.
Since it looks like their may be a population increase in my area, it may be prudent to build and put up another house. Thought I'd give this house a unique look. The knothole is just fastened to the front piece of wood which has a 1-1/2" hole. When i was splitting next winters firewood this side of the log came off...Hmm
Watch what happens to this unsuspecting sparrow, as my local male Bluebird comes out of no where! My first BB house has the female incubating the eggs now. https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/97CA1DDBE4B99837
Thanks for you caring support of our Blue Birds Rookieshooter. We have several BB house's on our property for the past 3 years. The only thing that keeps trying to inhabit them are sparrows and finches. I keep clearing them out but still no luck. Built these our of rough cedar. We have a water feature, plenty of food, just no BB. We do have Robins, Cardinals, Mocking Birds that are comical as the pair of crows. One Bat house that is occupied and helps with the misquito population. Even had a doe give birth to her young fawn last year out behind the barn. And oh yes the Barn Swallows and the Martins dive bomb me when I'm moving in the evening. Just put out our Humingbird feeders yesterday, last year we had our first arrival on 4-28-15. Maybe will get an earlier start this year. With 5 feeders we go through allot of sugar but those guys are fun to watch and the last few years the wife has gotten them to feed from her hand held feeder tube. Keep up the good work, the Birds do need it. So do the bees, our yard is poison free as one can tell by the 10,000 or so dandelions, but hey their pretty also.
Sounds like you got it all going on. Reminds me that I need to also put out Humming bird feeders. The Swallows and Martins dive bomb me also when cutting yard, coming within feet of me. Going to see if this earlier video does not time out. https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/1338D932B5DEEE6C
Rookieshooter, I would like to send you a copy of my favorite Blue Bird photo. Send me a PM with a place to send it. A post office box will be fine. Roger Coveleskie
Thanks for the Wonderful pic...going to get frame. The below vid reminds me of mighty mouse coming to save the day. https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/D24342FC56F347FC
#1 and 2 hatched yesterday and now #3! Hoping for #4 later today or tomorrow. Read that they lose about 17% of the young.
Only 3 hatched of four, guessing the extremely cold mornings of 25 deg had something to do with it. Took this pic today 5/2/16 and they sre looking healthy.
Great post, I have baby Quails and Dove around the house all the time in season, I feed them and love to watch as they go about their business ... They get a little aggressive if you get to close to the eggs, but one day you see all of the little bitty things walking around all over the place ... My Dog, thank God does not bother them ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Have another cool bird taking up residence in one of my cavity type houses. A couple of Tree Swallows. Talk about mosquito control. This bird is different then the Barn Swallow. Nests in tree cavities. Watching this these birds doing their acrobatic flying abilities while chasing their insect pray is just amazing. Would love to know how many g-forces they encounter on one of their turns, all the while only feet off the ground? This bird won't be around during the winter months. Might be as far south as Mexico. If Trump gets the presidency, i hope he does not build the wall too high ha ha.
The bird on the camera post is the male, female poking her head out of house. I'll post pic of her nest later. I have an idea about one pic i took of the birds,but first have to get it Copyrighted before posted. Some of these pics I used my Nikon.
Here is a pic of the male that i just took...I'll have more of the Bluebirds later. Scroll back to see more pics of the Tree Swallows.
Thought I'd post some random pics i took today. All the wind made for some interesting pics, plus the difficulty factor went up substantially.
The wind made for some interesting shots. Note pic #437 as the wind almost blew the bird off the limb, but she still hung onto that meal worm.
Nature is Amazing and its even better to stop and take the time to take in the wonderment of it all ... Great Pictures, very cool ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Great pictures. Sparrows killed the my babies two years in a row. When I see sparrows making a nest I destroy it.
I feed the Quails and Doves almost on a daily basis, there are two of them that will actually eat out of my hand but not come close if I try to take a picture ... The Babies are cuter than a bugs ear ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Thanks for your replies guys...Ditto on the sparrow nests. Took me about 75 pics to get the one below of the Tree Swallow. Shot was taken about 5 feet away.
I have a Dove with 9 eggs behind a bucket I use for cleaning the hot tub filters, won't be long and have 9 more of them little babies roaming around out in the yard ... I will try and get a picture, but she is a little nervous when I try to get close enough ... One of them is always right there with those eggs ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Great pictures, rookieshooter! We have a pair of Indigo Buntings hanging around our backyard this year - first time ever. I may have to make up some bluebird boxes for next spring.
I don't want to spook her or him and drive them away from the eggs (nest) , was out there this morning feeding the yard birds and put some food over near the next for them ... This is the forth year in a row for a Dove to set up house keeping in that same spot ... Won't be long and there will be a bunch of them little critters running all over the place, glad my dog don't bother with them ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Glad to hear about other members bird sighting. The Bluebird nest is vacant now after the young fledged their nest a couple weeks ago. But now there is some more activity there as the male BB is chasing other birds (starlings and sparrows away. Check out this cup that I designed using the play on words Swallow. He does have an attitude looking appearance. The bird is a Tree Swallow pic that I took. On the back is the type of bird along with date and my name. And is being copywrited.
I checked as late as yesterday and the eggs are still in her nest ... Not sure how long it takes for her to hatch them but it seems like its been awhile ... I check it daily to see if there is any activity, she fly's away and sits on the fence while I peek ... I will try to remember to bring my camera or phone with so I can get a picture ... I feed the Doves and Quail every day and have a bunch calling me early in the morning to eat ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Mother Tree Swallow sitting on 5 future Zika virus fighting troops. When they hit the air not a mosquito is safe. There is another house with 5 more eggs in it.
I keep checking on my Doves, the eggs are there and Momma and Daddy hang around, they are eating good ... Will try and get some pictures but do not want to spook them and scare them away ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
She's doing it all over again with two eggs so far. She won't start sitting on them until she's finished laying eggs. Did a better job of nest building this time cause she used fresh grass cuttings this time. There weren't any around the first time.
Totally awesome ... My little Baby Doves and Quail come on the Lanai so I can feed them ... The lady as the store asked me how many people in my family with all of the bread I buy for my birds and bunnies ... I am looking at building a nesting box for them but have to gather some ideas , not sure they will use it but I will try any way ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Check with the bakery in your area. My buddy was able to buy the old bread that was removed from the stores it could save you a lot of money. That you can feed more wild life. Can you post pic's of the quail? Roger C.
I will try and get some good pictures, there was one that almost walked right up to me yesterday probably figured I was its Dad ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Nice Pictures, In Iowa I see Blue Birds about once a year. I have read many species of birds are going extinct because of Cats. Tame & Wild.
Going to do that Roger. UPDATE: All 5 bluebirds left the nest today! Parents still close them. So now that's a total of 8 more BB's in our square. A square around here is, one sq mile with no other roads around. Now to see if she makes another nest before Fall. She did clean out the other nest.
The Doves and quail are all running around , some how the Momma and Daddy's can keep them separated but there are a bunch of them ... They let me know feeding time is between 5 and 5:30 am , then a dip in my dogs pool .... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Here's a pic of Bluebirds you don't see that much For the first time the Bluebirds have not gone south, but remained here at the house. Guess all that work in putting up nesting boxes and raising meal worms with suit cakes have paid off. There were 6 bluebirds at the feeder this morning while the snow was falling. Some of the BB's even roost in the nesting boxes when the temp gets to cold.
I get some of the birds that have probably been around here since they were eggs being as they do not fear me at all (it seems ) when I go out there to feed them ... I actually had one of Doves and a Quail almost come right up to me a few days ago, within a few feet any way and I tried to feed it by hand, didn't work yet but I have to keep trying ... They do not fly away when me and or my dog go out there so they must be rather used to what goes on here ... Nature is absolutely amazing ... Love them Blue Birds, but they are supposed to be mean, kind of like my Ex, I suppose ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
rookieshooter, Please show WPT what a blue bird with an attitude looks like. I think that bird must have been a trap shooter in a former life. Roger C.
Starting to return in better numbers. Did hear them already in February when the rest of the migrants had shown up in the warm weather spell. Very early return this year. Time to put the Mealworms in the feeder.
This is the first time our Bluebirds stayed the entire Winter here. It is the first time they come to our kitchen window feeder also each day,as many as nine.
They (animals/birds) can sense that you are not a threat to them, I was feeding my wild Doves and Quail the other day and a Dove came and landed on the arm of the chair I sat down in ... I was careful not to spook it as it sat there for what seemed like a long time ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Just went to the mailbox and there was a Tree Swallow on one of the houses. Everything is still around three weeks ahead then. Usually around April 10th they first show up. As stated above, when I go out to fill the feeders in the beginning of the season, the birds fly away pretty far and take a while to come back. By this time when I am filling them, they fly into the near by bushes when I come around the corner, and are back on the feeders by the time I am leaving. Kind of neat to see the Chickadee's looking at you from a foot away.
I tried to get pictures of the Dove and Quail, and lowly Pigeon (every so often), but they won't pose for me ... I have counted as many as 50 at a time all in one big bunch ... My Dog does not bother them, trained him to leave them alone ... Love it ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
It's that time of year again at Bluebird acres (our house) when the Bluebirds are very busy. We done had several nestings with one nesting that done fledged the nest. They are now even coming to our window feeders which normaly they don't do.
Yep, second brood is started already (Three eggs). The young ones are still around and being fed. All five eggs made it to young adults, as I have seen them all sitting on my back retaining wall at one time. Funny how the adults fly to the feeder with the meal worms and the youngsters fly there with them. They still wait for the adults to feed them, even though they are standing on them.
Two Bluebird stories: I have a barrel stove in my work shop and the birds are constantly flying down the pipe and getting caught in the barrel. I would leave the stove door open and when I would open up the shop and there would be several flying around. I started leaving the overhead door open and then the little twerps had a race track, several trips a day. I had to screen the pipe opening shut to keep them out. For some reason they liked going down the pipe, through the stove and out the door.. My BB's are always harassing the sparrows. Mom sparrow will set in the hole to block the BB from entering and doing whatever. Last month a BB hovered in front of a sparrow squawking at her. She reached out and grabbed the BB with her beak on his beak. She had her wings spread out on the inside of the house and was holding on tight. This clutch went on for 15 seconds or so and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The sparrow finally let go but the BB kept flying around the birdhouse but at a safer distance. Birds can be amazing.
This little fellow Was taking a bath with four of this family-- December 24 in a Wisconsin snow storm---
rrisum, If you took that picture, have it copy write put on it. It could make you a few bucks. Roger C.
Truth and the real truth----- " The neighborhood blue bird war " the five bluebirds do not belong in Wisconsin on Jan.20 --everyone is to blame. Started out with heated bird baths-- then raisins lining the barb wire fence--now it buying wax worms by the 100's to say you have them today-- hundred of photos-- Came down to the one I posted -- From my neighbor--after trying to get a original only to find out he stole if of a calendar [ He's a democrat] Ron
