Fledge Fest 2006

Well, the babies finally left the nest today! This morning, around 9am, they started coming out. Mom and Dad seemed to be coaxing them last night, but I think they blocked their escape since it was cool and drizzly. They seemed pretty anxious to get out, though. I am sitting outside right now at around 6pm and don't see any of them, but I am sure they are learning a lot as Sylvia and Lloyd show them the world.

My guess at the first fledge was correct: Hamish came out first, followed by Abe, I think. I am pretty confident that Schmiegal was the second to last to leave. All of the babies flew toward the back of our house. One went for the roof, I think, but got as high as the second story window where he clung to the screen, trying to figure out what the heck he was going to do next. Mom and Dad were flying all around trying to convince him to let go and head a little higher and even tried to bribe him with food. Another one actually landed on the wall and hung there on the brick and a third hit the wondow and tumbled down the side of the house into a mulch bed, thankfully. I was pretty worried, but he was stunend and then took off. One made it to the roof finally and was joinedd by a House Finch with nesting material in his mouth.

I just got buzzed by a couple Hummingbirds and I wonder if they were mating. They were the first I have seen so far. They were making an unusual noise that I have never heard coming from Hummingbirds. I thought there was a beetle in my Crepe Myrtle, but nope!

Okay, back to the Blues. So I was watching the little guy on the ground and trying to snag some pictures of him and the others, when one of the parents dive-bombed me! I was just outside the door and they flew right at me and then as I was ducking, they banked off to the right away from the house. I got the message and decided to hang up my camera for the day.

It's funny how they all followed right along after one another out of the house. I think even if a couple of them weren't completely ready, they didn't want to be left alone. Mom and Dad rewarded them with mealworms after they came out, which only seems fair. I hear them now calling to each other, mostly the parents talking to them. Lloyd and Sylvia are still feeding them, too and I am wondering if they are purposely leading them away from the mealworm buffet. Maybe they will teach them the hard way to hunt first and then show them the buffet once it's time to raise the next brood. We'll have to wait and see.....

I included a picture, but you will have to zoom to see it.

My Voice is Louder than Your Voice

It seems that the babies have discovered that they can use their voices more than just when mom and dad come with food. A couple of them have begin chirping and making noise in between visits. They are starting to communicate with their parents when they are outside and possibly even with each other. It's hard to tell what the chirps mean, but they are definiely finding their voices. When one of the parents come, of course they all scream, mouths open, but they are doing it in a more refined manner. There are a couple who souond differnt than the others. Still, one or two are the more dominant ones, sticking to the top of the birdie pile, but the little ones on bottom manage to squirm to the top (Hey, excuse me! Coming through!), pushing and shoving until they are also able to scream for food.

Mama and Papa seem to know who needs food and who doesn't. In one feeding session, Mama came and went back and forth to the mealworm tray, and fed each one in order, not missing a beat.

I think Hamish is a girl in actuality, but I'll still use the name. Hamish is starting to peek out to see what's going on outside. They also take turns standing on the edge of the nest, practicing their flying, or at least their flapping. It's so funny when they do it because they flap so fast and I think they hit the camera. It sounds like interference or static on the video, but it's just their feverish flapping.

As for growing, I am still amazed at the speed at which they mature. In one day they developed little speckles in a well-defined pattern on their feathers. If you've ever seen baby Robins, it's very similar to the spotty pattern they get as babies. I really think these guys are going to leave the nest pretty soon, earlier than estimated.

Well, tonight is a little chilly. It was 49F at 8:00pm, and it has been drizzly and cool all day, the high only up to 55F. Luckily, they get their down feathers first and they are all puffed up and nose to nose, piled together. They also turn their heads around and tuck their faces into their wings. Some of them used mom to nestle under, but I guess she is too big to fit now because she is not in there with them. It's supposed to get down to 43F, which is pretty darn cold comapred to how it's been, but I am sure they will be fine. I will check in first thing and give an update......

Here's a picture of them getting fed today and one of Lloyd at the Mealworm buffet.

Ready for Take-Off!!!

Anyone who has had any experience with Bluebirds knows that they don't usually fall out of the nest and hop around trying to take off and fly. They pretty much just shoot out of the box and do their thing. No practice, no rehearsal, just flying. Bluebird boxes don't have perches on the outside or any way for them to hedge out and consider flying or think about it or change their mind. The parents withhold food and call to them and basically tease them out of the box.

So how do they just fly, having never flown before???? I have the answer. They take turns climbing up on top of everyone else and begin a crazy spasm of fluttering and flapping their wings. Of course since they are so high up now, their wings hit the camera and make a crazy noise. It sounds just like the sound that you got when you were a kid and put a playing card in the spokes of your bicycle. It's pretty funny how they suddenly get an urge and start flapping away. It's almost like it overcomes them. They love to stretch, stretch, stretch their wings and are preening like mad. My guess is they are actually grooming their wings for the maximum performance.

Hamish is still a bully and so big and developed that I think Schmiegal thought he was a parent at one point.

I am unable to upload video here, but these are recent pictures. The first one is from May 1 and the second one is from this morning at 10a.m., so you can see how fast they are developing plumage!

Dude! I'm Trying to Sleep!

Sorry for the absence, but I've been a little busy and honestly, the bird babies are growing so fast, that I can barely keep up anyway. I am amazed. The babies are now the cutest things I have ever seen. It's almost like they have individual personalities.

Hamish is definitely the most confident of the group and the most advanced. I vote him "most likely to succeed". He was the first to start preening and stretching his wings. He was happy to discover the wonderful stretchy thing he could do with his wings. They all have full feathers and their eyes have been open for four days or so.

Schmiegal is the smallest, the last one hatched and is the "little runt that could". He is getting there, slowly but surely. He seems to stay at the bottom of the "pile" and gets stepped on a lot. Mom and Dad have a hard time fitting in the house and try to straddle the nest as much as possible. Mom sits off to the side at night and the babies all nestle around her. Schmiegal likes to perch his chin on her tail. They tend to stay at certain spots for most of their time. I identify them using a "hands-of-the-clock" method. Schmiegal is almost always at 6:00 and Hamish stays at 2 or 3:00 or right on top in the center. Two are markedly smaller than the other three, but they all seem to be doing well.

Interestingly, Mom seems to know when one has just been fed by Dad. I watched her start to shove a cricket down Abe's throat only to (PSYCHE!) pull it back out and give it to Don!

Well, their tails need to grow a bit more before they can successfully fledge, but I think it's soon. I am putting the possible fledge date at May 11. At the rate that they are scarfing down mealworms (provided by yours truly) and growing it could be sooner.

I also have learned that they should not be fed earthworms. If the babies eat earthworms, they can get extreme diarrhea and dehydrate and starve. Mealworms only, please! They love them, too!

Well, I hope to post a picture tomorrow! Moving right along.......