Five week-old bluebirds |
Six bluebirds fledged in the past week. There are still plenty of bluebirds in various stages of development on the trail. One box contains 5 week-old bluebirds; another has 4 two-week-old bluebirds. The nest in this latter box is so flimsy that the youngsters could easily have toppled out when I opened the door; luckily I opened it very cautiously and not all the way, and the nestlings stayed in the box. Four other boxes have a total of 12 more bluebird eggs.
Today, I was pleased to talk about bluebirds and the bluebird trail, and to be able to show two of the nestboxes to a group of about 15 enthusiastic students in the Community Education Audubon Birding Class. They enjoyed seeing a nest with 5 bluebird eggs in it, and were also able to view the 5 week-old bluebird nestlings.
Newly hatched tree swallows and mother, left |
House sparrow nest before removal |
House sparrows have continued to build a nest in the last hanging box, so this week I removed the material.