Post contributed by Sharon, volunteer bluebird trail monitor:
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| 5 new bluebirds |
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| 5 nearly week old bluebirds |
There are five active bluebird nests this week. One box has five new nestlings; another, four. There are five nearly-a-week-old bluebirds already developing feathers in a third box. The fourth nest has three blue eggs in it, and the fifth, just one so far. A male bluebird has staked out another hanging box and is looking for a mate.
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There are tree swallow
eggs behind those feathers!
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Still can’t see into tree swallow nest number one, but it is possible some little ones have hatched beneath all those feathers. The parent swallows swooped and circled as I checked. Tree swallow nest number two has at least three and maybe five white eggs, just visible through the feathers.
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| View inside the wren's nest |
There are at least two week-old chickadees in one nest box, and eight chickadee eggs in another. This is the one with the speckled egg on the edge of the nest, that I have now identified as belonging to a cowbird (they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and have done so on the trail for the past few years). It is speckled like the chickadee eggs, but much larger. Since it is on the edge of the nest, and has been there for several weeks, it is not being incubated and will not hatch.
I was unable to see into the wren’s nest by any means. The female flew out and chattered angrily at me. Maybe next week her young will have hatched.
