A Bluebird family had a hard time this year. They had tried to nest in the garden since April but the House sparrow chased them out of the first nest box even though they had finished building their nest. Then they picked another nest box on the other side of the garden. She, female is the one who does the nest building, finished the nest … Continue reading The Resilient Bluebird
Busy Raising Families This is a busy time of the year for us as well as the birds. We are busy with garden chores-cleaning up, pruning, feeding and planting. The birds are busy building their new families. The Bluebird’s eggs have hatched and the parents have been making endless trips feeding five chicks. They are growing up really fast. It will take around 15-20 days … Continue reading Update On Bird Families
Eastern Bluebird One of my fellow bloggers asked me recently how the Bluebirds fared this season. A light bulb went on in my head how about a recap’ of this past breeding season? The Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) have done quite well. To our surprise, they have raised three broods this season however the broods may not be of the same pair. I know one … Continue reading A Recap’ of The Breeding Season
Starting Their Second Brood I think the Bluebirds are getting more comfortable with our garden now. They no longer leave us during winter. We provide roosting boxes, food and water in heated birdbaths when nothing much is around in winter and we help with guarding their nesting box during their breeding season. Since they have become our resident birds, they have started their nesting early. … Continue reading Good Year For Bluebirds
A Greeter I’m not sure if they trust us or the remnants of the old Gray Catbird’s nest was too good a spot to pass up. An American Robin family has built a nest in the Rhododendron to the right of our front door. There was a Gray Catbird nest there last year and some old nest material still hung from the branches. We can see the female sitting in … Continue reading Second Family
They Have Fledged It was very windy and a little cold last Monday, felt almost like a cold front was coming in. I limp along in the garden due to a golf ball sized bruise swelling on my right shin. Why? Tripped on a cement block in the garden while looking up when I should have been looking down. Despite the wind, it was a very nice day. … Continue reading Bluebirds, First Brood
A Busy Time At this time of year our garden is busy with a variety of birds singing, courting, building nests and a few have already started to rear their first brood. I have mentioned some in previous posts about our resident Eastern Bluebirds and the migratory birds that come back either to settle in our garden or just passing through. It’s been only a couple of … Continue reading Progress On New Families
Petals and Wings 