Follow all of the Blue’s Family activities
Early yesterday morning we checked out the window to see the activity around the nestbox. The fledglings were about 18 days old and it was time for them to fly.
Papa Blue was acting a little different; hovering around the nestbox while continuing to deliver food. I think he was encouraging his children to leave the nest. He was probably making sure the coast was clear too. Leaving the nest for the first time, the baby Blues are very vulnerable to predators. The only visible threat nearby is a Blue Jay that has been harassing the Blues for the last week. Papa and Mama have been fighting him off over the past couple of days.
They are fledging!
As I was charging up the cameras for the day, Lily urgently called me to the window. “They are fledging!” She said she saw one of the fledglings jump out of the nestbox and make a wobbly flight to the next tree.
I grabbed my cameras and waited in my usual spot for about an hour, but all of the babies had fledged before I got outside. They don’t waste much time. I didn’t see either of the adults afterwards. It appeared as though the Blues Family had had enough of my intrusivve camera-work, and made their escape before I made it outside for the day. I haven’t seen any of the Blues since.
Empty Nester
The Blues also appear to be finished with the nestbox and have probably moved on to a newer (and cleaner) nest nearby. The box is filthy! I will hose it out in a few days (in the off-chance that one of the fledglings returns before then).
It looks like this will be the last post for the Blues (at least in the short-term). Hopefully we will have new occupants in the nestbox (and newly connstructed second nestbox) later in the season.
Consolation
It was a bittersweet ending to the journey of the Blues. I wasn’t able to get any pictures of the baby Blues venturing out on their own. On the bright side: all of the fledglings were able to successfully make it out of the nestbox and into the world (or at least the nest tree).
On the other hand, there are a bunch of other nesting birds nearby. A robin has made a home under the deck. As consolation for not catching the bluebirds on their last day, I was still able to get some footage of baby birds for the day. Robins aren’t as cute as Bluebirds though.
Til nest time
Pun intended. This was fun while it lasted. I hope you enjoyed our series on the Bluebird family and you learned something(s). I certainly did.
If you liked this series, your feedback helps: give us a like or comment (either here or on youtube). If you are interested in attracting bluebirds to your residence check out the resources on the Bluebird Family page. Thanks for reading.
Sorry you didn’t get to see them fly away but I have really enjoyed your posts. Maybe you can catch those robins when they leave the nest.
Thanks for reading! Disappointing but kind of expected. I will have to try again.