It seems only four chicks, not five. One egg did look discolored to me, I wonder if it never hatched.
Cute little chicks, aren't they?
I might as well take this time to state that the tree swallows have not been seen at the box for a long time now, the eggs never hatched. I was told from a wise member of Wildlife Gardeners that it is likely that something happened to the female as it is not likely they'd abandon a nest.
2 comments:
I love the bluebird baby pics! I'm always too nervous to look in my boxes until after they leave.
That's sad about your tree swallows. My mom had a similar thing happen, although we suspected that they abandoned the nest because of the extreme heat we've been having. Perhaps she just couldn't stand the high temps inside the box.
Only one of my nest boxes has a family in it, House Wrens, and thankfully it's in the shade.
I used to be nervous about opening the box, too...but I kept reading that one has to check on the nestlings so that any problems could be remedied.
Once they get close to fledging, I stop opening the box for fear of them jumping out before they are ready.
fishlkmich from Wildlife Gardeners assured me that the female would not have abandoned the nest and that heat was not a problem--he has lots of metal boxes in full sun for his purple martins (and he also has wooden boxes for his bluebirds.
I understand being nervous about it, but I think a quick look is fine--my birds seem used to me and handle it well.
As for the house wrens, they are native birds, but according to http://www.sialis.org/wrens.htm they are detrimental to nesting bluebirds. The Carolina wren which also nests in boxes, does nothing to harm the bluebirds.
Enjoy your house wrens, but if your goal is to have bluebirds, you should read the link above.
Thanks for your comments. ~smile~
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