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Photo Submission
Submitted By
Paula D
Flemington, NJ, United States
Description
These Bluebirds are from last year’s, (2014), 2nd brood – the first photo shows them at one day old. All the nestlings went on to fledge successfully. The parents fledged 2 broods, 9 offspring in all, from this nest-box in 2014. Despite abnormally severe weather the Bluebirds wintered here and went on to fledge 3 broods from this box in 2015. Congratulations to all our feathered friends!
Category
Species
Sibling Togetherness
when do they have their second brood, ?? 1st brood ready to leave box but only see the male feeding the young ,,, where is female??? did she already lay eggs somewhere else for second brood …had another box but sparrows invaded that one and probable kept second nesting in a new box … or do the original pair have second brood in same old box and nesting material … or should I clean it out for a new nesting ????
Hi, John. Sorry I didn’t see your comment until today, (July 2), when browsing through the bluebird photos again. (I submitted this photo a couple years ago).
Our bluebirds usually begin another nesting attempt anywhere from a day to a week after the first fledglings have left. The timing depends on the individual pair. As a general rule they have been using the same box, although if there is another close by in their territory, they might use it.
I do clean out the old nesting material after each attempt, and they rebuild. I do this because: 1. the nesting material from the old attempt is soiled 2. if they try to build on top of the old nest, it raises the level to a point where the nestlings will be closer to the entrance hole. This makes them more vulnerable to predators that can reach into the box.
I have noticed when observing our bluebirds that the male does much more feeding of the young than the female. This might be only a local phenomenon, as I have never observed other bluebirds outside of our yard! However, it may be that if you are only seeing one parent feeding the nestlings, the other may have been killed somehow. I have been observing Eastern Bluebird nesting attempts for several years and have not yet observed a parent abandon the nest unless it had been taken by a predator. I’m sure anything is possible, but it’s probably not likely that the female would abandon her young to go start another nesting attempt.
Good Luck to your bluebirds – Happy Birding!
I have a camera in my bb house and this is the second brood. The male brought food for the first 3 days and the female has been the only one feeding since. 3 baby bb are 11 days old. I see a male bb for a few minutes in the morning but he doesn’t bring food. I thought this was going to turn into tragedy but female is totally committed to these 3 baby birds.