Eastern Bluebird (Heath2, KY) Live
Document Actions
This is the second nest attempt captured from this camera.
Species: Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
Location: Paducah, KY
Status: LIVE! The five young fledged between June 4 and 5! View first nest attempt.
Location: Paducah, KY
Status: LIVE! The five young fledged between June 4 and 5! View first nest attempt.
| View Comments |
2006 Daily Highlights: |
|
|
June 5 - The bluebirds will stay in a family group for up to 3 weeks as the fledglings learn to fend for themselves. |
|
June 4 - Our last view of this bluebird family. The last chick finally left the nest! |
|
-------------------------------------- June 3 - FLEDGING! Four of the five chicks fledged today! |
|
The first one to leave the nest! |
|
One down, four to go. |
|
Here goes the third... |
|
The last two remained in the nest alone for a long time before the fourth chick finally left. |
|
The last one spent all night alone in the nest box. -------------------------------------- |
|
June 1 - A nestling stretches its
wings over its siblings. The chicks are completely feathered now
and nearly ready to leave the nest. |
|
May 31 - Though they’re nearly bigger than she is, the mother still cleans up after the chicks. |
|
May 29 - The nest box is looking pretty cramped these days. The chicks are 14 days old, and should be fledging in 3 to 5 days. |
|
May 27 - Abrupt changes in the light,
vibration of the nest, and calls from parents can all stimulate the
begging behavior in baby birds. |
|
May 25 - This 10-day-old chick offers
a good view of its new feathers emerging. These chicks will be
almost completely feathered by the time they are 12 days old. |
|
May 24 - It's the chicks' 9th day
alive. Studies have shown that this is the age when chicks begin
showing fear if handled. |
|
May 23 - The female seems to say something to the male as he visits the box with more food for the chicks. |
 |
May 22 - The male bluebird enters and provides a beautiful visual of his gorgeous wing plumage. |
 |
May
20 - By five days old, the chicks are able to open their eyes. From
what we can see, it appears that one of the nestings did not survive,
leaving five young. |
|
May 18 - The chicks are 3 days old
now. Around this time, light-colored feather shafts start
projecting from a chick's tail and wings. |
|
May 17 - Though it's hard to see from
the photos, it looks like all 6 eggs hatched. It will be easier
to tell as the chicks get bigger. |
|
May 16 - The male and female bring
food to the chicks all day. The average food delivery rate for
chicks this old is about 2 deliveries per chick per hour, so these
parents are bringing back food 12 times per hour! |
|
-------------------------------------- May 15 - Shell fragments around the rim of the nest are the first signs of hatching! |
|
The male dropped by during the hatch, which is unusual since he is hardly ever in the box any more. |
|
3 eggs hatched by 6:30 AM. |
|
The female is removing empty shells from the nest cup. One of the hatchlings is already begging for food! |
|
|
|
By about 1PM, only one egg is left. -------------------------------------- |
 |
May 11 - While not uncommon, a
six-egg clutch is considered large for bluebirds. If all goes well, in
about five days, the nest will be filled with six gaping mouths. |
|
May 9 - Here's a bright picture of the female. These eggs should hatch around the 16th of May. |
|
May 7 - The female rotates the eggs before settling down over them. |
|
May 5 - The female peers outside, showing us the six eggs she's keeping warm. |
|
May 3 - The warmer it is outside, the
less time the female needs to spend incubating the eggs each day.
That is why the overall duration of incubation is less in summer than
in spring. |
|
May 2 - There are now six eggs in the
clutch! All the other bluebird pairs we've watched through the
cams this year laid five. |
|
May 1 - The fourth and fifth eggs arrived on schedule, laid yesterday morning and this morning, respectively. |
|
April 29 - Three eggs! |
|
April 28 - The female left after spending about half an hour on the nest this morning, revealing the second egg. |
|
April 27 - The first egg was laid around 8 this morning! |
|
April 26 - This camera's been set up
in a new nest box, where a pair of E. Bluebirds is building a
nest. Here's the male, who just returned with some material for
it. |