|
July 8 - Over a week has passed with little activity by
either the male or female. If the pair intend to nest, they need to begin very quickly to
avoid running into food shortages that can occur at the end of nesting season. |
|
June 30 - The male enters the box with new nesting
material, reinforcing our hunch that the two birds will indeed attempt to nest. |
|
June 29 - Over the last several days, both the male and
female have been seen entering the box, indicating that nesting is likely. |
|
June 25 - Throughout the day the male and female
were seen in the box together, possibly mating. Both birds are color banded allowing us to
accurately identify the male as the same one actively defending the nest box previously. |
|
June 25 - After a week of near inactivity, we are
surprised to capture images of a new female Western Bluebird inside the box. |
|
June 16 - The male is making fewer trips to the box,
and is singing less frequently, signifying he may have given up on finding a mate for this
nesting season. |
|
June 15 - It appears that while a swallow sits inside
the box, a Western Bluebird peers in through the entrance hole. |
|
June 13 - The male appears to be shaping the nest cup,
a behavior typically seen by females before egg-laying. |
|
June 12 - The male bluebird enters the box with a large
food item. |
|
June 11 - The battle continues, as the Violet-green
Swallows and male Western Bluebird alternate time in the nest box. Although not captured
by our cameras, our cam host in Oregon told us of a fierce battle that occurred between
the two inside the box a few days ago. |
|
June 7 - Not
long after the eggs are removed, a Violet-green Swallow spends considerable time in the
box. |
|
June 7 - Since
the female is clearly not returning and the eggs are no longer viable, we decided to
remove the eggs in the hopes that another pair will use the nest. |
|
June 6 - As
tenacious about defending the nest as ever, the male continues to guard the eggs, which
are likely not viable at this point. |
|
June 2 -
Violet-green Swallows are still making frequent trips into the box. |
|
June 1 - Given
that the entrance hole is no bigger than 1 9/16", this European Starling is unable to
enter the box. |
|
May 31 - It
has been over two weeks since the female was last seen, and to our surprise, this male is
still tenaciously guarding the eggs and defending the nest box. |
|
May 29 -
Shortly after the swallows exit the box, the male bluebird enters. |
|
May 29 - The
Violet-green Swallows also continue to visit the nest box, although they have not added
any nesting material to indicate their desire to nest here. |
|
May 27 - The
male continues to make daily visits to the nest box, despite the fact that there is no
female present. |
|
May 22 - Here
the male is seen pushing grass out onto the edges of the nest cup, similar to what the
female does before egg laying. |
|
May 21 - It is
obvious this male's mate is gone, but he continues to sing and protect the clutch in the
hopes of attracting another female. |
|
May 20 -
Moments later, the male bluebird reappears. Without a female, it is unlikely he will be
able to defend the eggs or the nest site from the Violet-green Swallows. |
|
May 20 -
Wasting little time, a pair of Violet-green Swallows appear inside the nest box. It is
fairly common for invading birds to usurp unattended nest sites and build nests atop old
eggs. |
|
May 15 -
Although unable to incubate the clutch, the male protects the eggs while the female is off
the nest. |
|
May 14 -
teamwork at its best! The male has already begun feeding the female while she incubates
the clutch. |
|
May 14 -
Although our camera did not capture it, the fifth and final egg was laid around
10:30 yesterday morning. |
|
May 12 - Like
clockwork, the fourth egg is laid precisely one day after the third. Average clutch sizes
are between three and five eggs. |
|
May 11 - The
third egg is laid at 9:00 am this morning. Late in the afternoon, the male arrives to
inspect the growing clutch. |
|
May 10 -
Songbirds typically lay one egg per day until the clutch is complete. Just over 24 hours
later, the female lays the second egg. |
|
May 9 -After a
month of courting and nest building by the pair, we finally see the fruits of their labor. |
|
May 6 - The
pair seems determined to nest in this nest box. The only question is when? |
|
May 4 - The
female continues to shape the nest cup with her belly. The pair has spent a longer than
average time building the nest and preparing for egg-laying. |
|
May 2 - The
monogamous pair has been together inside the box quite often, possibly as a territorial
defense mechanism against the swallows. |
|
May 1 - The
female is caught off guard when she enters the box only to find a Violet-green Swallow
inside (bottom photo). A battle ensues and soon the swallow is driven off by the
arrival of the male (top photo). |
|
April 28
through 30 - We were able to capture a series of images over three days showing the
male and female mating. Copulation can occur from 60 days prior to egg laying through the
end of egg laying and typically lasts only a few seconds each time. |
|
April 27 - A
Violet-green Swallow peers out the nest box. Violet-green Swallows, when in groups, can
successfully usurp a nest box from Western Bluebirds. When the swallows work alone
however, they rarely take over the box. |
|
April 24 -
After almost four days without any action, the bluebird pair make a brief appearance at
the box. |
|
April 22
- The nest cup is complete although the female will continue to line it and make
improvements to it. |
|
April 20 - The
female enters the box with a mouthful of nesting material. The nest cup is nearly complete
and we expect the first egg (clutch initiation) to be laid soon. |
|
April 18 - A
few moments after the Violet-green Swallow appears, both the male and female are inside
the box. The male's beak is full of dried grass used for nesting material. |
|
April 18 - The
Violet-green Swallow is still interested in this box and makes daily inspections of the
bluebirds' nest building prowess. |
|
April 17 -
Nest building progresses, although at what seems a rather slow pace. |
|
April 16 -
Slowly but surely, this Western Bluebird pair is bringing in more nest material. Here the
female is seen using her body to spread the blades of grass out onto the sides of the box.
Repeating this motion will eventually produce a nest cup depression. |
|
April 14 - It
appears that the bluebird pair is slowly bringing nesting material into the box and
claiming it for their own. |
|
April 12 -
Late morning, we capture an image of a Violet-Green Swallow inside the box. The two
species share the same habitat, making competition for nesting sites fairly common. |
|
April 12 - The
female peers up at our cameras giving us a seldom seen look at her head. |
|
April 11 -
The male and female are inside the box again. Their repeated visits to the box today are a
good sign that nesting will begin shortly. Notice the sexual dimorphism (color
differences) in their plumages; the male is the brighter of the two. |
|
April 10 - An
up close view of the female, looking more gray than blue, as she hovers near the base of
the camera. |
|
April 8 - A
few days after going live we are pleasantly surprised to see both a male and female in the
box. They each have nesting material in their beaks which they are removing from the box. |
