Eastern Bluebird (CCES1, KY)
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This is an archived account of the first nest attempt from Caldwell County Elementary.
Species: Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
Location: Caldwell County Elementary School, Princeton, KY
Status: The five birds all fledged on May 5th!
Archived Comments
Location: Caldwell County Elementary School, Princeton, KY
Status: The five birds all fledged on May 5th!
Archived Comments
Cam Highlights:
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May 24 - A male Eastern Bluebird has been visiting the box daily, but it was not until today that we see a female in the box. Another nest attempt may be in the works! | |
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May 5 - One by one, within a few hours of each other, each of the birds fledged, until there were none! | |
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May 4 - At this point, the adults will rarely enter the box except to remove waste. The chicks will rise up to the nest opening and take what food their parents bring them. | |
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May 3 - Space in the nest box is clearly limited as one of the five appears to be squashed by his/her siblings. We are anticipating them to fledge sometime within the nest 3 or 4 days. | |
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May 2 - The chicks are starting to show some of their true colors and the ability to use their wings as they near their fledging date. | |
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April 26 - At a week old the chicks can now maintain their own body heat without the mother. This allows her to join the male hunting. | |
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April 25 - Bluebirds are very meticulous about nest sanitation. The adults carry out fecal sacks deposited by the chicks, such as this one pictured here, and drop them 20-100 meters from the nest. | |
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April 24 - A great shot of a food exchange between the male and female, with some hungry mouths calling out below them. | |
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April 23 - The female periodically will leave the nest to catch food, but the bulk of her time is still spent brooding the naked chicks. | |
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April 22 - The male delivers some sort of a large larvae, which
is the most common food for the chicks because it is easily swallowed and easier
to break apart. |
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April 21 - Five gaping mouths give proof that all five eggs hatched and seem to be healthy! | |
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April 20 - Even though the chicks have hatched, the female will continue to sit on them for a week or so because the chicks are born completely altricial, with no feathering or ability to maintain body heat. | |
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April 19 - Our cam went down for a few days. It has returned to full function to reveal that the all of the eggs have hatched! | |
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April 16 - As cavity nesters, bluebirds often get a little too curious and end up dying from asphyxiation when they explore smokestacks and chimneys and get caught without an escape. | |
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April 15 - Fire ants can pose a direct threat to bluebird chicks, but they pose the biggest threat to the population by competing for food supply with adult bluebirds. | |
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April 14 - The female is more than half way through the incubation process—only five or six days to go until hatching day! | |
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April 13 - Although it is not common in stable populations, bluebird females that have lost their nest sites may lay their eggs in the nests of other bluebirds. This is called conspecific brood parasitism. | |
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April 12 - The incubation process is half over now. At this point, among other things, the growing chicks have distinct wing and limb buds with visible digits on the feet. | |
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April 11 - When not nesting in a nest box, Bluebirds will still nest in cavities. They seem to prefer oak or pine trees in old woodpecker holes and prefer dead trees or limbs compared to live ones. | |
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April 10 - The average bluebird egg measures less than one inch (20-21 mm) in length! | |
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April 9 - It is vital that the female keep herself clean of insects and parasites during incubation so that the chicks are born into a safe and clean environment. | |
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April 8 - The female is alone in the incubation process. The only time the male will enter the nest is to bring her food. |
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April 7 - Like all birds, the
bluebird eggs must be turned at regular intervals to keep the albumin
from sticking to the eggshell wall; this would lead to the death of the
growing embryo. |
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April 6 - Bluebird incubation periods last an average of 14 days with a range of 11-19. | |
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April 5 - The female begins incubating the clutch as soon as the last egg is laid. | |
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April 4 - The clutch has reached the bluebird average of five eggs, but they can lay as many as seven, we will see what this pair will do! | |
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April 3 - ...and a fourth. The female seems to be laying the eggs a little later than the average, as the last few haven't come until around 10:00 AM. | |
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April 2 - As expected, the third egg has arrived. | |
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April 1 - Between 7:30 and 8:00 this morning, the female laid the second egg. | |
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March 31 - In the early hours of the morning the female has laid the first egg! However, she will not begin incubating it until the whole clutch is laid. | |
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March 29 - The camera has had some difficulties in the past few days, but we have received several images that indicate that nest building is continuing without difficulty. | |
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March 25 - Due to an increase in clearing of lands for agriculture in the early 1900's, bluebird populations soared. By the 1950's however, populations decreased as a result of competition with House Sparrows for limited nest sites. | |
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March 24 - Extreme care must be taken when visiting bluebird nest sites, particularly during the egg laying and incubation period, and just prior to fledging. | |
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March 23 - Bluebirds are easily studied in the field because they are sexually dimorphic both as adults and as juveniles. | |
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March 22- It's all in a days work. The first picture is from around 9 AM, the second picture is a mere 7 hours later! | |
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March 20 - The female uses her belly to shape and form the nest cup. | |
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March 18 - After a twelve day "vacation" it seems that our camera shy pair are back to business as usual. |
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March 17 - It has been a while since we have seen any activity in the nest, but fortunately the female has reappeared. | |
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March 3 - During the past week, the male and female have been seen entering the box. Here the female appears to be bringing in nesting material—a good sign that she may choose this box. | |
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February 25 - Our first image of a male Eastern Bluebird checking out the nest box at Caldwell County Elementary School in Kentucky. | |