Eastern Bluebird (Heath2, KY)
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Heath Elementary's Second Nest Attempt!
Species: Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
Location: Paducah, KY
Outcome: As expected, all four nestlings fledged over the Memorial Day weekend!
Location: Paducah, KY
Outcome: As expected, all four nestlings fledged over the Memorial Day weekend!
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May 29 - This series of images captures the
fledging sequence of the remaining three nestlings. Nearly 24 hours after the first nestling left, the two nestlings
(top photo) gaze up at their soon-to-be fledged sibling. About an hour later, the third nestling looks down on its sibling before it leaves. Finally the last nestling takes a brief practice flight before it too fledges the nest for good. An empty nest means another successful nest attempt! |
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May 28 - Just before noon, the first brave nestling decides to take flight. |
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May 27 - Now fully feathered with juvenile plumage, the nestlings can begin using their wings to practice flying inside the box. |
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May 26 - The parents will begin feeding the young only through the entrance hole as a way to prepare them to fledge the nest. |
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May 25 - The young birds are almost two weeks old, which means they are fully feathered and begin to show enough coloration in their feathers to be sexed accurately. |
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May 24 - Nest boxes with an entrance hole no larger than 1 1/2" increase available nesting sites for Eastern and Western bluebirds while excluding non-native competitor species like European Starlings. |
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May 23 - The young Eastern Bluebirds are nearly fully feathered now, although it is still too early to accurately sex them. |
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May 22 - By 10 or 11 days old, the innermost primaries, all secondaries, and most feathers along the back have emerged. |
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May 21 - At the slightest sign
of a parent entering the nest, all four young expose their bright
gapes, hoping to be the recipient of a meal. |
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May 20 - The parents will spend far less time in the nest, now that the young can maintain their own body temperatures. |
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May 19 - By day six, the nestlings can open their eyes and stretch their bodies, although they are still unable to crawl. |
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May 18 - One of the parents carries off a fecal sac, a small, membrane-like pouch that holds the excrement of the nestlings. |
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May 17 - Both the male and female are hard at work supplying food for the four hungry chicks. The chicks are now able to regulate their own body heat so the mother does not have to brood them any more. |
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May 16 - The cam has had some problems in the last few days, but this image indicates that the chicks are healthy and growing fast. They are scheduled to fledge about 19 days after they hatch, which would be May 31st. |
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May 13 - Unfortunately it appears that two of the six eggs have not hatched, (as can be seen at the head of the female), which means they probably will not hatch at all. Bluebirds do not typically remove unhatched eggs, but they do remove the shells of those that do hatch. |
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May 12 - Within hours of
emerging from their shells, two of the nestlings are already begging
for food. As of mid afternoon, four of the six eggs had hatched. |
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May 10 - Incubation is coming to an end and we expect the eggs to hatch anytime within the next 3-4 days. |
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May 9 - The male makes one of his regular visits to the nest. This gives the female a break to go eat and it is also a protective display towards other birds. He will also help in nest sanitization. |
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May 8 - Even during incubation bluebirds are notoriously picky about nest cleanliness and constantly check the nest material for unwanted insects and parasites. |
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May 7 - Bluebird diets largely consist of 70-80% insects (various larvae, spiders, crickets, and beetles) and 20-30% small fruits. |
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May 6 - Although the female does leave the nest periodically to find food for herself, the bulk of her diet while incubating comes from the male delivering to her. |
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May 5 - Like a good faithful mother bluebird, this female turns her eggs every few hours to prevent the albumin from getting stuck to the egg shell wall. |
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May 4 - The female sits on the eggs for intervals of 10-15 minutes before taking a break. She does not always leave the nest though, she may just sit in the opening. |
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May 3 - This pair shows the variety among bluebird behaviors between individuals. The male from the last pair was very rarely seen in the box during incubation, while this one checks in on the eggs several times a day. |
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May 2 - Each egg weighs an average of 10% of the females
body weight. That means this female produced 60% of her own body weight in just
6 days! |
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May 1 - The female typically begins incubation when the last or second to last (termed the "penultimate") egg is laid. |
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April 29 - And then there were six! A larger than average clutch. |
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April 28 - The pair did in fact lay a fifth egg this morning. |
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April 27 - Second clutches tend to average 4 eggs, a little smaller than first clutches (which average 5). The fourth egg arrived today, we will see what this pair will do! |
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April 26 - As is typical, bluebirds eggs are laid one a day, every day, in the morning, until the clutch is complete. The third egg arrived today. |
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April 25 - A new nest attempt with two eggs has already begun. The first egg was laid yesterday, April 24. |