Eastern Bluebird (Heath4, KY)
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Heath Elementary's Fourth Nesting Attempt!
Species: Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
Location: Paducah, KY
Status: The two nestlings fledged earlier than expected on July 22nd! That was the fourth nest attempt from this school!
Location: Paducah, KY
Status: The two nestlings fledged earlier than expected on July 22nd! That was the fourth nest attempt from this school!
Cam Highlights:
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July 23 - The Eastern Bluebird nestlings have fledged! An adult bluebird returned one last time to remove the fecal sac seen in this image. |
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July 22 - To our surprise, the birds fledged
today, a few days earlier than expected. The shot on the left was the last one
with a bird inside the box. Below, one sibling looks on and vocalizes as the
other takes a practice flight. |
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July 22 - With bodies fully feathered, these young birds will begin taking practice flights in the box, in preparation for fledging. |
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July 21 - Posed the way it is, the bird on the left maintains the characteristic "mad bluebird" look. |
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July 20 - At more than two weeks old, the bluebird nestlings are verymobile. Minutes after this image was recorded, the nestling on the right began to scale up the inside of the nest box, most likely in an effort to reach the entrance hole. |
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July 19 - Both of the nestlings reach for a meal. Adults feed their nestlings a variety of foods which may include anything from butterfly larvae and grasshoppers to spiders, ants and berries. |
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July 18 - Here we see the adult about to exit the nest box with a fecal sac from one of the nestlings. |
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July 17 - The female Eastern Bluebird returns to the nest box with a fresh meal for its young. |
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July 16 - The hungry nestlings are beginning to develop both primary and secondary feathers. |
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July 15 - With only two mouths to feed, the adult bluebirds will not have to expend as much energy in gathering food as they would for a larger brood. |
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July 14 - Both the adult male and female bluebird return to the nest box to feed
the two young nestlings. |
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July
13 - Here is an image
showing two nestlings and three eggs. We learned from the cam host that
the eggs hatched about one week ago, so it is certain the three
remaining eggs will not hatch. |
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July
12 - It looks as though Heath Elementary has another active bluebird
nest! When the camera went online, two of the five eggs had already
hatched! |