Species: Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
Location: Newburg, OR
Status: All four Western Bluebirds fledged!

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Cam Highlights:

	August 22 - One quick peek from this flicker is the only recent activity at this nest box!
	August 16 - The last nestling in the nest box first stirred at 6:43 a.m.  At 6:51 it went to the entrance hole ...
	... where it perched ...
	... and fledged!
	August 15 - FLEDGE DAY!  Although the day started out normally ...
	Two nestlings clearly had other ideas, fledging within a minute of the other.
	The two nestlings left in the nest box settled down for a while, and were fed throughout the day.
	One of the two remaining nestlings left the nest box shortly after 6 p.m.
	Instead of fledging with the others, the last of the four nestlings stayed in the nest box another night.
	August 14 - At 20 days of age, their backs are heavily mottled or streaked with white and most of the down that had been attached to the ends of their feathers is gone.
	August 13 - With space at a premium inside the nest box, the adult chooses to feed from outside during this visit. These are very active nestlings!
	August 12 - Now 18 days old, these nestlings should be fully feathered except for small bare areas under the wings and under the body at the base of the tail.
	August 11 - The nestlings have begun looking out the entrance hole with some frequency. Here we see them lined up, perhaps in anticipation of their next meal!
	August 10 - It's hard to imagine that these nestlings will probably fledge by early next week! By this age, males and females can be reliably distinguished by the intensity of blue plumage, with males exhibiting much more blue than females.
	August 9 - Frequent feedings have been the order of the day today. In this image, we see the adult carefully placing the food in the mouth of the nestling.
	August 8 - This image offers a good view of plumage on a 14-day old nestling.
	August 7 - The arrival of an adult with a meal is often eagerly anticipated, as shown here.
	August 6 - These nestlings are now 12 days old, and have already achieved about 90% of their adult body mass.
	August 5 - Nestlings typically defecate after being fed. This adult will likely drop the fecal sac seen in this image away from the nest.
	August 4 - After arriving with a meal, the adult stayed in the nest box for a few minutes before leaving again.
	August 3 - Nestlings rely on a fairly steady food supply, and these nestlings are no exception!
	August 2 - At 8 days old, the nestlings are able to grasp nesting material with their feet. Feathers also begin to erupt at this age.
	August 1 - The nestlings will soon be able to see who delivers their food; their eyes begin opening by the end of their first week (days 7-8).
	July 31 - Here we clearly see all four nestlings begging for food. At this age, the nestlings vocalize strongly and intensely when the adults arrive at the nest box.
	July 30 - The female was on the nest for only a short while today; she spent most of the day feeding the four hungry nestlings.
	July 29 - This juvenile arrived with the adult and stayed only as long as she did. Though clearly not actively "helping" during this visit, helpers will feed nestlings and fledgings, and also help to defend the nest.
	July 28 - Although it is not apparent in this image, tract feathers have begun to develop in the nestlings.
	July 27 - At two days old, down feathers lengthen on the nestlings while contour feathers begin to develop.
	July 26 - Here is our first good view of all four Western Bluebird nestlings. As you can see, one of them is already begging for food.

July 25 - We were very lucky to see unobstructed images of three of the four eggs hatching. Usually the female blocks our view of hatching or it occurs too early in the morning when little light enters the box. Click on the images below to view the sequence of hatching.

Three eggs show cracks in them.	Two of the three eggs hatch in just over 10 minutes.
The female checks on the progress.	Nearly 8 hours later, the third hatchling emerges.		By the following morning, it looks like the fourth egg also hatched.

	July 24 - The female rotated her eggs more than 20 times today. She does this to keep the eggs equally warm and to prevent the developing embryo from sticking to the membrane inside the egg shell.
	July 23 - It has been 11 days since the eggs were laid. Typically, Western Bluebird eggs hatch on either the 13th or 14th day of incubation.
	July 22- With head tucked into her feathers, the female endures the final stage of incubation. She has been seen rotating the eggs all day long.
	July 20 - Although incubation appears to be a passive activity, it requires a lot of the female's energy, particularly if her mate does not provide her withsufficient amounts of food.
	July 19 - An immature bluebird is seen in the nest again and in this image we can see the adult female vocalize in the young bluebird's direction.
	July 18 - Another shot of the incubating female with an immature inside the box. It will be interesting to see if the immature helps to feed the young once they hatch.
	July 17 - The female Western Bluebird has spent a lot of time peering out the entrance hole, probably waiting for her mate to arrive with food.
	July 16 - Interestingly, we have seen feathers placed inside the box on several occasions. This is very atypical for bluebirds, but it could be the work of one of the immature bluebirds, possibly as a result of watching nearby swallows using feathers in the nest.
	July 15 - Here we see the female Western Bluebird repositioning her eggs which she does regularly upon returning to the nest box to incubate.
	July 14 - This female bluebird is able to multi-task as she preens herself while incubating her four eggs.
	July 13 - Believe it or not, beneath the immature bird clearly visible in this frame is the incubating female! The young bird seemed to be sitting atop the adult for nearly 10 minutes!
	July 12 - We got our first glimpse of the fourth egg at around 9:40 this morning when the female left the nest.
	July 11 - Like clockwork, the third egg is laid nearly 24 hours after the second.
	July 10 - A second egg is laid at approximately 7:40 AM!
	July 9 - The female laid the first egg at 7AM this morning.
	July 8 - The female continues to construct the nest as she uses soft grasses to line the nest cup.
	July 7 - An immature bluebird fledgling visited the nest box today as the adult female worked on shaping the nest.
	July 6 - The female continued to bring nesting material and to shape the nest cup throughout the day, and the male visited periodically.
	July 5 - A female Western Bluebird spent most of the day bringing nesting material back to the nest box. Here she is seen using her body to form the nest cup, which as of yesterday had feathers inside of it!
	July 4 - Western Bluebirds are considered cooperative breeders, i.e., sometimes juveniles from previous broods help out at the nest. Here we see what is clearly a juvenile bluebird (notice the speckled back) in the nest with an adult. It is likely that the juvenile was from the recently fledged brood.
	July 3 - Shortly after the Western Bluebirds fledged from this nest, Violet-green Swallows began checking out the box.