Sandhill Cranes

When checking the Edgewood bluebird trail, I saw Sandhill Cranes.

They were not afraid of the golfers and did a dance for us.

Oooops!

....wrong family!

Our wood duck family is very elusive. The ducklings float close to their mother, who swims in the milfoil near the reeds, in order to keep her brood well camouflaged. It's time to get out the big old 35mm camera with the telescopic lens. Stay tuned for photos of the wood duck family in our next installment of "Wood Duck Haven"

young bluebirder

For our weekly bluebird check, Bob brought his grandson, Calvin along. This week we found 30 bluebird chicks, some might leave the nest in the coming week. There are many tree Swallow nests on our trail. As we traveled our trail, we came upon a box with a house sparrow in it. Calvin said "A house sparrow! what does he think, I thought it was a bluebird trial or does he think it's a house sparrow trail?" It was a great visit to the trail with Calvin along.

technical difficulties

Our ducklings fledged from box #1 on May 19Th. We had technical difficulties posting the video. So with no further ado, enjoy this clip from yesterday.

puttin' on my top hat....

"Breaking" news

Guard dog.

Bailey, our golden retriever of 8+ years, watching Walter clean the debris from box #2 so that it will be ready for the next wood duck.

May 9th update

Because of the cold and rainy weather, the first 8 chicks of the year were found dead on May 13th. The weather was lethal, cold rain means few insects, which means that the adult bluebirds have to spend a lot of time searching for food, both for themselves and for their hungry nestlings. All the time that they are gone, the young have to endure the cold.

The Great Escape

This is a 12minute video. Fast forward to 10 min to see the first chick leave the box.

The other chicks leave the box in the next video. We estimate that 13 chicks fledged, leaving behind 4 immature eggs.

Ready to fledge

Aren't they cute!

Behold!

Behold!

anyone home?

It appears that a guest came calling while the hostess was not home.

Turn your volume up to hear the guest making noise.

It was a cold and rainy morning.....

.....but box#2 was warm and dry.

Baby Bluebirds

Another batch of eggs was found on April 30th. There are 36 boxes on this bluebird trail. , we have a total of 24 boxes containing 48 eggs and 2 boxes with 4 chicks in each.

Look what I found on May 7th, hungry little bluebird chicks!

On the same day, I found a second box with little chicks. You can see that these baby bluebirds are smaller than the first. These are just a day or two old. The weather on Friday was cold and rainy. The parents need to work harder to keep their brood warm durning these cold nights.

history from 2009

Notes from 2009. On March 19, we saw the first pair of wood ducks return to the pond and investigating box #1. She laid her first egg on March 31st. By April 5th, we could see 5 eggs on camera. On April 8th, the hen stayed overnight, pulling down from her chest to pad the nest, a sign that she is finished laying eggs and ready to incubate them. On April 13th, a second female entered the box, agitating the first female. At first, they argued gently like sisters do, but as it was clear that the second female was not welcome, a heated argument ensued. The original female became more aggressive, plucking and pulling at the second female. The second female became still, probably trying to "dump" an egg in her sister's nest. Soon the unwanted visitor left the nest. By April 14th, we had 14 eggs, surely a mix of eggs from both females. On May 13th, 14 ducklings hatched. All 14 fledged the nest on May 14th.

Checking on the bluebird trail

On this picture, Bob is checking how many eggs are in the box.

We also look to see if they are warm.

Four lovely blue bird eggs!

When you look at the next picture, you will notice that one egg is different. Can you guess what kind of egg this is?

The correct answer is...a cow bird egg.
The cow bird doesn't build it's own nest, but uses other birds' nests to lay their eggs. The bad part is that the young cow bird will take over the nest. The young bluebirds will not thrive because the cow bird will dominate the nest.

A tree swallow has claimed box #29 as her own.

She will only have one brood and then vacate the box.

Hopefully a bluebird will go in and make a nest.

one, two, three.....

There are 3 boxes in our backyard. Box #1 (in square) was put up in about 2004, box #2 (in circle) was installed in 2009 and box #3 (in triangle) was home made and hung in 2010. Our first few years were spent without a camera. We purchased the first camera in 2008 and the second camera and box #2 from Perry at "Spy on a Bird" in 2009. Perry was great at helping us set up our cameras and trouble shoot a few problems.

Right on the money

This little lady is a pro at making an entrance.

It is an honor to give her a place to lay her eggs!

Hidden pictures

Remember the hidden pictures from your childhood?

It is difficult to see the female amongst the branches.

She is flying in for a perfect entrance to box #1.

turning the eggs

The female in box #1 is rearranging her eggs, (and some eggs from another female!) We estimate that there are 30 eggs in this box. Notice how she burrows in the nest to move the eggs from the bottom of the nest up and the warmest eggs to the bottom.

covering up

Every morning, the females use down and pine shavings to cover their eggs before leaving the box. .

Bluebird Trail

Here are two photos from a bluebird trail that my friend, Bob and I installed in the fall of 2008. The first four eggs of 2010 are shown above. Here is one of the bluebird boxes shown with golf carts in the background. This trail is situated on Edgewood golf course.

hatchlings from 2009

This is a feathery mass of hatchlings from June 13, 2009.

Aren't they the cutest!

exiting the box

This is a photo of the female exiting the box after laying an egg.

As of today, there are 6 eggs n this box.

Checking the eggs April 10, 2010

Checking the eggs


Walter checking how many eggs were in the new duck box the morning of April 10th. There were 5 eggs in the box.

initial set up

Picture of Walter setting up the boxes for 2010.