The Bluebirds Arrived

Saw my first pair for the 2018 spring nesting season show up feeding in the rain not far from the nest boxes this afternoon. These long distant takes of the male and female under very cloudy lighting aren't the sharpest - best I could do with an edit.

Jonathan

I have hundreds of indigo buntings eating the grass seeds down here, pretty cool to see a wave of blue come out of the fields

Jonathan.
I had one nesting already and the same/another pair of adults is inspecting the box now.
28 Feb 18- Four eggs in nest.
19 Mar 18- Parents are feeding young. Three young in nest.
4 April 18-Young have left nest. I removed old nest.
8 April 18- A pair of bluebirds are inspecting box.

About the same time frame as last year- https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads....ing#Post5860173

Lovely, those ! I always look for the Western types here-and the neon blue Mountain Blues ! Man are they striking to see -almost that neon blue you see in the depths of glacier ice

Jonathon
They hang around here most of the year. Got one pair that has their nest all built and ready to go.

Sharon
When the snow is on here and they show up, the blue is just that more brilliant.

By far my favorite bird of all.

Russ

Greg, I don't see them often this far north near me. When I do it is usually later in the spring.

Jonathan

Very nice sir, starting to see quite a few different buntings now but my eyes aren’t that great to be able to Identify them without binoculars but I’ve seen some different ones for sure, quite a few painted buntings last year but haven’t seen any yet this year, I always enjoy your pictures

Sure are purdy

Jonathon First of all your best is always very good .You make it worth my time to open your post to see what pictures you have been taking recently .Where I live the bluebirds stay through the winter .I often see them feeding around sumac trees when there is snow on the ground .That is always a pretty scene .The white snow , the red sumac , and the brilliant blue all together . I have several boxes on my property and have had at least one successful nest for going on thirty years .At one time they where very scarce in my area .

I made up some nesting boxes this year, They work and we have bluebirds use them each year.
In Real County.

I had a blue bird one year sit on my truck mirror and pick at the mirror ,crap on my door and when fly away. He'd come back in a minute or two and do the same thing. The kids thought it was funny I told them that is the dumbest bird in the world then wash the truck this went on for days. Maybe he liked to see me wash the truck everyday

Bluebirds stay here all winter, I will see 3-4 sleeping in the birdhouse in winter. Always have a nesting pair all summer. My biggest problem is the sparrows (house) always after the nest box. I usually shoot the sparrows, tough job protecting the Bluebirds.

I'd Love to see those neon blue's ...Ours are awesome but. Those Mountain BBirds are even cooler!

Jonathan, I hope our migration holds off for a week or two.

w side rd 151 and 2labs,

Over the years I have seen winter reports of Bluebirds on the eBird forum in both of your areas, but I just haven't observed them in the snow here.

Bluebirds and Robins are relatives in the Thrush family of birds, and I often see Robins here in the snow feeding on different wild berries and tree seeds.

There are a lot of Blue Birds that stay all winter here. They use the blue bird box's I have out to get out of the weather and sleep in at night. I have seen four to six birds come out of one box in winter. More heat in a group I guess. I have already started my sparrow thinning.

Found a female preening during a steady rain this morning - scrubbing up while picking off lice.





VIDEO: https://flic.kr/p/GrreQH

Jonathan

Bluebirds are my favorite here.The old farm I grew up on had lots of them,I had lots of boxes up.Me and my daughter were watching a flock of Cedar Waxwings yesterday,they're beautiful too.

I missed it but my wife said a bluebird was checking out our boxes on the fence late this afternoon. We have never had any nest in the boxes so here's to hoping!!

Garey, No doubt about the beauty of Cedar Waxwings.



Jonathan

Jonathan Like 2labs mentioned I see several will roost in my boxes in the winter .I just checked one of my boxes yesterday and the are starting a nest .I have had a total of 12 eggs hatched and young fledged from the same box in one year .If you ever get a chance come south to photograph bluebirds feeding on sumac heads I would be glad to pay you for something like that. I think the bluebird became one of my favorite birds because of the paintings of Ned Smith .His art work of song birds is special.

Today I'll check the BB houses, clean out any messy sparrow nests

330-Trapper, Do the sparrows occupy your boxes after the Bluebirds have nested in them and left, or do they compete for the vacancy in the boxes during the nesting season?

Jonathan

Seems like most the time they will. I have only put up wren hoses cause sparrows take any with a bigger hole

There is another "Bluebird", the Tree Swallow, that is the most fierce competitor for many of the boxes in my area.

Jonathan

On my 3/4 acre I have 3 bluebird boxes. At least one of them has a bluebird nesting in it going on 30 consecutive years .Most years they will hatch two clutches of eggs .And some years it is 3 .The tree swallows and wrens arrive after the bluebirds are already sitting on eggs so the first nesting is mostly uncontested .The completion can get pretty aggressive once all three species are after the same boxes .I sometimes decide that the bluebirds will win by discouraging the other birds. And if things go right the bluebirds generally nest a third time but if they do it is mostly just two or three eggs the third time around .During the winter I sometimes have flocks of a dozen or more in my yard .By the way the Tree Swallow pictures are great

Mountain Bluebirds are distinguished from the other bluebirds by the male's all blue coloration, without rusty underparts which females have.

I have seen them here for a while now. That deep blue is a color of it's own just beautiful.

It would be cool if we saw them more here