Bluebirds 2026

Still no hatchlings.

Mom was out of the house and got caught in a thunderstorm. Her feathers are literally ruffled

I’m impressed with the sharpness of the image. Just a tweak with the focus ring and done.

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Great picture, Wash and Wear. :umbrella_with_rain_drops: :umbrella_with_rain_drops:

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“Here’s looking at you, kid”

or

“Can’t a lady have any privacy?”

Dad has a wiggly live worm for her but she’s not home.

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Well at least Mom got her feathers dry and fluffy. Dad probably ate the worm since his bride was out shopping (again). :grin:

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Still waiting for the chicks to hatch. When one does the others won’t be far behind.

Mom :bird: probably told them to wait a few more days.

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I have a situation. All 5 eggs hatched :+1: so I put some live mealworms in the feeder.

A sparrow went in the feeder no more than 5 minutes later and gorged itself on the plunder.

My neighbor installed a bird cam with a tray feeder no more than 10 feet from my feeder. She fills it with wild bird seed which attracts exactly what I am trying to keep away.

She and I get along and have never had a harsh word in the 20 years they have lived next to us. I think a face to face interaction would be better than an email.

Her husband is a great guy and can build/repair most anything. Her bird feeder is attached to a 4x4 ground contact post about 5 feet high. Chances are it is set in concrete.

The feeder is about 8 feet from the house. I’m concerned the sparrow will get in the birdhouse.

Last year a sparrow did get in the birdhouse and killed all the chicks before I got off my butt and took the 30 seconds to put the sparrow spooker up. Watching the little chicks get their stomachs pecked at is something I will never forget and don’t want to happen again. My wife was watching the camera in the birdhouse and went outside to scare the sparrow away but it was too late.

Mom has been bringing a lot of wiggly things in the house that are not my live mealworms so she has options.

Apologies for the verbosity. My C meds sometimes cause that.

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The Pig Sparrow just robbed two meals from the chicks in one beak full. :grimacing:

I spoke with the neighbor. She said she hasn’t filled her tray in about a week. That might explain why the sparrow didn’t have that food source, so they jumped to my feeder.

Not sure if this is true, but ChatGPT stated that since I have

  1. a 50 acre field right outside my back yard fence. Right now soybeans are the crop. Lots of insects there.
  2. dense woods on the other side of the field

Seems the live mealworms are not needed. There are plenty of bugs around me.

The Oracle says to remove the feeder so I will this year. Hopefully next year no sparrows visit. I don’t like it because about 12 feet away is the bluebird house

But Mom :bird: likes the live mealworms. :grin:

5 healthy chicks.

That’s not my mealworm.

Watch the chick in the middle. Dad puts the juicy into one chicks mouth, takes it out and puts it in another chick’s mouth and then takes it out and puts the whole thing in the mouth of the chick in the middle.

After watching bluebirds for several years, I noticed when a chick gets fed, it immediately turns around and poops. It comes out enclosed in something like a plastic baggie. Mom then takes the poop far away from the nest so predators are not attracted. Also removing waste from the nest keeps it clean. This time dad ate the baggie. Mother Nature can be gross. Mom and dad also eat the eggshells.

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That was a big fat juicy meal for such a little critter. Dad should leave the feeding to Mom. :laughing:

No sense in depriving the bluebirds because of the sparrows.

I have a fresh bag of 5000 mealworms. MrsG lets me keep them in the fridge in the kitchen because lately I haven’t been doing steps very well.

The bag is zippered so none can escape. They go dormant when cold.
I’m sure if even one of the wigglers gets out they go back downstairs.

If I leave them out for a week they turn into beetles. Mealworms are larvae of beetles.

I put a handful in the feeder at 11:50 this morning and had a bluebird 6 minutes later. I think they watch me. I also rap my knuckles on a leg of the gazebo. Not sure if that does anything.


They just say here comes the waiter with our meal, late again, no tip. :grin:

Won’t be long now

Those flappers slapped some of its siblings.

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Looks like Bernie Sanders. :laughing:

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They get that Larry Fine look. MrsG thinks they look like Don King

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Video is about 20:minutes long.

Mom started calling them out shortly after 8am ( that’s 0800 hours in @Antonius time )

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What a disorganized launch, they need an air traffic controller or push each other out the door.
Maybe you should install a catapult. Empty nest grand pa again. :laughing:

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You should have a camera mounted outside so you can watch them fledge.

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