As the pressure of population increasingly regiments us and crowds us closer together, an association with the wild, winged freedom of the birds will fill an ever growing need in our lives.
– Edwin Way Teale, introduction to Songbirds in Your Garden, 1953
We took a short trip to Prosper, TX, for the Fourth of July weekend. I expected the eggs to hatch around 07 July. But when I checked the box after arriving home on the Fourth, I found two newly hatched chicks and one little blue egg. I checked a few minutes later and the remaining chick had hatched and Mama had eaten the eggshell. Female bluebirds eat the eggshells to replenish depleted calcium levels in their bodies.
Recently a raccoon has been raiding the yard at night, tearing up bird feeders and opening the birdseed storage barrel. Not one to underestimate the persistence and ingenuity of a raccoon, I worried that when the eggs hatched the chicks would be a midnight snack for this 
marauder. A little peanut butter in a live trap and Rocky was soon in raccoon jail. He was not a happy camper, tried to bite and urinate on his jailer. Terms of his release were that he move to a neighborhood with no human neighbors. Up until his release, Rocky claimed he was ‘entrapped’. Some FeBreze was required post release. The things I do for these bluebirds!
It’s hot now and heat is a killer of bluebird eggs and babies. I have the box located so that by early afternoon it is in the shade of a live oak tree. The Sparrow Spooker is attached and we are ready to rear these babies. Most of the time our babies fledge on the 17th day. That means these should hop out into the big wide world on 21 July. Hopefully this will happen with no drama.
Total chicks fledged from this site is 67.
Third Brood 2016
- First sign of nest building 15 June
- Three eggs 21 June
- Three eggs hatch 04 July
Mama III is now incubating her second clutch of four little blue eggs. She began incubation on 10 July. Most of our clutches hatch on the thirteenth day, so hatch date should be 23 July. Not a lot goes on during incubation, so I probably won’t post until we have baby bluebirds. I should mention that we also have a female cardinal incubating in a Japanese maple right outside our bedroom windows.
afternoon shade. I have my box mounted to electrical conduit with a couple of hangers that are sold with the conduit. I drive a section of steel re-bar (slightly smaller than the conduit) into the ground and slide the conduit with the box mounted over it like a sheath. I’ve moved boxes with eggs and even chicks inside to keep them in the shade.
Just ten days after our milestone brood fledged Mama III began building another nest. I had removed the old nest and hosed out the box in preparation for another nesting. Also moved the box a bit to keep it in afternoon shade a little longer. This female builds her nests quickly. She started carrying in grass on 03 July and had completed the nest in only a couple of days.
Well, our little blue eggs hatched right on time! Thirteen days and they emerged on 05 June. The chicks have an egg tooth and cut the eggshells completely in half. One can be seen in the photo. Female bluebirds eat their eggshells to replenish the calcium depleted by the egg laying.
mentioned in one of the most famous World War II era pop classics, The White Cliffs of Dover by Walter Kent.
With five little blue eggs in the box Mama IV began incubating them on May 23. It takes bluebird eggs 12-14 days to hatch. Based on a 13-day hatch this means we should have baby bluebirds on 05 June. Incubation is normally a somewhat boring phase in hosting bluebirds and I hope it is exactly that. We don’t need any drama with the nest or adults.
place you see birds perched. Avoid placing it near brushy areas or it’s likely to attract wrens. If it is an old box, make sure any old nests are removed and the box is clean. If it’s a new box, take a bar of soap and
We got a late start this year after Mama III’s death last summer. Bluebirds in Oklahoma usually begin nesting in March, but Daddy III had no mate until recently. He really had to work on this young female to convince her to use his nestbox. But once she got the urge, she was busy. Constructed a nest in only two days and laid her first egg on the third day!
Photo: Daddy perched on the Sparrow Spooker.