No Bluebirds Nested in Our Boxes 2023

I had thought the one nest in 2022 might be the low point of our nesting years. There was a winter time disaster in the SW where millions of birds, including bluebirds, died a few years back. East coast bluebirds may not have been affected, but ours were. No, the low point was this May. There were no Bluebirds. There has been local drought, so the Tree Swallows were down too. Maybe only half the boxes were in use. Some swallows stay in the area with the boxes even though the young have left.

Strangely the nesting was rather uneven for them. They tend to be rather uniform from box to box for several weeks. Here we had a grown nestling (alone) in a box...

....and a clutch just hatched not even a week ago in one box. The majority of Tree Swallows had finished, with only a few dud eggs left. 

The nest boxes were not cleaned out other than a few that were opened. I am not going to continue this volunteer job for Pioneers Park for 2024. Someone else will take over.

This is pretty much the end of the blog. I will keep it open and may add one more photo in 2024 or 2025. Hopefully there will be some signs of recovery. I did see a few bluebirds in the county this spring but not really many. When visiting Missouri, a few more there than here in Lancaster county. The Eastern Bluebirds from the Mississippi river to the East Coast have been doing better, they did not suffer the SW US disaster several years ago.

ADDED 6.13.23

Swallows still in box, a few pairs taking care of grown birds.

As expected, last two Bluebirds left the nest box

 

The sole nest box that had any Eastern Bluebirds is now empty. I did not see the young or the parents. The pair raised 7 young in two clutches. From a week ago:

The box was one with a hole so I had to open it every time to check the nestlings. The slotted nest boxes are easier to check.

Now we have 5 fledged and 2 left in box in good health

I did not see all the nestlings last time, but there were several. One was puffed up and covered the ones asleep.

Two have fledged and two are left. They should leave by the end of the week. You can see the blue on the feathers. The tail gets a little longer and flight feathers grow a bit more.

Swallow nestlings are very similar until the bill gets longer, when birds are about a week old. But they never get the blue, they are gray in the box. Tree swallows as adults can have a bluish tint, but not when in the box.

Bluebirds Total: 6 fledged

(Note: only 5 have fledged by 7.11) There was only one nesting pair. That pair raised 6-7, the total for all the boxes. There was this one left in the box, awake. As it turned out it covered one or more siblings. See entry for 7.11.

Four hatched over the weekend

 There are now four chicks with eyes closed, the fourth is hidden under. (I lost track of the number for one post, see the 7.11 post for later count)

I won't check on them very much. In about two weeks we can check off this clutch as a success.

Eggs still eggs. Hatching maybe by next week.

 I've been limiting these summer visits due to pests I need to avoid. I did check them today, and the eggs still have not hatched. They have been there at least 11 days. Incubation is normally 12-14 days. Then 15 more days in the box.

Schedule is here:

https://pioneersparkbluebirds.blogspot.com/2016/05/bluebird-timetable.html

I found two adults in the area, one seemed to be a juvenile, the May clutch.

Eggs

The box now has axle grease on the pole to keep any ants out. I always do that with active boxes.

More eggs! Only a single pair nested, but now more eggs

 The pair on the South side that raised three young left the box empty for a while. I checked that and the one next door. No swallows had taken that one all thru May. Since the box was cleaned and empty, they built a nest in the same box where two young died. This rarely happens, they usually move.

I have not seen the parents but once. This is the female.

I will check the box again about two weeks from now, as the pests in the prairie get worse now. I don't feel like walking much through grass. But in two weeks we should have partly grown young, probably eyes open but not much past that. If it goes long past that, I will check once in July.