Both Bluebirds and Swallows Fledge

Leaving the nest

The first nestful, Box 13 of my previous posts, fledged sometime this week. On the 14th I found just an empty nest and a few ants were taking over. With a bit of a mess I decided to remove the nest and took some measures to keep the ants out. If they want to renest, they need to build again. On 4/21 I found the female on eggs, on 5/3 I found nestlings hatched, and on 5/15 they have gone through their entire childhood.

Box 7 on the South side has some 4 nestlings ready to fledge any day. I have three bills coming to the top to get food but I think four are inside:

When I open the front I always see two faces and I can see some more hiding, This is the first I see of the blue feathers.

South Side also has Box 2 coming along at a very early stage, day 2 or 3 with eyes closed. I had to take a whole cleaning operation to get rid of ants there. Nestlings were fine.

I counted four bills. The box pole now has reversed duct tape to keep ants going up the pole.

North Side Swallows

A nestful of tree swallows, four, fledged as soon as I looked in the box. One of them kept coming to the box later. It looks odd, no sign of tree swallow, mostly gray, and the bill even looks wrong. Yet, white eggs and feathers point to swallow. I do not know how long swallows feed fledged young.

The box is in the prairie behind the nature center with the pond behind.

No bluebirds other than one box are on the North Side. Up by the school are four boxes. The box up front has swallow eggs and one not 20 feet behind also has a few eggs.

The school bell tower has noisy black birds, I think starlings. They like to nest about 15 feet or higher. 

Nestlings: Cute ugly furry balls with eyes closed

One more picture of the only North side bluebirds, less than 6 days after hatching There have been five so far. Three necks are up and one rear end. Their wings and feet have no real strength so getting yourself upright in a crowded nest takes a while.