Fledging time: careful checking of boxes

In case there is anyone out there reading the blog who has just started doing bluebird boxes, I have some tips below under the CHECKING heading

South Side

Only checked boxes on the South side today. The four active bluebird nests are there. At the far end, the swallows in Box 13 had fledged, and bluebirds in Box 14 had hatched.

In Box 12 there were two bluebirds, so two had already fledged today or yesterday:

You can see some of the spotty pattern on the backs, but both have some blue on the wings. They were eyeing me suspiciously. As soon as I closed the box, both flew out through the nest hole. I tracked down one of them in a nearby tree. It looked a bit wet on the underside. Perhaps the nest keeps some moisture. You can see the bill is more yellow that on the adults.

When they fledge, the bluebirds never go back in. Empty box:

The one box on the south side still has just eggs.

CHECKING BOXES

It's been a two year process to learn to check the boxes as carefully as I can. It's not that it was that difficult to decide not to check some boxes, it was just that I was curious about some boxes and decided to open them quite often. The situation inside might be figured out just by looking with binoculars for 5 minutes (without opening). The swallows in particular are not ever cooperative. I got this box open but was never able to move the feathers aside before swallows attacked. This pair should have had all nestlings gone by now but nothing moved inside. Still, the parents dive bombed me. Left it for next week to figure out. Closed box. So here are the rules.

1 Both swallows and bluebirds are migratory birds. Interfere as little as possible. There are laws protecting migratory birds.

2 Wrens are also migratory birds.  Move your boxes as far from the trees as you can to avoid wrens. They can be trouble to bluebirds. Once the wrens nest, leave them alone.

3 If you can't decide what to do with a box, and the situation inside is not clear to you, just skip that box. Bringing binoculars along will help you figure out who is inside.

4. Avoid taking a nest out. A nest with eggs is easiest to take out, do it carefully. You would only do this to take care of some problem such as ants. Grease on the pole will discourage ants climbing in and setting up a nest.

5. We only need to interfere if it helps the birds' nesting success. Quite often it is best just to do as little as possible.

6. It is good to have a count of the birds for a report, but not essential. Make a good guess and mark it as 4 or 5 eggs or nestlings.

7. When the birds are starting to jump at the hole for food, it might be best just to leave that box alone. Opening the box may cause them to fledge. I did that today, but two from that nest had already left, so no harm was done.