On the Norths side, one box (11) had four nestlings and they all fledged. In Box 18 these three have pinfeathers and in another week will be grown .
They were extremely sleepy in the afternoon.
On the South side there was a box with 4 blue eggs.That has gone to a nest with one egg. Something removed three. We can cross that second nesting off as a failure. The South side only has some wren activity now. It is also temporarily closed.
ADDED NOTE 8/8
Still three in the box, now fully grown, 1-2 days to leave the box. They were asleep, I got just a little movement out of them at noon.
There are still a few boxes to follow. One box just hatched two and the third egg will hatch today. I will be going to that box in a week and then a week later, with minimal work to check it. However, it is in very tall grass.
South Side
The nest box with with three fledged all three. There is one more box with 4 blue eggs. In a week I cans say if anything came of it.
Wrens have taken over several boxes, but only one has a nest.
With the sticks out the hole, it's a good guess it is just a male doing his duty, filling every cavity with sticks.
North Side
The four in Box 11 are ready to leave any day, fully feathered.
Box 18 had three eggs and two now hatched.
A little movie:
A day later all three had hatched. The active one has his head and bill over the third one. The parents had collected the egg shells.
I had four boxes to check. Two just have the 4 eggs, maybe a week to hatch. The South side box with 3 had at least two left, third one may be under them. And North Side Box 11 guys still have frizzy old man hair:
I now have a number of July bluebird nests to keep track of. Four with eggs or nestlings. Also two wren nests. It took me an hour to do my job as there were a few distractions and puzzles. I checked them by bike and got soaking wet shoes and socks.
I had just put the bike on the rack. The back pack has a camera, tools, a bird book with a folded sheet inside where I make my notes. Often my binoculars are slung over my shoulders.
If you are interested in plants and animals, you can ask for volunteer opportunities at the Pioneer's park desk. I help with plants some Saturdays. If you want to widen county or state wide, and help out with the crane migration, for example, a good place to start is with Nebraska Master Naturalists. We get 70 hours of training, but no tests. Classes are given spring and fall between Omaha and Lincoln and other locations for a week in the summer.
Once you are trained, you can pick projects, anything with plants, animals, the prairie etc. Mine is a bit unusual in that the main hours I get are as a lone volunteer.
Wrens
I had the wrens nesting on the North Side. Now I have another pair nesting on the South side. I could not get in to see eggs or nestlings as the box is so small. There is a danger of the small nest falling out as the sticks that fill up most of the box are moved. The sticks look like this, and most boxes just have the sticks left by the male.
The parents were quite agitated after I opened the box and closed it right away. The came back from chattering at the bush nearby to stand on the box and chatter. The male then ran off and sang too.
Two videos. The second is a bit jumpy, as the male went to a bush.
Yes, the wrens are small. One more still of singing male:
Bluebirds
On the South side, 4 at Box 14 fledged. Three at Box 5 are jumping to the hole to be fed. And the pair in Box 12 have laid 2 eggs of a second clutch.
Box 5 parent with food, at box, and fledgling inside peeking out.
North side Bluebird Box 11 parent, Box 11 nestlings (4) and eggs in Box 18 (now 3 eggs)
This year is unlike last year. Lots of bluebirds renested in July, some in boxes swallows had vacated. Swallows are gone, only three infertile eggs found in one box.
South Side
The just hatched nestlings in the the top photo of the previous post are fully grown in Box 14 (no photo). In Box 9 there is house wren activity. I have a photo of just sticks, did not see the possible nestlings way in the back.
Box 5 had three nestlings, very sleepy. For a second I wondered if they were dead but got some movement from them.
Possibly there are four, but if I lose track and they fldege, will count them as three.
North Side
Here were the surprises. In Box 11, empty for weeks, was this female. I opened the box thinking it was empty.
I came back 20 minutes later, and there were three nestlings and one egg. I took that photo through the slot, not disturbing them.
In the last box, Box 18, had some success with my theory of "move the boxes from the masses of people on the prairie". We now had two bluebird eggs. This box had swallows before and you can see the bluebird nest on top of the swallow nest, which ends at the loose feather.
The house wren family at Box 17 fledged the 6 young but now laid 6 more eggs! The wrens tend to take over the neighborhood, and the male fills all empty nearby boxes with sticks.
