Bluebird attack!

Bluebirds

There are still many active nests. The family on ths South side at Box 9 has the most advanced nestlings, their second set. The five are fine inside, I just took a very quick look. The pink skin shows that they have maybe a week to go.

But outside, the parents and a kingbird joined to attack my helmeted head as I approached the box. A picture and  video.

As I was back at the road, they suspiciously made sure I really left. A dickcissel also made alarming noises near the box. They do not nest in boxes.

The four eggs were hatching on Monday, three days ago, so I had to go see how they were doing.

On the 9th:

Now there were four hungry mouths, with eyes closed at this point.

And we have video as well: 

There are two nests with four eggs. The one on the North side from a pair that abandoned two eggs in the nest next door.

WRENS

I seem to have more wren nest than last year, at least four active right now. I may have missed some as they nest after the bluebirds to the end of summer. The nestlings on the South side had just hatched, with some eggs still there. Among the mess of sticks the male puts in to make a platform is a perfectly smooth grass nest.

The parent was near by. They make a lot of wren chatter noise but never attack me. The parent is here.

In box one of the South side a set of eggs after swallows left weeks ago. That was so hard to get a photo of, I will not open it again.

Finally the mystery of boxes 13 and 14 on the South side was solved. Some bluebirds tried it at first with two eggs, then I saw wren activity. For weeks I did not check it.  It had a clutch of wren eggs that hatched and were raised and left, except one runt died in the box. The birds tend not to use that box again. So they went to box 13 next door most likely for their second clutch. Those are eggs now. Last check on those, the boxes are too much work to get to in tall vegetation. The nest had a few feathers too, but the wren sticks are there over the original bluebird grass nest.