There are still young bluebirds around. The parents may feed them or they may get around on their own. The feathers are sort of messed up in the nest on the chest and belly. Once out for a few days, they often have this scaly look:
The breast may be stripy or scaly looking and the bill is a thrush bill, pointy.
Indigo buntings have a strong blunt bill. The young have a more uneven mix of blue and brown. An adult in the tree and the more dark looking one on a wire. The female is brown.
UPDATE: 27 Fledged (all season), no birds left in nests (8.11.) Bluebirds
This will be the last post this season, other than I may give a link to submit counts if you have boxes yourself. Or google Bluebirds across Nebraska.
The three that were in Box 8 on the south side have left:
On the North side four birds reamain in the last box (17) on August 6. I will add a note below when they have left. I've put little white numbers on the birds. One is in the middle covered by the other three.
One parent was found nearby on the golf course side:
8.11 UPDATE: All 4 left that nest
WRENS
On the South side (where I have no need to check till September clean up) some wrens still nest. This box has at least four, probably more.
The only box left with bluebirds had four nestlings rather sleepy. I could get some slight movement at 9AM but they obviously have not opened their eyes yet. Next time they should be active.
South Side
I have not had problems with chicks on hot days so far, but here we had one box not doing well. The more grown nestlings were all doing fine. Box 4 had two left in the box and two in the tree. I saw three birds in the tree (after I took the video) so at least the parents are still around.
This one in the tree is likely a sibling of the above two:
Bit of video of the same
The next box, Box 8, had four young nestlings as it did last week, but not very active at all. I can see at least three. One of them is dead in this picture, a recent event. The other two were moving just slightly.
The wrens next door had fledged, some 5-7 of them in Box 7.
Box 11 that had the "blob" hatching on July 9
All four fledged successfully and there is just an empty nest left:
The bluebird boxes I take care of are at Pioneers Park in Lincoln NE. The prairie at the top of the map has been poor for bluebirds. It has too much human traffic. I have moved a few boxes to a tree line along the golf course border and the box marked X has the four eggs hatching today.
The map with X for location and the Box 17 picture.
I believe this is the third attempt at nesting for this pair. Box 16 had two eggs and there was some attempt earlier in May. Box 18 has an active wren nest and the two species seem to get along when the eggs have hatched.
On that map above there is a black line at the bottom, that is the South side
South Side
There are three nests left. The Box 4 young are coming along from a week ago naked pink things.
Box 8 just about ready to open eyes by Sunday, but still quite pink.
Box 9 had one left of 5 and it fledged. If checking boxes you find a grass nest with feces you can be sure it was bluebirds if there are no feathers or masses of sticks. This one I had seen the young but sometimes you just get the nest to count as possible success.
Here we then have the final box to check, number 11 that had originally on July 9th these:
and now had four ready to fly if the had to.
It's quite possible they will be out next week. This may be the last photo. I also got a little bit of video, but they were not very active. Just as well, I did not want to flush them out too early.
WRENS
Wrens also have come along fast. These are next to the Box 9 bluebirds. The nest has more sticks and the young are fully feathered at this size (smaller than bluebird) and have the long wren bill:
On the North side, the one pair of bluebirds still has four eggs, their final attempt this summer. They had not hatched. So from 18 nest boxes on the North side, only four bluebirds fledged this season.
South Side
Nesting activity continues. The angry bluebirds at Box 9 still tried to attack me. There was obviously something inside, and it turned out to be the last of the five.
In Box 4, the four had just hatched.
There are at least three that I can see. Will keep track of it. Then Box 8, with four eggs, had just two hatched. I found that if I whistle a bit they will raise their head. One did.
(Sorry for the gap after these pictures...scroll down)
Then the Box 11 set that had the odd ball of a chick now has these
I would be surprised if they are gone in a week, but will be quite grown by then.
Sparrows and Swallows
House Sparrows nested in a box on the North side earlier.
All that is left is feces and feathers. The swallows left the feathers and the sparrows use them.
When I go through the 32 boxes in the fall, I usually find one or two swallow nests that did not hatch at all. Not sure if they were infertile eggs or if cold weather that ruined the clutch.
