Date: 6/11/25 7:18 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Nesting - and bluebird nests
Thank you for monitoring the boxes
.Really miss doing it. I’m down to one box in my yard in Ok.
Don MaasMaricopa County , AZ
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 7:19 PM, Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> wrote:
More bluebird education: I have monitored bluebird boxes on and off for decades and thought I was getting to know bluebird behavior pretty well. About a week into May I added a box near my house, since tree swallows occupied most of my other boxes, and a pair of bluebirds were hanging around. The same day I put it up they were checking it out. Later I saw the female collecting nesting material and carrying it into the box. A few day ago I took a peak and saw 5 eggs. This morning I saw neither bird for hours - unprecedented behavior. Walking up to the box, I saw that the top had raised up a few inches on one side. Five eggs remained in the nest bowl. I remembered the male calling a lot last night and imagined he was trying to call her to the nest, but that she had abandoned it, apparently because of the elevated top. I watched off and on all day and occassionally heard a male far off but nothing near the house, even after reading for 1.5 hours with a good view of the area. About 6 p.m. I went to the box again. I was sure they had abandoned the nest. I collected one egg, carried it back to the house and broke it in order to check the incubation stage. The embryo was alive! Maybe half-way to hatching. Since the temperature was in the 90s, I imagined the embryos were still healthy, albeit abandoned. I wanted to clean out the box before leaving for several days, so another pair might begin using it, but I could not kill any more live embryos. I decided to make a better lid for the box and wait until tomorrow to make a decision about cleaning out the box. I went back and forth between the the box and the garage a few times and was about to carry the lid back out when a female bluebird appeared flying and hovering around the box. She was uncertain since its appearance was different without the top on it. I hurried out to reattach the lid and get back to the house. Soon she re-appeared and after a good look in from the entrance hole, she entered. The male also soon appeared. Since the female did not leave the box for several minutes I decided she must have been satisfied and had accepted the nest and now 4 eggs. Later, the male carried food to the box and presented it to her. I had been bothered all day by the failure of the nest, but now I was bothered, to a lesser degree, because I hastily assumed the nest had been abandoned and killed one of embryos. Lesson learned. Female bluebirds know the temperature and know when they have to incubate to maintain warmth and when they can take the day off. But I still think the male should have been keeping an eye on things. I sure hope I see them around the box in the morning!
On Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 05:12:27 PM CDT, Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> wrote:
Interesting. I was monitoring a bluebird nest at Fort Niobrara refuge. It had 5 nestlings about to fledge. A week later I expected to remove the old nest, soiled during the last day before the chicks fledged. Instead I found 2 new bluebird eggs. I don't know if it was the same pair or a new pair, but I did not expect any birds to want to "reuse" a nest so recently used.
On Sunday, June 8, 2025, 09:59:58 AM CDT, Jan Johnson via groups.io <janbirder...> wrote:
I learned something new today. I did not think birds ever reused a nest, but I have a Robin adding to a nest from which three fledged a week ago. Good location with wind and shade protection so she’s refurbishing the old.
