Mariton: Bluebirds Have Fledged

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager

Bluebird Fledlings. Photo by Emma Schad

The nest boxes continue to be active. When Emma monitored last week she found the young Bluebirds in the photo above.  Their feathers weren’t finished developing, but they were close.  This week when I monitored, the chicks had fledged and the nest was empty.  I removed the nest from the box.  This removes mites, but it also makes it easier for a bird to reuse the box.  We know this box was in a good location to successfully raise a brood during poor weather conditions, so we want to make it available for another brood.  Meanwhile, there are two other boxes hosting Bluebirds .

A nest is just for raising babies. Once they leave, clean out the box.

Tufted Titmice almost ready to leave.

These Tufted Titmice are almost ready to fledge out, and their box should be empty next week when we monitor again.

A Chickadee nest with 3 eggs.

Chickadees are almost ready to fledge from one nest. In another box there is another Chickadee nest with three eggs.  The female has insulated the eggs with moss and hair until she finishes laying her eggs.  Then she will form a small cup in the nest and begin to incubate them.

Chickadee fledglings.