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Another side of the female bluebird

12 years ago

I think we tend to think of the female bluebird as shy, because in many situations she seems to yield to the more aggressive male, but if you watch her closely, as I try to do, you notice that she too has her aggresive moments.

Granted, she was dealing with another female. but here is a sequence where my adult female deals with a neighborhood female that was looking for food when everything was snow covered a few days ago.

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Comments (5)

kendra2003
12 years ago
Wow Dave, that is one serious female. I have observed a definite pecking order around here, but I have never witnessed a take-down like that. My dominant female just moves in, and the others move out of her way. Of course, she may have fought her way to dominance earlier. Those are really great action shots of fascinating behavior.
griffin_MD
12 years ago
She is fierce, Dave! That's a characteristic I'm glad she has because it definitely comes in handy, especially where house sparrows are concerned. I love the detail your photos show of her wings. You don't often get a good look at the feathers on the underside.
Kathy
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Just as with animals, a plant is either male, XY chromosomes, or female, XX chromosomes. You won't be able to tell the difference until at least the 2nd summer, possibly the 3rd, when the plants bloom. Female plants bear round, pea-like berries which turn bright reddish-orange when ripe. My personal opinion of this "all-male" asparagus business is that it's a bunch of bunk. While the marginially higher yield of all-male plants probably does make a difference for a commercial grower, who probably operates on a pretty slim profit margin anyway, it doesn't make much difference in a home garden situation. IF asparagus self-sowed as vigorously as something like amarath or Sweet Annie, I could understand not wanting to fight a lot of volunteers. But, in my garden, from 100 mature plants, I will find maybe 6 or 8 little seedling volunteers each year. These I just dig up with one scoop of a small hand trowel, and relocate back into the main bed. I consider them a delightful bonus, not a problem to be "dealt with." Asparagus is perfectly happy at one foot spacing. Any more is just wasting valuable planting space, IMO.
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Love your pictures. I love seeing the males feeding the females. It is so adorable.
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Well, bluebirds are funny. Even though we build them "perfect" boxes, they will nest in strange places, and I think we all wish we could get inside their heads sometimes! Some people will either put out mealworms, sprinkle nesting material around the base of the box (usually pine needles), or even put a blue ribbon on the top (take down when bluebirds come, as it reminds the male of the wing-wave of another bird). However, despite best-laid plans, nature has a way of forging its own path. I saw a similar situation with tree swallows last summer - they chose a cheap decorative birdhouse with holes on both sides, totally odd size and layout to the house, hanging unsteadily on a branch. They built a nest and I believe had eggs, but later abandoned it (too many children around). I can still peek in and see the nest/feathers because there's no way to open it! I can only imagine how discouraging it is that your blues aren't nesting in your box, but look on the bright side: you can still see them coming and going, and since bluebirds often come back to the same vicinity next year (or even for their next brood) perhaps you can entice them to your box with some yummy mealworms. :) Best of luck!
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I have no idea if Bluebirds do this or not. But I can tell you that my pet birds (Gouldian Finches) do this all the time. It's like the female just can't resist starting another brood before she's even done with the first. So I certainly think it is possible that Bluebirds could do this too. I would also like to add that none of the eggs laid before the young fledged ever hatched. I don't think baby birds can incubate eggs properly.
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janie_may
12 years ago
BEAUTIFUL shots, Dave! My first and most beloved female was definitely the adult who drove off the 1st and 2nd groups of fledglings! It broke my heart to watch her take them to the ground over and over till they finally got the hint and left.

You're right, they have such a sweet and shy presence......it's down-right shocking to see them behave in an aggressive manor! Yep, they ROCK!
bandjzmom
12 years ago
WOW! Well, I think that she got her told Dave! That is the way in the animal world I suppose. The photographs are stunning! I am in awe. :o)
bet_from_ct
12 years ago
Incredible shots. Your blues don't mess around! Females are more likely to fight with other females, and males with males. Although sometimes males go after females and get pretty aggressive.

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