I wish I could give you advice, but I've never heard of such behavior. Usually they settle down and take care of their young. It does seem like there may be something wrong with her. The male isn't feeding the young either? That is very, very strange.

He looks in on them a little bit, but never feeds them. Both male and female know what time of the morning and evening I usually come out to feed them and they are always waiting and communicating with each other in the trees. Before I can get back to the patio, the female is eating, then he eats. In years past I've never seen them eat before feeding their young, and the male has always shared the worms with the female, and both feed the little ones. I've had bluebirds in my gardens for many years and never seen behavior like this.

Well in order for the eggs to hatch, the mom would of had to incubate them. HOw is your nestbox mounted? Is the box on a slick metal pole with a predator baffle? Do you use sparrow spookers? Not sure why some of the eggs would have been gone but I do know the first few days after an egg hatches they will not feed them mealworms, it takes a few days before they go that route. I would keep an eye on things but not sure what you can do really if they aren't feeding them.Good luck! I have a female here (for the third year now) that doesn't feed her fledglings once they fledge, she is then intent on the next nesting not her babies. It is odd! I am hoping she is better this year than last, she was a littel better last year than the year before so I am hoping for the best.

Donna

Donna, it is a standard bluebird box, on a standard WBU bluebird box pole, with baffle and spook. Same as I've used for years. This is the first time I've seen this kind of behavior. I did not know that they don't feed the babies at first. Goes to show you can always learn. When I put the worms out last evening, parents ate, but never fed the lone baby. This morning I went out to feed again and there were still worms in the tray from the night before. I checked the box and there is another baby. Momma bird is beating on my window as I type! :o) Maybe she'll figure it out before her next brood.

I didn't mean they don't feed the babies at all at first, I meant not mealworms. Usually by day three they do start feeding mealworms but the babies get much smaller things at first. I would check again tomorrow and see if that third egg hatches and just keep an eye on things. Remember afer a couple days the nestlings won't gape for food when you open the box, they should play dead, but you should be able to tell if they are alive and well. Hopefully you just aren't seeing the blues feed the babies.

Donna

My concern is that she's spending all her time fighting her reflection, when she has new hatchlings to care for. That is very unusual.

That is my concern, too - along with damage to my windows and sanity!! :o)

Very interesting thread. I have a pair of Bluebirds that love to look at themselves in the windows and mirrors on my husband's truck. At first I thought it was only the male. Then last week I saw both of them doing it. The truck is parked right next to their nest box.

Mrs. "Wacko" seems to be settling down a little bit. She hasn't pounded on the windows quite as much today, and she seems to be a little busier in and out of the box. Perhaps the fledglings are demanding more of her attention. I hope she turns out healthy birdies. I checked the box this morning and I saw another baby - that's 3. There may be still be another egg. It may have been hidden by a baby when I looked the other day.

For some reason bluebirds are intent on forgetting their responsibilities and this is a good reason their attempts to nest end in failure.

I'm sure they would have gone extinct if it wasn't for us! Unusual indeed. Last season I had one parent (male I believe it was) feeding the hatch-lings, and the female NEVER went in to feed the babies. That's if my memory is serving me correctly. This is my 6th season, so it's getting hard to remember what exactly happened when.

In one case here in Ohio, it was 70 degrees one evening - nice and warm - the babies were ALL gaping like crazy! The blues didn't seem to feed their young AT ALL. I was SO mad! This resulted in the ENTIRE clutch starving to death the next day when it was cold, blustery, cloudy, and only 50 degrees. The mom continued brooding but the young were doomed. I pulled the poor things out of the nest, buried them, and called it a day.

Sounds like things are getting better. Unfortunately I suffer set-backs nearly every season. This time the 1st egg of the season disappeared. Could have had a full clutch by now! Sometimes it's just irritating seeing these birds become so careless, but so long as the parents stay alive, everything will be okay. I'm just not fortunate to have many successful attempts each season despite doing so many things right.

Good luck from here on out!
~Tim~

Tim, I agree. They would probably be extinct if humans hadn't intervened years ago. It took me a few years to be successful in getting them into my garden, but for the past 8 to 10 years we've enjoyed them every year ... two or three clutches each season. I think these will make it, but they are the most "wacko" I've ever had.

Blum, I had it the same way.

My 1st season I had NO successful attempts. Wrens and predators. Un-baffled poles. Poorly spaced boxes.

Now I have paired boxes in mostly all open areas with predator baffles, that are Van Ert trap and Sparrow Spooker ready.

Sounds 'Wacko' indeed!

Could you put window decals on that window? That might help a little bit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Duncraft Window Decals

Would be a great idea if I didn't have so many large windows. They go all across the back of my house and they are very tall and high. She even flies around the house and pecks on the sky light and palladium windows. She's getting a little better. I did check out the site you shared. It has some great decals. I may get some just for the fun of it. Thanks.