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Fledge day!

organicgardener

17 years ago

My apologies to Clement C. Moore:

Twas the night before fledging and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse....

The fledglings were nestled all snug in their nest, while visions of mealworms danced in their heads....

When up on the roof there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Hail storm! My tomato plants! My bluebirds! It's a little past dawn. At the end of the short hail storm, I quickly put out mealworms. Mom & Papa arrive to take the mealies to the nestbox. They are still there!

One hour later - the last little one is sitting at the entrance. He goes back in. Repeat several times. Mom and Papa arrive to encourage him. He's off!

Linda C

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Comments (6)

rebecca57
17 years ago
Yeah! Lucky you! What part of the country are you in? I am still waiting for a nesting, and I am in North Georgia!
donnalovesblue
17 years ago
Congrats Linda! I hope all the little ones will be safe as they explore their new world. I haven't checked the nestbox in several days but I'm sure the eggs have hatched cause Daddy blue is now going in and out of the box!

Donna
Related Discussions
Bluebird babies died on fledge date
Q
Comments (2)
Sorry to hear the bad news,I also lost at least 3 in one box,and all 5 in another box,and lost 6 chickadee nestlings, all were due to fledge. about 1-1/2 weeks ago,we also had cooler temps.and lots of rain that week.I am thinking it was in fact the weather also.You did everything right,all we can do is try.You have cleaned the box,they should renest within a week or so.If you don't have other boxes available,now might be a good time to add one.I like to have more then one box to choose from,and it doubles your fun and stress LOL! Good luck Matt
...See More
How will I know when fledging begins?
Q
Comments (2)
The only time I've seen them fledge completely I did notice signs. The parent birds kept landing on the housing with food, but would not give it to the young. They appeared to be enticing them out, landing at the entrance, then quickly moving up to the roof of the house. I thought it looked like they were trying to encourage them out, so I sat and watched with binoculars and sure enough, I got to witness all five fledge. Hopefully you'll see some sign of it. Most of the time I miss it because they fledge too early in the morning, too late at night, or when I'm at work. I sure hope you get to witness it. It is really fun.
...See More
Update: Lisa, You Were Right!
Q
Comments (1)
To be honest I was typing a post to this forum about my concerns with the last batch. They started peeking just before I sent it! LOL. Don't feel like an idiot LOL your just one of us really nutty over protective "Bluebirders". My hubby says the same thing and thinks Im nuts for runing out in a storm because I had to get 600 wax worms for my babies. You are perfectly normal (at least in here) LMBO!
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Normal for fledging not all on same day?
Q
Comments (12)
All very normal, especially if they hatch on different days. They grow so fast, even one day makes a big difference. When the parents want the babies to fledge, they might stop feeding them, so they will be hungry and motivated. The parents might tease them with food, hovering in front of them, and then fly away. Other times, they might feed them extra much, to keep them in if they are not ready. The bluebirds know best. Sometimes it's pop pop pop pop pop, they all fledge one after another, or it could happen over 2-3 days. First you will see their little faces stretching up to peek out. Then their whole head, and eventually, their toes on the entrance hole. Close to fledging time, you might hear the parents calling them out, and you might notice a subtle difference in the babies' calls. But I do think they wait until nobody is looking! BlueBars
...See More
organicgardener
Original Author
17 years ago
I am 35 miles north of Houston, Texas

Linda C
roberta_nc
17 years ago
Hi, congratulations! It was fledge day for me also! I haven't posted in a while but checked in to see how everyone's spring is going. I actually got to see 2 of the 5 flying out of the nestbox. It's so much fun...they sit, sit, sit at the opening then suddenly they are off!
dzyg
17 years ago
Congrats! Wow fledge day there and we don't even have nestbuilding yet here!

Donna
organicgardener
Original Author
17 years ago
After the blues fledged, it rained all day. There were 5 inches in my rain gauge from Friday and Saturday's rain. They are 4 clean little birds. I cleaned out the old nest today and removed the spooker. That was the nastiest nest I have ever cleaned out. It had 3 dead June bugs, an assortment of mealworms and mites. I had to use a putty knife and a brush to get all the poop off the sides of the box.

Thank goodness today's weather is sunny and beautiful.

Linda C

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