Hi Pam and anyone else interested, After my last posting, we had a very high wind come up for about an hour. It blew some branches and clumps of leaves down all around our area, but no rain. It also blew down a large piece of wood that may have frightened the baby, but for whatever reason, the little bird went back under the fence to outside of our yard, and the parents seemed to keep him there this time. In fact, he quite moved on from being squenched up next to the fence, and I could not see him any more with a quick check, but I did hear him answering his mother, and the parents kept coming back and were in different trees to watch after him. They were actually in the trees they perched in to watch their original bluebird home, about 10 feet closer to the front of the house than they had been through this ordeal in our fenced back yard. This morning when I got up, the bluebird parents were not there nor was he. The parents did come back a couple of times when I was outside and did not seem distressed. They did not seem to be calling to him at all. I didn't hear them sing or call any at all. The trees they were sitting in as I mentioned before were closer to the front of my yard and I cannot see the birds from my back deck with binoculars like I could when they were looking after him in the shed. I didn't want to stay too close to see and frighten him into running again, so I missed seeing if they were going down and feeding him, if they had encouraged him to fly and if he did, or anything at all. All I know is that by about 10:00 a.m. when I went around to sit on my little concrete bench which is about 15 feet from the bluebird house, the mom and dad sat in the tree there where they always looked after their home like they were communing with me. Lol. I did hear what I know was some kind of baby bird high in the trees in my neighbor's yard right next to this area. Since I have not heard a baby bird calling from that area throughout this weekend, I'm just going to believe that it was him and that he was able to fly and get up there with his parents calling him at some time that I didn't see. He could almost fly the day before, so I'm hoping that they get him moved down the block to the little field where they moved and where his siblings are. I hope they bring all their babies back to see me some day the way another bluebird family did a couple of years ago. I'll try to let you know if I see all 5 of the babies some time, but there are lots of bluebirds around here, so it may be hard to tell. Last week, there was a whole family of about 7 bluebirds on my roof for about 30 minutes. Karen

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I would very much doubt that the cool temps could have caused this. I've had baby blues, in early spring, survive wind and ice storms just fine. Did you check under the nest? It could be parasites of some kind. Are there blow fly larva under the nest? Could there be ants, or a mite infestation? Sadly, it could also be if one of your neighbors puts insecticide on their lawns, the birds could have fed the babies poisonous food (insects).

Bluebirds are drop feeders, they perch on something and watch the ground for movement and drop down on it to catch the bug...how do you plan on teaching this to the baby bird? With rehabbers they normally have other birds that can teach nestlings how to hunt. They also try to release a bird they took back in with the same family group or another family group. I can understand how you become attached to the bird but it isn't good for it, rehabbers understand this. As far as cats...GOD did not put domestic cats on this earth to hunt and kill...he put wild cats out there to do that. Man domesticated the cat and it has changed greatly over the years...it no longer belongs outside to kill just for the fun of killing...most house cats let outside don't eat what they kill they just kill. I just cannot understand people that love birds yet let their cats outside...doesn't make sense. Dog owners are expected to keep their dogs on their own property and leashed when off...why do cat owners feel they can let their animals out to crap on other peoples lawns and sandboxes...I just don't get it! One of our neighbors has a cat and she does let it outside however it is always on a tie out when outside...now that is a responsible cat owner that cares about her cat! Maybe if you would have had your cat on a tie out or in a outside kennel made for cats you wouldn't be in this predicament. Seriously if you must let your cats outside...please take down any bird houses you may have, it certainly isn't fair to the bird that may nest in your yard to have to live around a cat...fledgling time would be especially dangerous as many fledglings cannot fly well at first.

Hello, I am so sad. I had a successful bluebird nest of 5 eggs. Attached a sparrow spooker after first egg hatched. Mom hatched all five eggs and babies were 9 days old today. This morning went to straighten Mylar strips on sparrow spooker and box was quiet. Soon discovered one baby blue bird dead inside nest and 4 were missing! No evidence of the four. What happened? Can sparrows kill and then push a 9 day old baby out of nest? I saw sparrows on top of box about 3 hours after I discovered the babies gone and one dead. Please help!