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Exciting News

17 years ago

I had a pair of BB show up at the only box left empty at my house yesterday. I have not had the pleasure of watching what goes on and I don't fully understand the ritual. I know someone here can explain:

First sighting was of the male. He was sitting on the box and the female flew over. He immediately jumped down to the hole, hung there for a few and went inside for a while. This went on for a while. Finally I saw her go in and come out. Then they flew off for a while and the same thing started again.

Much later I went to watch and he had grass in his mouth and was holding his wing out in a strange way.......She appeared uninterested.

Later he would sit on the box and I didn't see her for a while but finally spotted her sitting in a tree. She didn't come to the box for a long time. At one point he flew over to her and chased her - first I thought it might be a rival male but it was her. This went on until almost dark....him on the box, her in the tree.

This morning before I left I didn't see either of them!

How long does it take before they decide? Is this a pair or is her courting her?

I am so excited!

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Comments (4)

dzyg
17 years ago
Yep, they are house hunting. The male finds the house and then the female needs to accept it. It may actually take awhile (like a week!) for her to start nestbuilding but if you keep seeing them by the box chances are you will have Blues. The male tried to entice her into nestbuilding by bringing in some grass himself even though he doesn't build any of the nest.

I always seem to get second nesters and this years pair I saw first on a Thursday going in and out of one of the empty boxes. Then I didn't see them for two days. On Sunday they were back and she started nestbuilding, it looked complete to me by last Thursday but this past Saturday she still brought some nesting material in and as of Monday (just this last Sunday would have been a week from start of nestbuilding) midday no egg as of yet. I have watched the male go in several times and take a piece of grass out and then sit on top and tap the box with his beak, I think he is telling her to hurry up and finish. LOL! I have had a pair take a week before she started nestbuilding too though from the first time I saw them checking out boxes, that was two years ago and it made me so uptight to keep wondering if they would nest here or not.

Good luck, hope they start nestbuilding soon for you.

Donna
lisa11310
17 years ago
Sounds like you have other boxes? What else do you have nesting? I have Dees and Tree Swallows anlong with Blues!
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nhsuzanne
Original Author
17 years ago
Lisa, I have Dees and Tree Swallows too! They are in the new fancy BB boxes I bought with viewing windows!! The Blues are looking at an older model that I won't be able to monitor so easily - I will use a mirror. Sigh.....I want to run out and put up more boxes but it's not in my budget right now. I understand that the Swallows and Dees only nest once so once they have fledged maybe I will get more Blues..

Yesterday I did not see them but I was at work until 5:30 so they could have come. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
lisa11310
17 years ago
Wow your blessed to have the Dees too! I don't know if anybody has shared the www.sialis.org site with you but it has all the info you could ever want on all 3 birds. It will help you determine time tables, wether your boxes are mounted safely etc.

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