I am so sorry for the loss of the baby Blues, how sad. Hope the rain stops for you soon! We have been very cool here but only have eggs so far, no babies yet. I am thinking though this weekend we may have some hatch. It is supposed to be in the 70's this weekend too which will feel soooo nice.

Donna

Oh Kathy, that's such a shame. If you think about it, rainy and windy weather must make it difficult to hunt for insects; they probably hide under leaves and bark and things to stay dry too. Since bluebirds find their prey by watching for movement, even from a distance, it has to be more difficult when everything is moving. Even our backyard bluebirds seem more demanding for mealworms in windy or rainy weather.
Here's hoping for more sunshine.
BlueBars

All five eggs in Western MD hatched and the BBs will fledge any day. Only two hatched in Central MD out of 5 eggs. Don't know why in a harsher environment, all are healthy.

We are supposed to see the sun later this week and it should warm up. Let's hope we don't go into 100+ temps anytime soon. Kathy, we all hope they ALL make it but we can only do so much. Mother Nature takes care of the rest in ways that hurt.

Oh Kathy, I am sorry to hear that. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing we can do to protect them and we can't outsmart nature.

Kathy I'm so sorry. It seems like such a waste of energy and time for these poor birds. The weather was really bad. After that last Nor-Easter came through I went out and checked and I had to do a complete nest change on 2 Bluebird nests (babies were hatched) and a partial (just the very bottom) nest change on 1 bb nest and 3 Tres nests all of which just had eggs. Wishing better times for all of you,
Cathy

Thanks, All. You're all right, too. Mother Nature cannot be controlled and we can only do so much. I wish I had the time to visit the trails each day and feed mealworms--I know that supplementing the blues at my home and at school is what has kept those babies from suffering the same fate. It looks as though at least one pair is making a second attempt at Middletown. We had showers again this afternoon, but the early part of the day was sunny. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be similar to today's and then over the weekend we should have more seasonable weather, thank goodness. It's actually supposed to be in the 40's tonight! I can see that this nesting season will probably be much like last year's and we probably won't have time for 3rd nestings. I just hope that these poor birds can have some success. Things can only get better.
Kathy

I feel your pain too. I'm in Delaware and we had winds and flooding from back-up tides so bad that the National Guard was evacuating nearby coastal hamlets. And the entire time, I was worrying about my newly fledged baby Blues. Sure enough - Mom and Pop brought back the babies to the mealworm feeder this week and there are only three out of the five that fledged. Mother Nature is a raving b---h, you know? The babies that are back are fat and healthy, but I feel so bad about the two that are gone.

Oh Kathy, how heartbreaking, I am so sorry. I think everyone had a rough start this nesting season. My blues started nesting way to early I know if I had not fed my blues, the babies might not have made it either. It was so cold and windy there were no bugs for weeks.

Hopefully the weather will get better soon and the blues won't have such a tough time finding food. I am so sorry!

Karen

Hi Kathy, I'm terribly sorry for your losses. I know how you feel. My very first year hosting, I lost my bluebird nestlings in a flood. My backyard literally became a river, and the pole and nest box fell into the water. It was horrible to say the least. This year has been a very cold and rainy nesting season and also the first I can remember Momma bluebird spending every night in the box with the chicks. Hopefully some warmer, drier weather will be moving in soon!