I sure hope the adults are ok and you just aren't seeing them. After the first day or two baby birds play dead if you open the nestbox, they don't beg for food and open their mouths unless the adult is there so what you are seeing when you look in is perfectly normal. I would put a piece of grass in the hole to see if it stays there or if it is removed, if it stays there then you are right, the adults aren't coming. Do you have any wildlife rehabbers around you could call just in case?? Normally if something happens to one adult the other will keep feeding the babies. Good luck and I hope you see one of the parents soon!!

Donna

LOL OK here we go! You Noticed the babies all had hatched May 6th, Im assuming they may have hatched the day before?? Your Blues are getting ready to fledge their babies. This often requires them to hold off feeding so the hungry little birds will start looking around for Mom and Dad. You should see them start "peeking" out of the hole any time now. I have them at being 14 or 15 days old...almost time to go. DO NOT OPEN THE BOX, You can cause a "fear fledge". Keep your eyes on the box!! Happy Fledging!

These babies are no where near fledging. Their eyes are not even open and no feathers yet just fuss. The mother is totally gone. I have seen the male bird up on the limb where they sit togather, but no female. He is just sitting there. He will not even bother me when I check on the babies. Also, he is not feeding them. When I open box they are opening their mouths and cry for food. I am totally lost here. I can't feed these babies. Will the male not feed them at all? Will he not go and try to get another female to help with the babies?
Please help here!!!

OOHHH , I went back and looked at your post from the 6th. It was the DEES that hatched in your "Blue Bird " box.Oh yes, stupid me now I remember your Blues feeding the Dees. I am a bit distracted chasing a HOSP around. I'm sorry I thought I had a happy ending for you! I don't remember how old they have to be before Dad can do it himself it's on the Sialis sight I will go look.

Well I looked at "lost Female", did not find at how many days before a male can take over. Do you have meal worms or wax worms?
I have brought in a nest of baby TRES that had lost a parent and we had horrid weather where there were no flying bugs. I fed them with tweezers. 3 of the 6 did survive (I put them back in the box between feedings). I know it was against the law..oh well. You need to find a rehabber right now. I sure hope Dad is feeding them and you are missing it. Im praying.

I have been watching as much as I can. I did finally see the male bird taking food into them. I was so glad to see this. So will he be able to keep the demand up feeding 4 little mouths? We have alot of bugs in our area now so getting food will not be a problem. I still wonder what happen to the female. So sad to see her gone. She has been around for along time. Maybe she was just getting to old to take care of a family.
Thanks for all the advice.
Oh! And good luck with you HOSP problem. The are such a pain!

That's a relief!!!!! I still think it would be a good idea to contact a rehabber to give them a heads up, they can be hard to get on the weekends. Sometimes a few hours can make the difference. If you need help finding one let us know...that info is also on Sialis!
I am on a mission tomorrow to defeat the HOSPS! They did not come back this evening.

Oh gosh indigo. The trials and tribulations of hosting the Bluebirds are numerous. I am just glad that you care enough about them to notice what is going on with them. For them, I thank you for that. This is a really big dilemma. Like Lisa said, find a local rehabber now. You need to be ready to scoop them up and take them if need be. Watch the box as closely as you can. If mom does not appear, and dad is obviously not feeding them, you will need to take them to a rehabber or they will perish. Mom may have been killed somehow. I'm sorry for your dilemmas.~Angie

I looked out and saw little heads sticking out of the bluebird house. Soon ever so often mom or dad would come either to feed or 'just check' one by one they flew out they did a good job of flying away except one. He finally put his little self back into the box. My husband came home so I told him to watch that last "scaredy cat" my husband said he finally flew out onto our window ledge. He said after awhile he took off. So I hope they all did Ok.
I hope mom and dad are keeping an eye on them,it is so dreary here with some mist. I hear they go and make their nests in Oak or Maple tree. We have a creek close by and 2 maple trees in the yard,

Hoping for a good news update????