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Blue Bird Nest Destroyed!

15 years ago

I was out of town and returned to find my bluebird nest on the ground and the pole uprooted. Pieces of the nest were around. Seems it must have been a large animal, maybe fox, to uproot the nest. What color are baby blues? I see some young birds in the yard flapping wings, but they don't appear blue.

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Comments (8)

ralleia
15 years ago
How deep was the pole buried? What kind of pole did you use? Was there a lot of rain or a severe storm?

Unless there was a LOT of rain and the pole was set shallowly I would suspect something a lot bigger than a fox.
timjc
Original Author
15 years ago
The pole was purchased along with the birdhouse from a bird store locally and hammered in with a rubber mallet hammer. There has been some rain but it's been there over a year with no problem like this. Also, part of the nest was pulled out of the bird house.
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kendra2003
15 years ago
It does sound like it was much larger than a fox. Do you have a stovepipe baffle on it? If not, it could be that a raccoon climbed the pole and he was too heavy so it tipped over. This page gives a good photographic history of baby blues by age. sialis photo page
lisa11310
15 years ago
Bear? How old were your babies? If they were close to fledging some of them may have made it out OK. If they are feathered enough they can "fear fledge". I think it was Linda that sent a video of the adult BBs calling their babies out at night because a snake was climbing up the box.
I hope some of the young ones you see look like the ones on the page Kendra sent you. Let us know!
bandjzmom
15 years ago
I don't know where you live tim, but my first thought was "bear" too. There aren't too many animals that are large enough to pull that pole out of the ground. (if the pole was sufficiently into the ground to begin with) Did you have babies in that nest?~~Angie
timjc
Original Author
15 years ago
I haven't seen a bear here ever, but there was one a couple of miles away in a development. I never saw the babies, only the five eggs. There is no evidence of egg shells and now the nest has been reconstructed by the parents I guess. Is there a chance for another batch of eggs? I have some baby birds in the brush and bushes but I think some are sparrows. Do the baby bluebirds look blue at first or grey?
bbcathy
15 years ago
Grey and spotted. Go to sialis.org and see what they look like or google images of baby blues.
Cathy
bandjzmom
15 years ago
Well Tim, get that pole into the ground really securely. Yes, there is time for another batch of eggs. I do have some concern that nest #2 might meet the same fate as nest #1 though. Need to keep a close watch on it. Check inside the box about every 3 days or so and keep a written record of what you find. The Mom will begin incubation once the last egg is laid, and they usually lay 3-6 eggs. No, the babies do not look blue at first. Check the link here to familiarize yourself with normal chick appearance.~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: Egg to Empty Nest/sialis

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