Oh wow. This is a tough one. I also have many years of Bluebirding under my belt, and I would hesitate here too. I did check the Sialis (Bluebirding Bible for me) site, and there is a whole page devoted to this issue. (see below) I personally feel that you have to check the box. Chances are, they will jump. Read over this page from sialis and decide for yourself what to do. The info seems to indicate to me that you have sufficient reason to open the box. The babies are technically "ready" to be out, so even if they jump and won't stay in if you put them back, perhaps dad will just move on with their training and care. I wouldn't want to risk having the whole lot of them die. JMHO,and HTH. Keep us posted on what happens.~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: Premature Fledge Issues/ Sialis

Angie,

Thanks so much! I'll tell you what I did in case anyone else ever needs to check the welfare of older nestlings. After my initial post, I went back out to look at the box to come up with some kind of strategy. When I saw a shiny, green fly near the hole, I knew I had to do something and fast!

I got a deep bucket, a shallow dishpan, a wash rag, and two towels. I quietly approached the house from behind and plugged the hole with the wash rag. I then removed the entire house from the pole. I put the house down in the bucket and covered it with one of the towels. I set the dish pan right next to the bucket and covered it with the other towel. I pulled back the towel on the bucket just enough so that I could get my arm down to the box and also put my face down to the edge so I could see what I was doing. I tried not to leave any other openings and hoped that if they came flying or hopping out of the box, they'd land on the floor of the bucket or would hit my arm and face. I slowly opened the door (front opening box), and found three nestlings cowering inside. The smell was AWFUL, but at that point I couldn't see any actual signs of anything dead in there. I removed the nestlings one-by-one, examined them, and put them in the covered dish pan. They all seemed strong, were fully feathered, had stubby tails, and no longer had any sheathing on their feathers. All of their bellies were extremely messy from being down in the nasty mess of a nest, but other than that they looked good. I could hear them hopping and cheeping in the dishpan as I worked. I could see the remains of one nestling in the nest. The other one has either fledged or decomposed to the point that it wasn't recognizable. All five seemed healthy last Sunday morning, but it's been hot here so I guess it didn't take long for them to decompose to that point. I pulled out the old nest and replaced it with fresh grass that I pulled from the yard. I then reached my hand in the dish pan, under the towel, and picked up and replaced each nestling to the nest box, which was still down in the bucket. During this process, one did jump out of the house but landed on the floor of the bucket. Again, I tried to keep the bucket mostly covered with a towel so that they couldn't escape into the yard. Once I replaced all three, I closed the box and plugged the hole with the rag. I put the house back on the pole and waited five minutes or so before slowly and quietly removing the rag. I then moved off and watched to make sure none of them came out of the box. They stayed put, and within 10 minutes their dad was feeding them again. I know the box will still have some residual smell and that worries me. The pole is baffled, but I believe that a determined coon can get past that. I'm hoping that won't happen and that they'll fledge very soon. Once they leave, I will thoroughly wash the box and let it dry before replacing it. I'm hoping the male will find another mate and try again.

Highprarie, I saw your original question, but I had no idea how to answer it. Your solution was just brilliant! Thank you so much for posting what you did and the outcome. It may just help someone else who runs into such a situation. You may have helped a lot more than just those three babies.

Great work! Thank you for the detailed information!

Fantastic work there!! Good for you, and way to go!!! Poor things. Can you imagine being in there with your dead and decomposing siblings. Oh gosh. You are a HERO!!!

Awww. Perfect solution and careful attention to safety and health of remaining "toddlers" in box. Way to go!!!