Tim, it is entirely possible that he is still around. I hope so anyway...however mom is full capable of raising the nestlings on her own too. Helping her with mealworms would be good though.

One year during incubation I had a male go missing for four full days..he returned on the 5th day. During that time I had trained the female to come to a mealworm feeder. After he returned she taught him how to use it.

Then another year on a nestbox check I found a dead nestling. This box was at the back of our property so I couldn't observe things as much. After watching for awhile I was convinced the female was gone so I started feeding mealworms twice a day. I would put a dish on the roof of the nestbox and Dad would use them up immediately and then I would take the dish back home, didn't want to leave it and entice any other birds. Well after a couple days there was mom getting mealworms too! So she was there, I just was never seeing her when I watched.

This year just last week, my male went mia for half a day and I was freaking out. Mom is incubating 7 eggs and their were four fledglings still needing to be fed. Mom seemed rather stressed too. I watched all morning and was convinced something happened to him but just after noon he returned and then started feeding the fledglings again. This box is in the back yard very visable from the house and they come to a mealworm feeder on the deck so I knew he wasn't here for that time, just mom and the fledglings were. Later that day I saw another female in the yard wingwaving with our male! I have read that males and females will mate with more than just their partner during nesting season so I am assuming my yard male was out on a fling that morning. I do know when my female was laying her second clutch there was another male around too, I am guessing she mated with both him and her normal mate.

Anyway..hopefully this is what you are seeing and he isn't really gone. It does happen though sadly...hope you see him again! If not your female will probably find another mate but he wouldn't help her with these nestlings at all.

Keep us updated!

Donna

Donna, I find it amazing if you have the same ones re-appear. Remember, they could be entirely different birds too.

Anyhow, when I watched and approached the box it was just the female alone and I walked some parts of the neighborhood where the male would be perched and didn't see anything. With the babies being so old I doubt if he would abandon them if they were alive and well.

My issue is, what if I lose nestlings? Would I remove the dead one(s)? Based on Bluebird-L lists some say females can raise them, and others say they're lucky to have 3 raised successfully. But what I'm understanding is that the female is more adept at raising young on her own than a male on his own.

I really want them all to live, but IDK how realistic that is. She feeds them every 5-10 minutes, and often just dips her head in and then flies off. Makes me jealous of the TRES next to them. They feed their young one after another, and always seem to have the luck. The poor blues are the ones who seem to suffer!

Praying, and nervous about checking tomorrow morning. I have the awful gut feeling that one has already perished. Will keep the updates.

"Donna, I find it amazing if you have the same ones re-appear. Remember, they could be entirely different birds too."

Tim, since every time this has happened to me the one that returned took care of the nestlings I know it was the same one. A new bird would want to start a new nest with its new mate and would not take care of what was already there.

I sure hope you see your male BB!

Donna

You're too lucky Donna! Several eggs, birds that disappear and miraculously re-appear, etc.

The news is, Mrs. Blue found a mate! But it is definitely NOT the same male. The old one would dive at me pretty harshly when at the box. The new one has fluttered in front of the box and tried to land on it, and only did so once. Eh...I don't really like him. Probably a younger, less experienced male.

I bought 6 dozen waxworms and put some in a small dish tacked to the nestbox roof. Mrs. Blue is clueless. She will sit behind the box at chit-chit for 10 minutes before attending to the young, if I'm close that seems. She seems to be ignoring the worms. My male the one year saw them on top of the box very quickly and ate some and fed them to the young.

I'm a little less confident in this female and her ability to raise the young. I'm concerned this new male will distract her too much. At times I watched the box for over 20 minutes without any activity.

The nestlings were even peaking out the hole (they have been since Father disappeared) and giving the typical call you would hear just before they fledge from the nest. All 5 are still alive, albeit probably very hungry.

I fear finding a dead nestling or two tomorrow morning. She made about 4 stops to the box before dark. Maybe she fed more...IDK...I was gone most of the day from 12-7. Memorial day stuff.

Is there any reason to suspect that if these guys do fledge, the female will ignore them? They're only a couple days off the 17 mark now. Sialis says to plug the hole after fledging.

I'm still so worried. I'm tired of things going wrong every season. It never seems to fail for SOMETHING to go wrong.
Where is everyone else here on the forums???

~Tim~

I think the female will still tend to them once they fledge but possibly not as much as she would if she had the father to them around too. This new male will be interested in a new nesting so he will want her to be doing that. GOod luck Tim, hope things end up ok!!

Not sure where everyone else is...normally Lisa and Kendra chime in....

Donna

Donna, it would appear she is still tending to them, albeit poorly it would seem. And not taking the worms as far as I can tell.

I just witnessed mass fighting! It would appear that this new male wasn't interested in this female and has been investigating my other nestbox pair. There were 3-4 bluebirds clashing with each other and harassing the swallows! 3 bluebirds were on the ground tumbling with each other!One box has 7 swallow eggs, the other has 1! The swallows are tending to the single egg recently laid.

So maybe this male decided to pair up with some other girl? IDK, it's getting so confusing! I've seen 3-5 bluebirds on TWO occasions the past few days!

It would seem that the loss of the original male bluebird has allowed uproars of bluebirds to show up on the scene. To me it looks like I already have another pair of birds in the action.

Donna, I feel so sorry for these poor nestlings! They have been calling from the box frequently, and I think the female feeds most while I'm away. But I feel like sooner or later, something bad is gonna happen to them.

Gosh Tim, sorry this is happening. I hope they are ok! So they are day 16 today right (Monday), hopefully they will be fledging soon and momma can take care of them. Maybe the new blues will take over that nestbox then and leave the TRES alone.

Keep us updated!
Donna

Unfortunately Donna, I don't have much better news for you.

Today after school and work, I came to check on them and spotted them (3 of them) sitting underneath a tree behind the nest box calling for mom. I opened the box and found a completely empty nest.

I sat around for a few minutes with them calling, and Mrs. blue did not show up. Also, I stopped by the box quickly before school and they were in the box calling, but mom was nowhere to be found.

A local Raptor center within 5 miles or so is who I called, as I was further concerned for their safety. They took the 3 and told me they were "very successful" with taking care of them. The lady even has her own nestboxes and traps the HOSP as well because I contacted her about donating deceased and trapped HOSP for their raptors.

So I come home, after having searched for the other 2. I went to drop the nest off in a field when my brother spotted the 4th one! We did some more searching, I called about the 4th one, and we took it as well. We searched all over as much as we could for the 5th one, but no luck :(

I feel better about them, but sorry for the 5th bird and wonder what happened to the female. Someone destroyed that single TRES egg! The bluebirds were perched on the box before I opened it (remember, my 2nd nestbox pair)
and I don't know if this is the same female parent of the young. Yesterday the one pair was around the swallows' box while I went up to check on the babies and found mom.

How could TWO parent bluebirds abandon their young??! This is horrible luck. The birds had been calling in the box the past 2 days. They were bound to try and leave sooner or later! And hunger must have driven them out of the box, but obviously the lack of sufficient food at 17 days old did them in. I feel I did the best thing. It was already after 7. Surely something would have got them if I left them overnight!

~Tim~