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Fledglings on deck!

15 years ago

For the past several days our baby blues have been perching in the redbud tree each morning:

This is only about 20ft or so from the deck where Missy and Mr.B have been carrying mealworms up to feed them:

This morning BabyBoyBlue (the first chick out of the box) finally made it down to the deck himself:

And decided to take his first bath not 6ft from my lens. I had to zoom back a bit to capture this darling scene:

Later in the morning the rest gradually came down to the rail too and all got fed mealworms by Missy and Mr.B, but we expect they will soon be dining at the worm bowl unassisted.

Oh joy!

Kenn :)

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Comments (16)

dave_in_va
15 years ago
Beautiful!
bluebirdbabe
15 years ago
The picture of the 3 babies is adorable. They are all beautiful....but I love the first one.

Karen
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Thanks everyone, We are so delighted to see so many fledglings up close everyday now. Here are just few more taken in recent days. This little one sits atop the nestbox (which contains 5 more eggs in Missy's 3rd nest), and calls to Mom who's perched on the spooker: This one is on the deck rail waiting for a spot to open up at the mealworm bowl: And for those of you who liked the "mad bluebird" shot, here's another wet fledgling up close: We're about 5 days away from the hatching of clutch #3, but we're still seeing all 8 of the fledges from the first two nests. oh joy, Kenn :)
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Comments (8)
mlkbskt (Margie, right?) I am cheating a little to get these pics. Got a tip about five years ago (from a really good photographer) to get better pics of the Blues if you offer mealworms, to put a branch or something they can land on before going to the feeder. So I used to find a nice large branch in our woods and pound a fence post in next to the deck and attach the branch to it so they would land on there before going into the feeder. My mealworm feeder is a wooden jailhouse style one that my husband made (this keeps other larger birds like BlueJays and Robins from eating all the mealworms) and it is clamped onto a wooden 3step ladder. I used to set it just on the deck but the Robins figured out if they pushed really hard they could get into the feeder, with it being on the ladder they cannot do this anymore. This year I decided to do things a little different and put the branches in large flowerpots with vining plants in the pots then I just went from there and came up with this.... I really like this on the deck. All the flowers make the ugly feeder look much better. So in my pictures the birds have landed on these branches on the deck. The feeder is out about 16 feet from my dining room window so I just stay in the house and snap away. Donna
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Hi Donna and Congrats on both your 1st-nesters staying and your 2nd nest underway! That's a real sweet photo. :) Our 3rd-nesters should fledge this week-end and we do have fledglings from both previous nests helping to feed them in the box. It's a real treat! If anyone would like to see this, we have posted a video of the whole family feeding the nestlings (see link below) Here is a link that might be useful: Family Feeding Nestlings - Video
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kenn3d
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi all,

The babies have been coming to the deck more and more, and we're getting a lot of good opportunities now to get those longed-for closeups. It was sunny this morning when the whole family showed up, so I thought I could share just a few more photos:

As you can see, Mr.B continues to be a model father, feeding the chicks and Missy both throughout the day. And Missy now has 4 pretty blue eggs in her second nest. So we're anxious to see whether she lays a fifth, or begins her incubation on Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Kenn :)
erictammy
15 years ago
Oh my gosh, Kenn! Those are incredible. Love the three siblings, the one with water spray surrounding the baby and the first and last of the photos you added!
Tammy
donnalovesblue
15 years ago
Just when I thought your pics couldn't get any better, they DO!!! You really should consider entering them in a national bird photo contest...capturing these blues on camera since the fledging, must be a rare opportunity!

Donna
back2basics
15 years ago
I absolutely LOVE your photos! Thank you for sharing. :)
kenn3d
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks back2,

We're so really proud our baby blues, and love taking their pictures.

They've finally started coming to the worm bowl and eating on their own, and we're really tickled to watch them.:)

They see their parents aren't afraid of us and come really close without any fear... it's wonderful!

Kenn
bbcathy
15 years ago
Simply stunning Kenn. Doesn't that Redbud of yours ever stop blooming?!!!! Thanks
Cathy
kenn3d
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi all,

Sorry to resurrect this aging thread, but I wanted to add a few new photos here. Missy has been incubating 5 beautiful blue eggs since Mother's Day, so hopefully we will have some new hatchlings in the box soon. Meanwhile we continue to enjoy the first brood coming to the deck everyday and I just wanted to share a few more shots of them before their father chases them off.

They're feeding themselves now mostly, but it seems Mr.B still has a soft spot when they gape at him:

I know we're softies too, but we just can't resist these precious little birds:

When they empty the worm bowl we put it away until the next feeding. And if they arrive again before the worms do, it's really funny to see them looking for that bowl! :)

It's hard to believe the second clutch will be hatching in about a week. We wonder if these fledgings will still be around when the next bunch leaves the nest!

Kenn :)
Ninapearl
15 years ago
i missed this thread the first time so i am tickled that you brought it back up. all i can say is OMG!!! i don't know what kind of camera you have but I WANT ONE!!!

beeeeeautiful shots, just beautiful!
janie_may
15 years ago
You can bring this thread up ANYTIME to add more photos, Kenn! OUTSTANDING! Just gorgeous!
erictammy
15 years ago
Believe me Nina, it's not the camera! I have one,even a more updated version, and mine aren't even close to Kenn's. LOL (It must be the lens he adds to the camera. (wink)
Tammy
mullipuff
15 years ago
These pictures make my day.
bonnieblueyes
15 years ago
Kenn your babies are just so beautiful. Im so glad Blues have blessed you with their nestings again this year. That way we all get to enjoy your beautiful photos too! LOL...Glad to hear that they trust you and aren't scared of you. My babies havent shown up at the mealworm pan yet but we saw some yesterday chasing dad on the fence. I didnt see them today. So i hope soon i can get some pics of ours. We had one egg not hatch and one chick didnt make it but we beleive we have three out of five still around. I just have to wait till they come to the mealies. Waiting is HARD :-)
Bonnie
griffin_MD
15 years ago
Kenn, these pictures are fantastic. I shared them with my bluebird club at school today for our last meeting of the year and the students absolutely loved them! Thanks for sharing.
Kathy
kenn3d
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you Kathy,
... and all for the nice comments. :)

We're always happy when others can enjoy our photos, and especially when they're used in education.

And Bonnie - I'm glad your fledges did finally show up at your mealie feeder. Thanks for sending me your pics and for posting them here.

keep shooting,

Kenn

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