BEAUTIFUL shots, Dave! My first and most beloved female was definitely the adult who drove off the 1st and 2nd groups of fledglings! It broke my heart to watch her take them to the ground over and over till they finally got the hint and left. You're right, they have such a sweet and shy presence......it's down-right shocking to see them behave in an aggressive manor! Yep, they ROCK!

You need to cover the window so she can't see her own reflection. She thinks it's another bird and she is trying to attack it. Very common behavior, cover the windows.

For some reason bluebirds are intent on forgetting their responsibilities and this is a good reason their attempts to nest end in failure. I'm sure they would have gone extinct if it wasn't for us! Unusual indeed. Last season I had one parent (male I believe it was) feeding the hatch-lings, and the female NEVER went in to feed the babies. That's if my memory is serving me correctly. This is my 6th season, so it's getting hard to remember what exactly happened when. In one case here in Ohio, it was 70 degrees one evening - nice and warm - the babies were ALL gaping like crazy! The blues didn't seem to feed their young AT ALL. I was SO mad! This resulted in the ENTIRE clutch starving to death the next day when it was cold, blustery, cloudy, and only 50 degrees. The mom continued brooding but the young were doomed. I pulled the poor things out of the nest, buried them, and called it a day. Sounds like things are getting better. Unfortunately I suffer set-backs nearly every season. This time the 1st egg of the season disappeared. Could have had a full clutch by now! Sometimes it's just irritating seeing these birds become so careless, but so long as the parents stay alive, everything will be okay. I'm just not fortunate to have many successful attempts each season despite doing so many things right. Good luck from here on out! ~Tim~

It was definitely sticks. And, this morning our "Mom" returned. At least I'm convinced it's our original "Mom" as she looks identical. I'll know better when I can get some good pictures and if I can identify her. I'm pretty sure you are right as we've seen the babies bathing in the bird bath having a blast so they are still around! I was so excited to see her. And, I know we they don't have emotions, but do we really know for sure?!? :) We'll check on the other house and remove the sticks again. We've got lots of bird books and are pretty sure it is a House Wren. Plus my husband knows just about every bird, plant, tree, bug, etc. on the planet -- and probably off as well. I'm just a newbie!