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

Ken that eye shot is great, well I'm learning new things this year, I figured the fledglings would be chased away by the momma and papa before they even laid eggs again, well I've learned different. My pair of bluebirds are working on their second brood now, the five eggs should be hatching any day now. I don't know if I'll be able to get any eye shoots though, I can take pictures into the box, but I'll probably have to get up unto the roof to get any eye shoots like that as the nest is pretty deep into the box, and the box is too far up into the air. My gut feeling is that my floors are deeper then most on this forum, will be researching it when I go to build any more, all I know for now is they've been building nests and having babies in them for the last couple of years so I don't want to be going and changing to much in design. Keith

Thanks Donna and Ken....i had made up my mind that i wasn't gonna budge from my swing this morning...i've been watching them for the past few days because i knew fledging time was getting very close...then when i saw the parents constantly flying to the nest then flying just a short distance away and singing their hearts out i knew it was time.....no no no...i wasnt going anywhere...lol...i can hear them up in the oak trees and sometimes can see them.....this is soooooo cool !!!....their house is all clean now but isnt it a bit late for another nesting?...i'll be watching closely...thanks again !!!

I've seen a couple bluebirds already, too. Several of my neighbors have BB houses, and I get the benefits! Here where I live is a new development with new smallish trees. I've been here 5 years and the trees have grown and we are seeing more and more birds. House finches and Goldfinches mostly, but in the last week I've had a cardinal, a mocking bird and 4 Red Wing Blackbirds. Bird seed has gotten very expensive. Sue