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Bluebird babies (already fledged)

9 years ago

Hi all...we have been having bluebirds for about 5 yrs and have encountered something new. Our last brood fledged 3 weeks ago. New eggs are laid should hatch this week. We feed them mealworms but all of a sudden mom and dad are chasing babies away from food. We've never seen this before, anyone have ideas??

Comments (2)

kendra2003
9 years ago
Sure, it's very normal. The poor young ones get fed and then one day they do their usual begging, and the parents will harass them and chase them away. While they don't always do this, it is very common. I always feel sad for the poor fledglings as they look so confused why their parents are now shooing them away. I don't worry about them though, as I'm sure the parents know when their young are able to feed for themselves. It has been my experience that the final clutch does not get chased away. They only do this when they're ready to tend to the next clutch.
hallright
9 years ago
2 of the babies from our last clutch are still hanging around. They will beg, but I haven't observed the parents feeding them anymore. Interesting thing happened yesterday. There are 4 new eggs which the female is incubating. I observed one of the fledglings enter the box, and he/she never came out! It was late afternoon...quite warm...Was he snuggling with the female?
couldnt guess.
I will add that during a very cold spell in the winter, every evening 5 bluebirds would arrive and crowd into the house. In the morning, they would fly out, one by one, wake up a little, then fly off. But every evening, they would arrive, one by one, and go back into their "bedroom " together!
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