can bluebirds fledge at 14 days?

17 years ago

In one of my bluebird trail boxes, 2 bluebirds hatched on July 15. I monitored when the first one came out of the egg. So I am positive of the hatch date. Today, just 2 weeks later, they were gone. 3 eggs remained in the nest. The nest was undisturbed. There was no fecal material in the nest. The 2 nestlings were there in pin feathers on July 22.

Is it possible that they actually fledged as early as 14 days?

Linda C

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Comments (7)

griffin_MD
17 years ago
I've had them fledge on day 16 a couple of times, mostly late summer nestings when insects are plentiful and clutch sizes are 3 or 4. It's possible, I suppose, that your babies might have been called out early by the parents due to impending danger. Is your nestbox baffled, Linda?
Kathy
dzyg
17 years ago
Mine have been fledging usually around day 19. Last year I had a nesting of 4 fledge on day 16 and the babies all flew really well. I had been feeding them mealworms/waxworms and crickets so I think they were ready earlier than usual. I suppose with only two babies in there and if there was plentiful food that day 14 would be possible. Like Kathy said, was the nestbox baffled?

Donna
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mac60
17 years ago
Linda,
July 4th 2008, my frontyard babies fledged. 4 were 16 days old and one was 15 (a young 15). the 4 older siblings flew to a nearby tree, but #5 left the box, but could not fly. He/she hopped quite a distance and worked her way up a tree trunk to a branch. (this process took about 30 minutes). I lost sight of him/her then, but I do believe she made it. I was fortunate enough to see all 5 together later @ the feeder. 16 seems to be the popular # around here, as that is when other clutches have fledged too.
14 seems young, but maybe it's possible.

Here's hoping that they fledged successfully!
organicgardener
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes, the box is baffled with a stove pipe and hardware cloth. The nest was undisturbed and the 3 unhatched eggs were left. I would think that if there were a predator, it would have gotten the eggs too. It is very hot and dry here. Does anyone know how weather affects fledge dates?

Linda
janie_may
17 years ago
Linda, I don't know how or if dry weather would affect fledging. The youngest one I had fledge was 16 days old and he could not get lift off. I let him stay on the ground (I stayed right there and watched him) but had to put him back in the box, reducer added, for another night. Even late the next day he was still not a great flier but did make it 30 feet up before sunset.

Fingers crossed for yours and yes, anything is possible. I would agree that a predator would likely have removed the eggs if it was a predator.
glhandler
14 years ago
Yes! This is the question that I googled that brought me to this forum. To make a long story short, I have 3 pairs of nesting bluebirds all on their second nesting of the year. I keep pretty good records, so I know when the last egg was laid and when mom began sitting on them etc etc. The chicks hatched on 6/3. On 6/13, I found dad dead (cat got him). Mom seemed to keep tending the nest although her behavior was clearly different from her first brood and that of my other pairs. It sort of seemed like another bluebird was helping her tend to the chicks. It might have been one of her first batch of chicks. On 6/17 the chicks fledged. I could hear them and see them in a nearby tree. 14 days. They seemed to be just fine. They've been visiting the meal worm feeder with mom ever since. One other box, which hatched on 6/2, began fledging yesterday. The remaining box which hatched on 6/3, will probably be empty today. 16 days seems to be the norm for these guys.
PS: Tbh, I am guilty of checking in on the 3 chicks who lost their dad often as I was unsure if they were getting properly fed.
dzyg
14 years ago
glhandler....you mentioned checking the box often on this nesting that fledged on day 14. Had you checked it on the day they fledged? You could have caused them to prematurely fledged by opening the box that late. You said they fledged on 6/17 that is two days ago. A newly fledged baby bluebird would not be following the adults to the feeders yet at all. They stay hidden in the trees and the parents go feed them. They don't normaly follow the adults to feeders until at least 7-10 days and sometimes longer. You are probably seeing some first nesting fledges with the adults not the newly fledged ones. Hopefully these early fledges are ok, I doubt they would fly real well at that age. I had one fledge on day 14 once because I opened the box...he couldn't fly at all. Put him back in and added a hole reducer. Day 15 he still couldn't fly but the other three could (not well but they got lift off) and I let him be. He did end up making it ok but opening the box after day 12/13 isn't a good idea. Not sure that you did that actually though but if so it might have been why they fledged.

Donna