Hey ChickaDDD, I know what you mean about Chicklet's story. He sounds super natural or something. Sleeping on roof, resetting his own arm, Typhoon or something and his birthday. WOW. But like you said if it is true your are surely helping them and thats all that matters. I must have missed it when the unwelcoming committee killed a catbird chick. That is awful!!! And it is not FUN to get rid of HOSP. I dont know why they would say that and it makes me sick. I cant believe they said it was fun, that is disgusting and shows how stupid they are. I hope you dont dislike ME for it but I have seen them with my own eyes terrorize my other birds and not just the cavity nesters, but i dont enjoy it. I just want to save my other birds. They were after Braveheart today when he and Scardycat would try to feed their babies AND they are building two nests in two of my boxes right now :-( When papa tries to bring food they jump him and fall to the ground. It is just pure harassment and today i noticed his right eye was closed up. I dont think it was the HOSP because he was fighting two mockers today too and they probably got fed up with him getting in the middle and decided to kick him around awhile. My blue is insane they are twice his size. But now he will be at risk of hawk attack because he cant see from that side. Ahhhhhhh SIGH. I am having such stress this year with the bluebirds. I love them and all the birds except the HOSP and it is hard on me because I worry so about the birds. My other little sparrows are building in my holly bush that the robins used three times this year ( they were busy ), you know the little ones that i keep blowing there little babies out of the bush. So at least i know where they are this time and wont blow them out. Birds are so funny. She fusses at me every time i go out there but then builds her nest right in my back steps. Go figure :-) Why would they kill a catbird? I dont understand that, it must have been before i joined because i dont remember seeing it. Do you know what month and maybe i can go back and find that post. That is very disturbing, maybe they are just animal killers? Maybe they do enjoy it. They almost had me convinced that the house wrens were evil till Bet got on there. Maybe they kill all birds except bluebirds. That's sick :-( Well im glad you didn't have any little jets get confused and end up in your house today :-) Maybe they realized that outside is where they belong. Hopefully for you and your families sake. All summer without air conditioning is a horrible thought for me. You are a very strong and sweet person to sacrifice your comfort for the little jets. I bet Daisy was hot too with all that hair. My Mary is very hairy like that ( 4 layers of fur ) and she doesn't even like to be outside in the summer. We are very spoiled. Im glad your kitties got bored with the swifts, i know you were blaming yourself for the deaths but you didn't know they were coming so im glad all is good now :-) I better go because this is long but i know i could talk a lot more!!! LOL. She who is to long winded~~~~~~~Bonnie

I haven't seen a parent on the nest in the last 2 or 3 days, but it may be that the parents are being extra careful not to reveal the location of the nest. Yesterday I was watching the tree from about 40-50 feet away, and I saw a mourning dove sitting at the top of my neighbor's roof not far from the nest. After about 10 minutes, I thought maybe the dove was waiting for me to go away. So I walked around the far side of my house, and from my back deck, I could see that same place on my neighbor's roof -- and no dove. I got down off the deck and started walking toward the nest on the near side, and I heard that flying-up sound that mourning doves make, from the direction of the nest. And this morning I saw a pair of mourning doves loitering in my driveway in front of the garage, about 35 feet from the nest. That's as close as I have been able to confirm that the parents are still visiting the nest. I would like better assurance, since mourning doves are commonly in the area to visit under my bird feeders. I cringe to think that they are abandoned, cold, hungry, and dehydrated. But I also hestitate to interfere. - Jim

Congrats on adding more blue to the sky! Hopefully, you will see many more fledgings. Sometimes they fly out so quickly, you blink and miss it. Other times, the parents tease them for hours, call them, and hover in front of them with food to coax them out. The funniest one I ever saw (wish I had a picture of this) one fledgling changed his mind in mid-fledge; one wing and one foot out, and one wing and foot still in the box. He must have stayed there a good 20 minutes trying to figure out what to do next. He eventually made it just fine, heaven knows how. Sometimes they are super flyers, popping out and turning in mid air to head right up to the tallest trees. Landing is another matter. I've seen one grab a bunch of leaves and hang upside down for a while, holding on for dear life until he gathered the nerve to fly up higher. They can climb very well, too. It always amazes me how the parents will guide them from one place to the next, and then gather them all up for the night, all snuggled together in a row. I used to think they always fledged first thing in the morning, but I've seen them fledge all times of the day, just before a major thunderstorm, even once at dusk. The most important thing though, is NOT to scare them when fledging time is close. The last thing you want is for them to fledge out of fear before they are really ready. Always keep good notes on your calendar so you know when the age of the nestlings, and do not open the nestbox after day 13 (remember unlucky 13). BlueBars Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sialis.org/premature.htm

Yes there are a few people that still visit this site. I check it from time to time, but it's very inactive compared to the bluebird nut cafe, and that can be a bad thing if you have an emergency and need help quickly. I am not a moderator there but I do check in almost every day. I wish we could get everyone on the same site lol.