Awww! It's opting wet here too!!!!

I was worried about that with mine too but it was a really sturdy shoebox, sort of coated and never caved in.

no sighting of the babies but parents taking mouthfuls of worms high in the trees next door. And a HOWR takes them to the other neighbor in the opposite direction. At least maybe they found their own place. Bad news there will be more of those brats next year :(

I guess from all I've read a new nest won't start for 2 weeks so I have time to make sure my new one is stable. Sine the ground is soaked hope I can twist it in some more.

Grrrr. HOWR are eating all the mealworms today and the blues aren't going to the feeder!

Now something else to worry about!!!!

So sorry to hear about the HOWR problem. That's like HOSP at my feeder. There are tons of them & I don't provide any seed (just live & dried mealworms). Mockingbirds are still hogging with a couple of Robins, CAWR, Finches, TUTI, Thrashers, & occasional CACH.

I saw a wren in tree above box the other day, but couldn't tell if it was CAWR or HOWR. Hmm.

I think it's best for them to wait two weeks (or more) so they take proper time to train fledgers. I've gotten to where I wait at least a week before I put box back up.

Hope your EABL family is doing well & hope you've had a nice visit with your daughter!

OMG! How big is that turtle?

It's laying EGGS in my yard!!!!

She is a Box turtle about 10 inches in length. She was sitting right on the soft dog dirt path and didn't move when they walked up. Later she dug a deep hole, put about 10 eggs in, took hours to cover them without a trace. I stayed up late and put an old rabbit cage upside down over the nest so my dogs or other critters would not sniff them out and dig them up.

So I had to Google like crazy. Approximately 70 days until hatching. Very low survival rate out in the world with all of the predators. I just couldn't believe my eyes!

No BB sighting today. Grrr. I was at work but all I saw were wrens at the mealworm feeder. I'm really worried. But it's plenty wet and hot so hopefully they are OK.

Oh, I see the eggs in the pic now! How cool is that!! I would be up at all hours if I were dealing with that. Neat!!

I'm sure your blues are fine, but I do the exact same thing. Just worry myself to pieces!

The turtle was so determined she acted if I wasn't there!

yes, my blues came back and filled up on worms yesterday! Big relief!

Ok. Good news! I knew they were ok. Keep me informed (about turtle eggs too).

It's so up and down in bluebird world. Not coming down for mealworms last evening or this morning. Brats! They may see a hawk or something that I don't, so I will try to calm down.

The darn HOWR are eating my mealworms like crazy and it's clear the blues don't like them because they fly off when the wrens come.

So now I know what they are up to! A new nest!!!! They are still taking mealworms up to the trees so I think my babies are Ok but it's only been 10 days since fledge! Now the heat worries and to find my wren guard. It's already bigger than the last one she built.

I hope you are OK Nicole! I pray for you and worry about you!!!

Today I saw the first sight like this I have ever seen. If you recall I rarely see my babies after fledge. This morning mom was busy with her nest and dad brought all of the babies to the tree where the mealworm feeder is. Epic fail! Not one even tried to follow dad in! He is the best dad I have ever had. I noticed he didn't feed them there. I could totally tell he was trying to teach them to go in! Of course I was late for work but it was SO COOL I didn't care!

I hate that you now have those dang HOWR. It's always something! Sounds like dad's taking good care of babies while mom gets started on the next step. Yay! So glad you saw the babies with dad! I always get so excited to see them back again. I'll bet you see them come to feeder very soon!

How are you doing? Getting around any better? Good visit with your daughter?

Great! The stem cells were a miracle!

dad is back at his feeding lessons this morning! Poor babies are just too clumsy to climb in the cage feeder! He is being the sweetest dad, it's so cute watching them all together. It's like a sea of blue around here!

moms nest looks much better this time. I cheated and put up sparrow spooker before egg but will wait for wren guard until egg 1...

I know what you mean about the family coming back around. The fledgelings aren't ready to use my usual 2 feeders, so I put worms in dishes for them to get.

Wanna hear more about stem cell! Wondering if my mom could benefit from that. Did insurance cover?

Your nest looks much better this time around. Mine should hatch this week! Wren guard still holding up...

I couldn't fiind my wren guard from last time. Made on out of a different shoebox and it's flimsy this morning after the rain. I wish I could find the old one before I start tearing up Gucci shoeboxes!

So, the stem cell. I did a lot of research and didn't believe it would work. 3000 dollars and insurance doesn't cover. I really needed knee replacements due to no meniscus on both sides.

Then my job dropped the disability insurance so I found a new job and couldn't take time off. I was in horrible pain every day. One of the ortho at my new hospital does it so I went for it.

having it done is a piece of cake. They take lots of vials of bone marrow from your low back area and inject in your knees. The next day the pain was horrible and you definitely need pain killers just to walk. Plus you can't take NSAIDS for a month.

one day (Easter actually) I woke up completely pain free and have had only very minimal pain since!

Can't believe my wren guard is still holding up after all the rain! How is your new one doing?

Getting a new roof from hail storm & haven't been able to feed birds. Been worried about Mama blue & her eggs because they're throwing debris off roof on all sides. Checked last evening & Mama was sitting on nest. She's had no privacy & it's been so noisy. Bless her heart!

One of eggs was either cracked or starting to hatch today. Checking as soon as roofers leave. They also hit a gas line, so horrible smell of gas. Hope all turns out ok with my blues!

Thank you for telling me about stem cell. Just thrilled it has worked out so well for you! What a blessing. Definitely need to check into that! Hugs & love!

So sorry about the roof disaster! One stressor you did not need. I pray homeowner's covers that!!!!

Yes, I would wait for 1st egg before putting up wren guard. So glad your fledgelings are healthy & beautiful. Are the parents still feeding, or are they on their own. Love seeing them come back around!

Yes , homeowner's covers for roof, gutters, downspouts, new windows/garage door, painting entire exterior amongst other things. Can't believe hail caused all that damage!

Babies have learned to get in cage feeder but stand there and wait for papa to feed them!

i took wren guard down and spent the night away and LOOK! So it's back up but I'm off the weekend so can see if she accepts it.

i have a camellia bush in my screened in pool and was sitting out here with the door to the patio open and 2 HOWR came in and scouted the bush like I wasn't here. So I am very nervous. Super happy to have one good group of healthy fledgelings. Dad is the most amazing. They follow him like ducklings. No sign of them being let loose too early yet! Yay!

luckily not too hot here yet. Whew!

Wren guard accepted! I checked just now and unfortunately scared her out so probably incubating these 4. Unfortunately it's too flimsy in this rain and I need to swap it for a sturdier one!

How are yours Nicole? Praying they are OK!!!

Hope you find a better wren guard. Surprisingly, mine has held up. There were only 3 eggs this time & they hatched either Friday or Saturday. So far, so good! How long has your mom been incubating?

Hi Lisa- miss hearing from you! How are your bluebirds? My 3 babies were 11 days old today.

Arghhh! Started a long post and lost it!

Your babies are gorgeous.

I had the coolest experience! A really nice young guy I'd never met from 2 doors down came over to see my birdhouse and tell me how much his kids have loved seeing the bluebirds all day long. Dad is still super dad and is apparently teaching them over there. I think they are a month today. Living in the tree 2 doors down. They have a great really flat green lawn for bug chasing. Looks like all five made it alive and well.

Mom is roosting on 4. They should hatch in the next 2 days. I ended up leaving my flimsy wren guard because it is really working and looks rough but survived torrential rains without caving in.

Got to get my heat shield, aka styrofoam, up asap. First day off is friday. It must not be too hot yet because mom is incubating all day long.

I've been blessed with such a special pair this year. I mourn the loss of their first nest but the second was a huge success. Praying for this nesting because fledge should be in July and it will be just way too hot.

I miss you so much when you don't post and pray you are doing OK!!!!

I have such a flurry of blues now I can't keep up with how many boys or girls. The HOWR have just about taken over my mealworm feeder but at least have left the eggs alone so far. I figure they are busy with their own babies right now.

Can't wait to hear updates on the fledge! I really started posting on Bluebirdnut more because of a hurtful comment by another poster here. Now that I've calmed down I realize they just didn't understand what I was saying and maybe I sounded authoritative and preachy. Which I am totally not in real life. I've just been through so much trial and error with my blues, learned a ton the hard way, and maybe get overly eager to share what I've learned.

How is the house sale??? Please call me again when you have a chance so we can talk in person! I feel like you are my friend!!! Lisa

Last crew of the season. Looking good!

NIcole, I have to show you how awful my new setup is. LOL! I did the styrofoam through the sparrow spooker! Was hoping for hatching today but must be tomorrow:(

Nicole, I need you to post and let me know you are OK!!! LOVE YOU!