The Backyard Birdman

My Mom, The Number One Mom In The World (all photos by me)

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!  We love you with all our heart.  I want to extend this greeting to Moms all over the world.  Thank you for everything you do, Mom.

This beautiful lady in her 90’s is the best mom in the world!  She not only brought me into the world, she has supported me my entire life with unconditional love and wisdom.  I feel like one of the luckiest people on the planet and I want her to know that I love her with all my heart.

A few months ago I put up a bluebird house in her backyard, along with a bird bath.  My mom has always loved birds and I thought it would be nice to try to attract some birds to her yard.  Even as I returned home from her house the following day, she had birds visiting her backyard.

Now, I want you to know that her backyard is in a senior community, near a golf course.  She has no lawn, only some small bushes and immature trees in her small backyard.  However, she now has a pair of Western Bluebirds building a nest in her birdhouse!

Female Bluebird with Nesting Material

I took a few photos of the Western Bluebirds while we were sitting on the back porch.  My mom told me that she was spending a lot of time watching the birds and felt like she wasn’t getting anything done (smile).  I know what that’s like!  She also told me that she had been watching the birds from inside the house because she was afraid she would scare them away.

This is a very important point: when you put up birdhouses in your yard, get out there and do all your normal yard work and activities.  This way your birds will get used to you being there and you can observe them from much closer without the birds being alarmed.  You can even teach them to eat out of your hand or come to a special treat when you give them a certain whistle or sound a bell!

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Western Bluebirds 8 to 10 Days Old photo by Larry Jordan

Oak Titmouse Chicks about 1 Week Old photo by Larry Jordan

You can see by these photos that these birds are about a week old but no older than 10 days because they still have their feather sheaths. Shortly after these photos the sheaths will begin to disintegrate and wing feathers will begin to emerge.

It is critical that you don’t try to monitor the birds beyond day thirteen. The reason for this is that you don’t want to create a situation where the chicks try to fledge prematurely. If you keep good records during incubation and know when the chicks hatch, you can have a very good idea of when they will fledge and you will be able to watch them take their first flights! (more…)

Western Bluebirds 2 to 5 Days Old photo by Larry Jordan

Oak Titmouse Chicks on Day 1 photo by Larry Jordan

As you can see in the top photo, six of the Western Bluebirds have hatched and that was the last egg count I had of this nest. I am thinking that they are at least three days old here because they have all hatched and they have some feather sheaths beginning to develop on their wings.

The Oak Titmouse, on the other hand look like they are just hatched. They are bare and there are only four hatchlings and I counted six eggs on my last count. I couldn’t see well enough inside the nest to see how many unhatched eggs were still there. Hatchlings this young are very delicate and it is best not to handle them at all.

I will keep you updated on the bluebird and titmouse families and try to check their nestboxes more frequently for the next ten days. It is very important not to check your nestboxes after day 13 as you may cause premature fledging of the young.

To see a complete set of photos from egg to empty nest, check out my friend Bet’s website here: Sialis.org She has an incredible amount of information on Bluebirds.

Western Bluebird Nest from my Bluebird Trail

Oak Titmouse Nest from my Bluebird Trail

These are photos of a Western Bluebird nest and an Oak Titmouse nest from two of my nestboxes on my bluebird trail. When monitoring a birdhouse or nestbox trail it is important to be able to identify the birds and the nests that you find being built in your birdhouses. It is also important to note when eggs are laid and when the hen begins to incubate those eggs. (more…)

House (English) Sparrows photo by Deanne Fortnam

I am a long time bird advocate. I have been building birdhouses or nest boxes, as we call them, for over 25 years now. There have been many different styles, sizes and materials used for building nest boxes over the years but it all comes down to what is best for the bird using that particular nest box. This of course depends on the species of bird and that species’ behavior. The materials you use for building the nest box may also depend on what you can afford or what you have available. The main thing you must always keep in mind is what is best for the bird.

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I decided that it would be a good idea to do a short demo for everyone on how to set up a bluebird trail.  This is so important to me that I want to make sure only people who have the time and energy to follow up on their project, and diligently follow the necessary steps to a successful bluebird breeding program, embark on this endeavor.

Watch my video here:

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Western Bluebird photo by Walter Ammann

The gentle and beautiful bluebird was once very common in North America.  The bluebird is a beneficial bird, eating many insects that ruin our crops and gardens such as cutworms and grasshoppers.  Today, the number of bluebirds has diminished due to habitat loss, overuse of pesticides and predators. (more…)