Pretty Quiet These Days

Things are pretty quiet around the property these days. I haven't been down in the woods in a long time, mainly because of the mosquitoes and because I've been very busy. The juvenile bluebirds continue to feed in our front yard. The Eurasian Collared-Doves have obviously had a successful breeding season. The numbers of ECDo at my feeders has increased by six in the past couple of weeks. I still occasionally see a Mourning Dove and a couple of Inca Doves at my feeders. The House Sparrow numbers have gone up, which I'm not excited about at all. It is fun to look out and see the cardinals feeding their newly fledged youngsters.

It won't be long befire the hummingbirds show up again! Just another month or so and I'll be mixing sugar water every day. Come out and see them this year!

Fledged Bluebirds

It's always a joy to watch as bluebirds fledge and start learning to live on their own. This morning one of the young bluebirds was perched on the fence in our front yard. He sat there for quite a while. Meanwhile, Mr. Bluebird was on the power lines near the road catching insects. The young bird saw this and flew to his dad asking for food. Mr. Bluebird fed him a few insects while Junior watched intently as Dad hunted. He's learning and it won't be long before he's completely self-sufficient.

Bluebird Update

The kids and I went to check the bluebirds today. They are all doing well. They're fully feathered. According to my bluebird book, they are anywhere from 14 to 16 days old. I sure wish I had been checking the box regularly so I would know when they hatched. They will probably fledge next week while I'm at camp. Hopefully I can get back in time to remove the old nest before they start nesting again!