in

Love ItLove It

Bluebird Blog ~ Surprise Catch

Today is day 14 since the bluebird babies hatched. I can no longer monitor the house. If I open the door they could fledge too soon. So I sit back and watch. The parents tell me what is going on by their actions. They have backed off on feeding as much. They are getting ready for the babies to fledge in the next couple of days.

Last year I was watching the bluebirds in my backyard house. Just as I am now. I was walking around in my yard with my Canon PowerShot (small camera). I happened to look up in one of my pine trees and there was a bluebird baby. I did not know he had flown from the nest. It happens so quickly. But there he was camouflaged very well. And he was very still. I slowly walked closer and got a photo of him before he flew away.

©CarolDM2017

It is a challenge to get a photo of these babies once they leave the nest. The parents keep a close eye on them for several weeks. They feed them and continue to protect them. You can see his spots if you look closely. That is how you can tell he is a baby. As he grows the spots will fade away. So much to learn in nature. 

Thank you all for allowing me to share my bluebirds of happiness.

Yesteday’s update in case you missed it: Feeding Babies

Report

What do you think?

17 Points

Written by Carol DM

32 Comments

  1. You might have to invest in an outdoor WiCam! Mine lets me snap stills from my smart phone. That is an amazing close-up to have taken by hand. I can just see you tip-toeing around the yard with your PowerShot in hand.

    1
    • I had a camera connected one year but it was a lot of trouble but I would like to try it again. YEs I just posted another of the latest fledgling. It was taken with my Nikon. And I was in dangerous territory. 🙂

      1
    • The spots are just a part of the maturity level with the babies. They will gradually disappear. In this photo I think they help him but not always.

      1
          • I suppose that if the infant remains in that one place where the camouflage is effective and doesn’t stray until they molt into an adolescent coat this might work, but I’ve seen camouflage fail and it isn’t pretty…

            1
          • I guess the answer is they do all they can do, and that is all they can do. But they will not stay in one place. I just hope they all survive when they leave.

    • This one has a little blue on its tail, probably a female. The males have lots of blue. Also, the stage this baby is at in the photo, she has more spots than anything but that will turn to blue.

      1