Brood #2 About to Fledge

Well, they sure did grow up fast! The eggs hatched sometime around June 19th, and we had four new baby bluebirds. We took this picture on the 21st.


At this age, they seem to respond to any approach to their nest or nearby sound by opening their mouth for food and chirping like crazy - here is what happened when we talked to them. It was very cute.

A week later, they were already so much bigger! It's amazing how fast they grow, here they are on the 28th, they are probably about 10 days old here.


They are still very vocal when mom and dad come with food, but they are old enough now that we can no longer fool them with our voices. I guess they figured out our trick. Yesterday, they were hopping up to the front door of the house checking out the world outside. Won't be long now before they fledge.

There are lots of baby birds in the yard these days. Yesterday we think we saw a baby brown thrasher in a tree learning how to fly, and also a baby bluebird that must have been from another nest, who was working hard at getting his feathers all in order.

We've also seen towhees in the yard, which is rare, and the Cooper's Hawk has been hanging out almost every day down by the creek. I hope the hawk is finding lots of mice to eat, and is leaving all the babies alone! I think it might be foraging for its hawk babies, because it usually doesn't spend that much time here.

Never a dull moment in our backyard!