Today = 18 days since 1st 3 baby bluebirds hatched in my frontyard birdhouse and 17 days since the other 2 baby bluebirds hatched. We had a rainstorm late yesterday, so I thought the babies would not come out until this morning. Fortunately, it was a "normal" rainstorm without all the high winds we've had in the last couple of months. I got up very early this morning and I think there is only 1 left in the box. I hear his lonely little sad chirping and have seen the dad bluebird 5 times since 7:00 a.m. come to this one. They could have come more times, but this is all I have seen. The next to last time the dad bluebird just popped his head in the box and did not feed the baby, or I didn't see anything in his mouth to feed as he went in, but the baby quieted down for a while. The last time, he did feed the baby and checked in on him 3 times, and "bonked" his reflection in my window 3 times. He doesn't see me as the room is dark and he sees only the reflection of what is outside. I saw 1 in the backyard kid's playhouse and this one was soaking wet. It could have been that he just got wet from the heavy dew we have here today. The babies seem to love the little shed and kid's playhouse we have because they are also made of the cedar that their house is made of. My husband said that they probably think they are in a giant birdhouse - lol. I hear at least 1 in the tall trees in the woods in back of our house making the same little sounds asking to be fed. I so much wanted to see them fledge this time, but I guess I missed it again. The only thing I can hope is that I can sit where I am in the bedroom window where I have a direct view of the birdhouse opening and hope that this last one fledges today or tomorrow. I'm really not sure he'll be ready to leave until tomorrow, so I've got a long wait in store, especially since I have to be getting ready for my son's wedding.

You cant feed her to many, she needs all the help she can get. I have read there is a calcium supplement to roll them in.( I think this is on the sialis.org web site) Can you get some wax worms, they are more nutritious, any bait store will have them. I usually get 500 per nesting. And YES that is a very high rate of missing Blues. Do you have cats in the area?

Hi Liljanjan, I have no experience with Mountain Bluebirds, but that is a very interesting story. I think a crow could make a meal out of bluebird babies but not sure about fledglings. So you are saying by hanging up a crow near the box that deterred them? I would like to invite you to share your story and join the bluebird nut cafe and we will provide you with all you need to know about these birds. It is way more active and you will get fast answers to your questions. Hope to see you there. -Tyler http://bluebirdnutcafe.yuku.com/

Congrats on adding more blue to the sky! Hopefully, you will see many more fledgings. Sometimes they fly out so quickly, you blink and miss it. Other times, the parents tease them for hours, call them, and hover in front of them with food to coax them out. The funniest one I ever saw (wish I had a picture of this) one fledgling changed his mind in mid-fledge; one wing and one foot out, and one wing and foot still in the box. He must have stayed there a good 20 minutes trying to figure out what to do next. He eventually made it just fine, heaven knows how. Sometimes they are super flyers, popping out and turning in mid air to head right up to the tallest trees. Landing is another matter. I've seen one grab a bunch of leaves and hang upside down for a while, holding on for dear life until he gathered the nerve to fly up higher. They can climb very well, too. It always amazes me how the parents will guide them from one place to the next, and then gather them all up for the night, all snuggled together in a row. I used to think they always fledged first thing in the morning, but I've seen them fledge all times of the day, just before a major thunderstorm, even once at dusk. The most important thing though, is NOT to scare them when fledging time is close. The last thing you want is for them to fledge out of fear before they are really ready. Always keep good notes on your calendar so you know when the age of the nestlings, and do not open the nestbox after day 13 (remember unlucky 13). BlueBars Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sialis.org/premature.htm