I just read my post and it seems a little curt. I'm sorry; I certainly did not mean it that way. The little dead bird in the nest was all dried out and hard as a rock. I think it had been dead for more than a week but was too large for the parents to take out. The wing that I found ~25 feet away from the box still had moist flesh on it. That's why I think it was a hawk. Although a raccoon could have taken it. There was no other sign of the bird. Linda C

Just WOW! HOW do you get these pictures! The one with the mom and baby was almost at eye level.. were you in the tree too?!!! You should have a tutorial on how you get these shots ... I'll sign up! I've been keeping a photo journel this year and I'm going to have it bound. You could probably sell your book to any nature magazine...A childrens books would also be a GREAT idea too.

Hi again Donna, Thanks for the link! I have been out of town, but when I returned there was the start of a soft grassy nest like the blues build. Today, the box is filled almost to the top with sticks on top of the grass nest. Looks like I have a competing species of birds. I'm online now to find out what kind of bird builds this type of nest. If it is a sparrow, I guess it's best to remove it. I'm sure they'll rebuild though. Can you put the sparrow spooker up to help with this or is it only after eggs are laid? Thanks.

Sara, I would call it day 16. This means you should start seeing little baby faces peeking out of the box soon. At first there will be just shy little peeks then they will get braver. Mine Started peeking on Sunday and left Tuesday. The parents will start preparing to call them out and may keep the area clear of other birds, squirrels , etc for a couple days. They have a soft little "baby talk " coo. They may withhold food for short periods and even dangle a nice juicy bug in front of the hole but not give it to them. This is to motivate the babies to leave. There seems to be a pattern 2 days before fledging they feed them well and there is lots of activity , fighting to look out etc. The next is quieter and is a day of rest. Fledge day the babies should be returning peeps to the parents coos (however I had a very quiet bunch last year). They will be sticking their whole heads out then popping back in the box and flapping their little wings. Once you see toes sticking out you know they are ready. This is the first time I have had Blues fledge that close together, several times I have had 2 or 3 fledge and the others not go till the next day. I have seen somewhere around 30 fledges and they are all different but most have had these thing in common. Extra meal worms are of great help! Good Luck!