So, all five of our chicks hatched. They are Chester, Chili, Keifer, Elvis and Huey. (Thanks Amber!)
Here’s a video of them looking for a handout:
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Finally, they’ve started to hatch!
Three down, two to go.
They are Chester, Chili, and Keifer.
Our birds have started their second nest! Indeed, I’ve been remiss in posting pictures and keeping you updated. We have five eggs in the nest now!!
This morning, the chicks looked especially big!
They were even peering out the front door of the nest.
At 5:30, I got home to discover this empty (filthy) nest – they had all fledged!!!!
So, that’s it for the first clutch from our bluebird parents. We’ll post more if/when they have another clutch of eggs. I think they can have up to three a year!
Our visit to the WWII memorial was very nice. It’s a very beautiful, very large memorial located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
So gorgeous…
The Washington Monument in the background.
Dave in front of the Pacific side of the memorial.
A red-wing blackbird – how pretty! We’ve never seen one of these before!
Our bluebird babies are about 19 days old. They’re going to fledge any day now. They are so big! How can they even fit in the house together? We can’t really see all 6 of them – did we lose one?
So cute!!
The poppa bird picks up mealworms from the drive-through.
The babies are excited!
Here are the pictures from the Aviary. We had a great time trying to spot the birds in the foliage.
Birds we spotted in the aviary:
Birds we spotted in the aviary:
- Red-faced Liocichla
- Roul Roul
- Red-capped Cardinal
- Amethyst Starling
- Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
- Ringed Teal
- African Pygmy Goose
- Mandarin Duck
- Scarlett Ibis
- Victoria Crowned Pigeon
- Rainbow Lory
- Golden Headed Manakin
- Bali Mynah
Amethyst Starling (m.)
More pictures of the birds. We’re calling them 8 days old today (4/20/07). They are still getting brooded by the mom and get lots of food from both momma and poppa bird.
Mmmm, fecal sack…
Here’s an interesting tidbit about how bluebirds keep their nests clean:
In order to keep their nests clean, most baby songbirds give off their waste in what is called a “fecal sack.” These little pouches of poop are mostly white and are encased in a tough mucous membrane. After being fed, the baby bird will turn its back to the parent and “hand” it this sack. The parent bird will then fly away with the sack and drop it a short distance away from the nest. (And I thought dealing with diapers was gross.)
It you think that is disgusting, this next bit of info will curl your toes. Instead of flying away with the waste, many birds, including bluebirds, will often eat the fecal sacks. Now there’s a pleasant thought. Perhaps that will explain why bluebirds always carry a pak of Tic-Tacs. Story credit
So, here’s momma bird dropping off a mealworm to Zowie
and picking up the fecal sack