July 17, 2004
Bluebirds -- Day 13
Before the latest storm rolls in (there are still people in Bloomington without power from the last one!), we shot this photo of our 13 day old nestlings. There really isn't any news about them today. I haven't seen the fledglings, but Papa has been his usual busy self.
The activity around the other feeders has hit another high. I think that finches have recently fledged because not only are there about 30 of them around at a time, I see distinct fledgling behavior from some. They sit near their parent(s) chirping and doing this spastic wing-flapping that screams "feed me!!" Happily the parents do not oblige them since they know that it's time for the little ones to figure out how to survive on their own.
The hummingbirds have also been eating quite a bit. The feeder near the bluebird box seems to be relatively unguarded so it sees the most activity. I've seen two and three hummers at one time feeding at it. The other feeder is staked out by a male who sits in the Hickory tree. He appears when another hummer dares to approach the feeder and quickly attacks them. I don't like this behavior since it seems mean-spirited, but hey who am I to judge the hummingbird code?