We put another bluebird house in the yard during a time in the winter when the ground wasn't frozen. Papa Blue found it almost immediately and put a few claim sticks inside. Now we see both Mama and Papa near the nest every morning. It is situated near a row of pines and under the electric wire from which they love to hawk insects in the yard. It is within sight of last year's house, but not close enough to engender a turf battle. We're using last year's box as a decoy box for House Sparrows.
Today I checked the box and to my delight I saw nesting material in there that looked like a enough for a complete nest. The box is higher than the other one, so without a step-stool, I can't see down into the box. I'm sure that there aren't any eggs yet; the nights are still far too cold for egg laying, but in the next few weeks, I'm confident that the couple will be directing their attentions to getting a family started. I'll have to check my entries from last year to determine when the first nest was started and when the first eggs were laid, but off-hand I think that they are about one month early this year. I suppose that the familiarity of the birds, the appropriate house location and the plentiful supply of bluebird banquet and mealworms have all contributed to this early start.
I've placed three order for mealworms from a company called Reptilefood.com. I've been very happy with their product, price and customer service. Plus, if you use this special link, they donate 5% to the purchase cost to the Purple Martin Conservation Society.
Posted by Elizabeth at March 15, 2005 01:41 PM