Well, our beloved bluebirds are at it again. They completed their nest yesterday and Mama laid her first egg of the second clutch this morning. This rapid reproduction is making my head swim! By comparison, the Tree Swallows are only about halfway done with their first nest.
As far as the little ones from the first clutch is concerned, I've still yet to see more than two at a time, so I still don't know how many of the five survived. I saw Papa ignore a feeding request from a fledge today, so he is more interested in providing for the next brood than the fledglings from the first.
We've been experiencing a heat wave with temperatures in the mid to upper 80s, so insects are plentiful. We still put out mealworms, but fewer than before. A male Downy Woodpecker collected 7-8 of them this morning, so I know that he was taking them to his little ones. Nearly all songbirds should be nesting now. Notable exceptions include American Goldfinches who wait until plants go to seed in late summer and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds who are still arriving and finding mates.
We've had several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at the feeders this past week. Yesterday we spied two males at the seed tray.
I observed two Red-headed Woodpeckers feeding from the same suet feeder last week. Despite the similar markings of the two genders, they were clearly a mating pair. Red-headed Woodpeckers are extremely territorial and so they only way they would share a feeder, let alone a square mile, is if they are of the same family.
Blue Jays have been relatively abundant which is good news. They were hit very hard by the West Nile Virus and their numbers dwindled alarmingly. I put some crushed eggshells out for them today. They seek calcium while feeding their young and it is commonly believed that they destroy and eat other birds' eggs is for this reason. In an effort to provide as much peaceful non-competition for bird reproduction and health as possible, I feel it necessary to provide this needed mineral.
Posted by Elizabeth at May 9, 2005 01:46 PM