How Time Flies

At the end of April, our dog Journee whelped 10 lovely puppies. I’ve been so busy with those babes that I have completely failed to add much to the blog since then. I realized how long it’s been when I decided to post with photos I just took yesterday, of a pair of Eastern Bluebirds that are feeding their chicks in a special house that we adapted as an experiment.

On May 30th, I filmed the same pair of Eastern Bluebirds when they were first checking out that birdhouse. It’s PVC #2 that is located in my office yard, so I can view it anytime I’m sitting at my desk. A little over a month ago, we made a change to it by creating a large, horizontal slot opening. It was an experiment. It’s been written that birdhouses with slot openings, rather than the traditional round hole, are less desirable for the invasive House Sparrows.
Well, we have one of those wooden, slot opening houses. It is located just about 15 feet from our PVC #2 house and since April, a male House Sparrow has been controlling it – sitting atop and inside the opening of it. He’s been trying to get a mate to consider it a suitable place to raise a brood, and recently he’s been successful. Here’s the female that is now building a nest inside it. We will remove the nest repeatedly to do what we can to reduce the population of the non-native sparrows that compete seriously with our native nest dwellers like Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, House Wrens, Chickadees etc…

Here’s a photo of that female House Sparrow.

Back to May 30th, when the lovely pair of Bluebirds were considering our PVC slot opening house house. Here are the photos I took on that day (and which I’m so surprised I didn’t post here, but yes, the ten puppies were truly keeping me busy!) Better late than never.

Based on their behavior and continued time spent on, around and in the house, I hoped they would choose it and I could watch them as they raised their chicks.

On June 11, we observed 5 eggs in the house.

Yesterday, June 25, 2024, I was able to take these shots of the couple taking food to their new chicks. I haven’t looked inside the house to see how far developed they are, but I’ve seen the parents taking food for a few days, maybe even a week. It’s been exceedingly hot here, so I’ve been staying indoors.

You might notice that the male, the one atop of the box, is panting and holding his wings out off his body. It was close to 95 degrees when I took those photos, and it was after 6:00 PM. I have to think that a house with a much larger opening has to be better in this sort of heat. It may not be the house a pair would choose in March, when they first arrive and start selecting their nesting site. But, at this time of year – when the Bluebirds are raising a second (perhaps even third) brood, I think offering this entrance design may be just what Mother Nature ordered!