Baby Birds

After reassurance from Julie Zickefoose, my son and I peered inside the new birdhouses that we made for a homeschool project. One of the mothers in the PEAK group had a birdhouse party. We said we could come, purchased the materials, and then came down with a stomach flu. We didn't get to build with the other homeschoolers, but once we got the materials we built two houses and both houses have babies!! There are four sleeping babies in this house. My son opened the box and at first said, "They are dead!" Then he said, "I guess they aren't dead, but they sure look like it." They did indeed. They were sprawled out in the nest like they had flown a marathon, much like my chicken bitties look when they are sleeping. The babies are not pretty yet, but are larger than I thought they would be. I'm so excited!!! I guess I missed a cue. I knew that they had hatched because the parents have been in and out so much, but either they grow extremely fast or they have been there a while. They have some feathers. Now, we are going to keep a close eye on these houses so we can see the birds fledge. Isn't homeschooling just the best!!

After this season, I am going to add baffles to all the boxes so I am sure the birds will be safer. There are several books about improving the chances of bluebird survival available at Bird Watcher's Digest Nature Shop.