Lovin' my Bluebirds!

Hello friends! So much has happened since my last post! The Bluebird nest was completed while we were on vacation. Below is how it looked right before we left for a week. It's a very nice looking nest...if you ask me!

We got back from vacation last Monday.  I was hoping she would wait until we came back to start laying her eggs...and she did!  She laid her first egg last Thursday. On Friday, my husband checked the bird box and he didn't see anything. However, when he positioned his phone farther in the box to snap a pic....there were two eggs! Then, Saturday she laid a third egg and today, the fourth egg!  My husband thinks she'll lay a total of five eggs but, I think she'll lay seven! She's eating well and they are watching the nest closely like good parents. I'll keep you updated!

Now, for a little bit about our vacation. We took a trip to Houston to visit friends and go to the rodeo. It was a lot of fun! We saw Keith Urban & Garth Brooks play at the rodeo!  This was my husbands first time to Houston & he really like it....except for the traffic. We stayed at our friend's home in Galveston. It was beautiful! Time was short so we didn't do much birding. But, my friends took us to a well kept secret place that had Peacocks! There are beautiful! The Peacocks were very friendly and were not modest at all!  The males were showing off their beautiful feather tails, known as a "train".  Below are just a few of the hundred pics that I took of them! I'd like to go back to Galveston and attend one of their awesome birding events!

We had a great time in Texas!

Great time, Great food, & Great friends!

Nest Watching

Day 1 of Nest Building 3/07/18 

This week has been a busy week! The bluebirds started building their nest on Wednesday, March 7! I spotted the female going in the bird box with pieces of straw.  On Thursday, there were pieces hanging out of the nest box! So we knew there was some building going on. When my husband went home for lunch, he checked the box and sent me the first pic of the nest! That night we were able to start the official "Nest Watch" on https://nestwatch.org/  Anytime, you find a nest and commit to watching it - you should send your observations to The Cornell Lab of Orinthology. You can become a "citizen scientist" and your data will helpthem track trends in birds including when they nest, how many eggs laid,  how many hatched, and how many survived.  This is a nationwide tracking status. They study the current conditions of the bird population and how it changes. There is so much interesting information on this site. I highly recommend reading it even if you haven't found a nest yet. You'll be ready for when you do!

Now back to BackerNest1 (that's what I've called it).  On Saturday morning, I was able to spend a few hours observing and the female was super busy! Apparently, "The Hustle is Real"!  She is ready to get this nest built and lay some eggs!  This momma ain't messin' around!

She went back and forth with straw bits and pieces....and then she showed up with a beak full! I was excited to get a few pics of her hardwork!

Lastnight, we had quite a bit of rain so this Sunday morning wasn't quite as productive. Maybe due to the wet nesting materials. But, I did see some building going on.  She should have the nest completed possibly tomorrow and then will start laying her eggs shortly after. Bluebirds lay one egg a day and usually will lay 5-7 eggs.  I will keep you posted. 

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page and Twitter for recent updates.  Thank you for following me & the birds!