The bluebird babies flew away from their nest on Sunday afternoon. They grow up too quickly!
It’s always a little sad for us to see them go. We get so used to watching Mother and Daddy zoom in with food, and last week, we could hear the babies squalking loudly each time one of their parents showed up with grub. (heh heh)
Mama and Daddy bird know which day the babies are ready to fly, and stop bringing food as frequently.
Gradually, the little ones get hungry enough and curious enough to venture outside of the box with a bit of coaxing from their parents. One at a time, they are lured out of the box with food, and then the parent flies off to a nearby branch. The baby bird more often than not flies right after them.
Sometimes, it takes a bit more coaxing with food to get them to take off. One at a time, they all fly away.
The family does stay together, as the parents train their little ones to hunt food for the next week or two. But they take them far away from the bird house so that their kids won’t get any wise ideas about moving back into the nest.
Very smart, these bluebirds.
As soon as these babies are independent, our happy couple will probably come back and raise another little family this summer. And we’ll be watching and waiting!
Leave a Reply