Folks-
I had recently posted photos of the nestlings in our bluebird nest
(http://www.vims.edu/fish/students/dhewitt/cowbirdquery.htm). After the
last photos were posted, I was getting confident that they were in fact
bluebird chicks based on comments I received. (I had initially suspected
they were cowbirds, given that the little birds were of good size and three
bluebird eggs remained unhatched. Many folks responded that they looked
like cowbirds or house sparrows when i posted the first photos.)
Unfortunately, the birds apparently fledged over the weekend while I was
away, and I never saw the youngsters leave the nest (thus not fully
confirming their ID). Now the parents are back (< 1 week later) and have
built a new nest and started over. I thought this seemed very early to be
done with the youngsters and fear that the local cats got them when they
emerged. Any thoughts on the timing? A strong case might help do something
about the cats.
Also, I am monitoring the nest more closely for other eggs!
Dave Hewitt
Gloucester, VA
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
