Bluebird Family Feud?

[Janelle Swearingen]

I think I may have been witnessing a family feud among my bluebirds. The season began normally with a pair of bluebirds building a nest in my box. They had a brood of five that all fledged. After they had been gone a couple of days, I cleaned out the box and within a week I had another pair building a nest.

All went well for about 4 days when the male began to display hostility towards the female, wouldn't let her near him, attacked her when she got too close, and after a couple of days he disappeared from the scene.

Mrs. BB continued building and refining the nest and laid 5 eggs starting on May 21. No sign of the male for several days. Then a male showed up 3 or 4 days ago with another female. After one incident when the original female chased off the new female, I began to see a pair again. Since I can't tell one female from another, or one male from another, I'm not sure if this the original pair or another one.

Anyway, I had not checked the box for a couple of days and this morning, May 30, the male and female were going in and out of the box and doing a lot of fluttering; so when they left for a while, I took a peek and to my surprise there are two more eggs for a total of 7!! Two are stacked on top of the original 5.

So did the original pair get a divorce and the male got custody of the box? What if 3 more eggs show up? What can they do with 10?

My only experience prior to this has been quite normal. They move in, lay 5 eggs, feed them, they fly away. Don't know what to make of this.

Janelle

[Evelyn Cooper]

Hi Janelle:

Welcome to our Bluebird Conferences and thank you for you wonderful post and question.

First, we really have no way of knowing exactly what happened unless the birds are banded. We can only speculate. We do know there was some dissention.

It sure sounds like another pair has taken over the nest and just started laying her eggs in with those. Most times, they will build over eggs.

Do you have enough room for more boxes? Usually, this is what the problem is because it is not a common thing for bluebirds to take another nest unless they are desperate for a place to lay their eggs. The boxes need to be 100 or more yards apart. Sometimes females will dump eggs because of no place to build a nest. When an egg is fertilized, usually within 24 hours, the egg is laid.

Do keep us posted about this situation.

Evelyn
Delhi, LA

[Janelle Swearingen]

I visited the Cornell website and was looking at their bluebird webcams and saw this information:
"Pair bonds - May 01, 2008 -It is clear that in this nest there is only one female. However, social polygyny does occur in Eastern Bluebirds. Social polygyny is when one male pairs with multiple females. These females may nest on the same or on different territory, and may even share the same nest!" So maybe I have a polygymous male!!! It will be interesting to see what happens if and when they all hatch - will they have 2 or 3 parents feeding them?

I live in a new housing addition and the houses are very close together with very small yards. I know that two other people in the neighborhood have bluebird houses, but no nests in either of them. So I don't know why they chose to pile all the eggs in my box unless, as you said, the female was desperate.

[Evelyn Cooper]

You should watch as closely as possible. Try to see if there are two different females going in. If there are no more eggs laid, it is possible a female dumped them. If it is not egg dumping, you'll probably have another one tomorrow. I have never had but one egg dumped in a nest and then the females fought fiercely and one female left (I figure it was the one doing the egg dumping).

I had another box available 175 yards away and out of sight, so I wondered why the female hadn't found that box and made ready for her fertilized egg.

I hope if you are having more than one female that you can identify them. This new bluebird I am writing about in the thread about the female being possessed with her reflection, has the palest orange (almost yellow) coloring on her breast. The original female had a brighter breast. She also has made no attempt to look at herself in windows or mirrors, while it was apparent the other one never got over that problem.

As for your questions about what to do with so many eggs, the only thing I've read that other bluebirders do is foster eggs to nests at the same stage of incubation. Sounds like that would not be an option for you.

If it were me and more eggs were laid, I would have a larger box built and put this larger box on that pole. We have done this many times when it was necessary. I've fledged 6 babies from a standard NABS box, but it was a nest completely full of babies.

We have taken a box off the pole in the field with an egg in it (very carefully) and put a guard on the pole. It was a case where we had to quickly put up a unit and didn't have time to install the guard until later. The female will not abandon.

Please keep us posted. If you have two females nesting in one box, that is pretty rare and it will be most interesting to hear all the details.

Evelyn
Delhi, LA

[Janelle Swearingen]

I've just seen the female up close and she has a small dark patch on her breast on the right side. I'll keep checking to see if another one shows up. This one seems to be on guard.

My nest box is in the wrong place according to common opinion on the subject. It is in a small fenced yard, on the fence in a flower bed with lots of shrubs, rose bushes, and tall flowers. The box is only about 4 feet off the ground because we have lots of house sparrows and they don't seem to bother it since I put it down low. Three years ago when I put up my first house it was 6 feet off the ground on the fence out in the open and the sparrows killed all the babies. Then I read something that said sparrows did not like nests close to the ground so I moved it. I had babies last year even though the house had a hibiscus right in front of it that made it hard for the birds to get into the box. I took the hibiscus out to make it easier for them. So this year they seem to really like it as this is the second nest.

As for building a bigger box, no one in this household can build anything. We are definitely handyman challenged. The box I have is not large - it is one of the National Geographic ones. So I'll probably just have to watch. If it continues to fill up with eggs, should I just dispose of some of them to help the rest survive?

Janelle

[Evelyn Cooper]

Let's wait a few days and see what transpires. Keep us posted.

Evelyn
Delhi, LA

[Janelle Swearingen]

Update for today. I now have 8 eggs. There are definitely 2 females still interested in the box. About 6:30 this morning I saw the male and a female in the yard together. They were only around for a few minutes and left. Then about 9:00 they came back. The male checked out the box first, then the female went in and stayed some time. He stayed around perching on the fence then occasionally going to the top of the box and peering over the edge. They they flew away. I checked and no new egg. About 9:30 a female arrived and went into the box and stayed about 10 minutes. Another female arrived and sat on the nearby shepherd's hook watching the box. Then the first female emerged from the box. At that point it got a little confusing as the male appeared and all three took off. The male and a female chasing the other female. I could not tell which female was being chased - whether she was the one who laid the egg, or the one who watched.

[Janelle Swearingen]

I was going to wait until I checked the box tomorrow for another egg, but it has been an interesting day and I wanted to record it before I forget the details. After the egg laying this morning ending in the chase, things settled down and one of the females took up her post on the shepherd's hook to keep watch - going into the box occasionally to check. Then in the afternoon, about 3:30 the chase was on when the second female showed up. For 2 hours the two females sparred - one definitely seemed to be defending her rights as the mistress of the box and keeping the other from entering. At one point the mistress entered the box and emerged with a twig in her mouth and rushed at the other. After several minutes more of sparring, the mistress had a temporary lapse and while she dove for a morsel on the ground, the other went into the box. Then to my surprise the mistress followed her in. I'd love to know what was happening in that box!! A couple of times a head protruded from the box only to be withdrawn quickly. Soon both emerged from the box without any visible signs of a struggle and the sparring continued. In a few minutes the male arrived on the scene and all flew away. Shortly he and one of the females returned. He sat on the hook and she nuzzled up close to him waving her wings. He put up with this for only a few seconds before flying away. She again took up her post watching. Her respite was short, however, and the other female was soon there again and the game began again. When I checked about 8:00 they were sitting on the fence eyeing each other. It is now getting dark and no sign of either, so one is probably settled for the night in the box. Can't wait till morning to see if the egg layer is successful again. I'm beginning to think the layer is the intruder and that the male belongs to the first female and that it is she who is trying to drive off the intruder. I still can't really tell them apart, but the one I've called the mistress seems to be maybe a little bigger and have a darker back.

[Evelyn Cooper]

Yes, Janelle, I agree with you that I also think one of the females is an intruder and the male does not have two women. I thought about it all day since you wrote this morning and what you wrote just now makes me feel for certain that's the way it is. The only thing odd about it to me is her laying three eggs or maybe more. I just never have heard a report of more than one egg being dumped. Maybe others have.

I still think you need to give all the eggs an chance to hatch. I am working on that for you and if I can come up with a larger box for you, that is what I am hoping for.

Thanks for the update tonight.

Evelyn
Delhi, LA

[Janelle Swearingen]

Well, no new egg today. We had a strong thunderstorm move in midmorning and I saw the watcher enter the box as the wind and lightening moved in. No activity until the storm passed. Saw both male and female briefly on the shepherd's hook before the male flew away and female returned to the box. Later I did see the two females again chasing around, but they flew away. One female went into the box again and stayed some minutes but still no new egg. Maybe the laying is over - at least I hope so.

[Janelle Swearingen]

Here is a photo of the 8 eggs in the nest.
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/janelleSw/IMG_0083.jpg

I'm sorry the resolution is not good on photobucket.

[Evelyn Cooper]

I feel in all probability that not all of the eggs will hatch and you won't need to use a larger box. I am already finding on the second cycle, more infertile eggs and I am sure it is because of the heat.

Thanks for the picture and it looks just fine when I pull it up.

Evelyn

[Janelle Swearingen]

Well the bluebirds seem to have finally discouraged the extra female and the incubation has started. The female spends most of the day sitting on the eggs, emerging occasionally to feed and preen. The male comes every morning to greet her. He goes into the box and checks things out. He reminds me of an expectant father pacing in the waiting room.

I've placed a sparrow spook over the box, but the Oklahoma wind turns it into a tangle several times a day and I go out and untangle it. I think wind here is unlike wind anywhere else. We had a whole day yesterday of wind at 40mph followed by a storm last night with 60-70 mph winds. Not only that, but it blows in every direction at once causing the weather vane on the fence to spin. We live on a very flat prairie with not much to block the wind.

I'll let you know when hatching starts.

[Janelle Swearingen]

The hatching as begun, but seems to be progressing very slowly. So far we only have one baby and it hatched two days ago. I thought there might be another this morning as the male made a couple of visits to the box within 5 minutes. But when I checked there was still only one. It has been very cool and wet the last couple of days and the last month as been exceedingly wet with rain almost every day.

The Sparrow Spooker seems to be working well as I have not seen a sparrow land near the box since I put it up a couple of weeks ago. It is a home made contraption consisting of a wire clothes hanger with gold metalic ribbon with small gold ornaments from an old necklace. The Oklahoma wind has been a bit of a nuisance as I have to go out and untagle it every couple of days. Some of the wind has been 40 miles an hour with even stronger gusts - The wind definitely does "come sweeping down the plains."

[Janelle Swearingen]

After four days there is still only one baby and I fear he is to be an only child. My question is: How long should I wait before removing the 7 unhatched eggs?

[Evelyn Cooper]

Hi Janelle:

Most bluebirders removed the infertile eggs after day 5. Wow! that is something that only one egg hatched out of all those 8 eggs!

I hope the little fellow makes it!

Evelyn
Delhi, LA

[Janelle Swearingen]

As it would be a week tomorrow since the only egg hatched, I went out and removed the other 7 this morning. Two of them broke when I was handling them and neither showed any signs of development. Just rotten little eggs.

I hope the Lone Ranger survives and that the parents feed him well. He seems to be growing nicely.

[Evelyn Cooper]

Hi Janelle:

One way to remove eggs that helps us not to break them is to use a teaspoonto scoupe them up with.

It makes you wonder if the female that did the dumping interrupted the incubation of the others and I wonder if the egg that hatched was one that belongs to the female dumper!

Evelyn
Delhi, LA

[Janelle Swearingen]

I think it may be a good thing that all of the eggs did not hatch as the male is particularly inept at getting in the bird house. He tries and tries then rests for a few minutes, then tries a few more times, and usually gives up and flies away with the worm or moth, or bug still in his mouth. The female goes in and out with no problem, but he seems to be a real klutz.

[Evelyn Cooper]

Janelle, it is most unusual for an EASTERN Buebird not to be able to get in a 1 1/2 inch entry hole. Could you measure the hole and see if it is up to specfs? If it is, you have a bigger than average male bluebird!

Mountain Bluebirds are larger and more elongated than Eastern and Western Bluebirds and require a 1 9/16ths inch hole.

It is important that the parents can get in the box. I notice that even if an insect or worm is fed from the entry hole, they come in the box and hop on the nest and turn around and fly back out. I have seen both of them feeding and they do this. (via nest cam)

Evelyn
Delhi, LA

[Janelle Swearingen]

This just gets stranger and stranger. I had not checked the box for a couple of days and at that time the baby seemed to be growing rapidly and getting his feathers. Today I checked and he is still growing and looks healthy - but here is the strange part - THERE IS A NEW EGG IN THERE. I pushed the baby around to see if there was more that one, but so far there is only one.
This is really a bizarre family. Here is a photo of the new sibling with his big brother.
http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/janelleSw/?action=view&current=IMG_0117.jpg

[Janelle Swearingen]

This morning I saw a female putting more grass in the box. I just checked - and you guessed it - now there are two eggs.

Since Evelyn said in one of her posts that eggs will not survive if the temperature reaches 104 in the box, I hope they will hatch sooner rather than later as our temps here are now in the 90s and headed up from here on. The box is partially shaded, but the front of it sticks out in the sun.

[Janelle Swearingen]

I think the drama is over for now. The baby bird has fledged and now there are three eggs all alone in the nest. We'll see how many are added and hope the new batch produces more than one healthy offspring this time. I think one of the eggs may be cracked - probably big brother moving around caused that. I'll check it again tomorrow and see what it looks like.

[Janelle Swearingen]

I returned from a two-week vacation to find the nest empty, no sign of the three eggs laid the week before I left. A neighbor who was checking on things for us, found an egg in the yard several feet from the box. I have found no trace of the others. Something apparently got into the box, but I don't know what it could have been unless it was a snake. My neighbor said the egg she found had a hole in it and was empty. She also said she had not seen any bluebirds while we were away.

So now, I just wait for next year and hope they return again.

[Evelyn Cooper]

Hi Janelle:

It sounds like you have the work of a House Sparrow or House Wren. Snakes don't leave eggs with holes poked in them. A snake would have swallowed it whole and they don't usually leave any. I would certainly keep my eyes open now even for next year's nesting season. If it is a House Sparrow, you can get rid of it.

Did your neighbor notice anything added to the nest? Maybe if you will keep checking it, if the HOSP is trying to take it, they will build in it and you will know.

Evelyn
Delhi, LA