Eastern bluebirds nesting

[wsmoak]

We had bluebirds nesting last spring, but then there was the incident. (That's a 6 foot long rat snake coming down the utility pole on which the bird house was hung.)

I put up new houses this year, and... we have eggs!


110330_4775 by wsmoak, on Flickr

-Wendy

 

[Ridgerunner]

I saw my first bluebird yesterday. No nesting yet but it should not be that long. I have four bluebird houses, one on each corner of the 2 acre property. Each had at least one family last year and a couple had three.

I do like this time of year.

 

[wifezilla]

Awesome pic

We have visitors to our yard every year. In the front in a metal candle holder is where the rocky mountain finches nest (hung it up on a hook to clean the porch one day, then the birds decided it made a nifty house before I could take it down. It hasn't been used as a candle holder in about 5 years ). In the back, the sparrows took over a bird house someone gave us as a present. The entrance wasn't quite big enough for them so they chewed it bigger. I don't remember approving that remodel!!!

 

[vfem]

Oh hooray! My bluebirds are nesting too now, but I don't see any eggs in their house yet.

So sorry about the snake last year.

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

Those eggs are the cutest things!!!
Good luck, BABIES!!

 

[AmyRey]

We had bluebirds build a nest in my watering can I had hanging off the porch. They had babies even.

Not a good place to build though. The cat had no problems at all.

 

[thistlebloom]

We had bluebirds nesting last spring, but then there was the incident. (That's a 6 foot long rat snake coming down the utility pole on which the bird house was hung.)

I put up new houses this year, and... we have eggs!

[url]http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5294/5574566724_034887e4d8.jpg[/url]
110330_4775 by wsmoak, on Flickr

-Wendy

So... the incident was the snake ate the birds? That is a honking big snake! And it climbed a power pole? shudder

 

[ninnymary]

Well, we don't have bluebirds here but we did hear our woodpecker yesterday and today. He's back and we love it!

Mary

 

[wsmoak]

So... the incident was the snake ate the birds? That is a honking big snake! And it climbed a power pole? shudder

I came home and caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. Got out of the truck and took two steps towards it, realized that there was a Really Big Snake wrapped around the utility pole with its head in the bird house, and reversed course to the house to get the camera.

By the time I came out, it was headed down the pole... and its tail was still in the bird house when its head touched the ground. I know it ate the baby birds, and wouldn't doubt it got an adult if it happened to be in the nest at the time.

My first thought was "Someone's pet boa constrictor has escaped." I checked the head and pupil shape and non-rattle-ey tail and got it identified as a plain old rat snake. They *are* constrictors, so I was partly right, and yes, they can climb. We decided it was a girl and named her Roberta Rat Snake.

The thing is... the day before, the adult bluebirds were flying around and diving at the ground and we thought, "Oh, how cute, they're trying to show the babies how to fly!" Now I realize the snake was probably at the base of the pole contemplating the next day's lunch.

I know people are prone to exaggerating how big a snake is, but the following day as we were in the garden and I was saying "She just had a big meal, I'm *sure* she's still around here somewhEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!" as I almost stepped on her. She obligingly lay still while I got the tape measure and confirmed. Every bit of six feet.

I hope she's out there somewhere eating rodents. I have an agreement with the non-venomous snakes: as long as they don't scare me half to death *too* often, they can stay. The venomous ones like this guy are required to stay out of sight and away from my house/barn/garage/garden or all bets are off.

-Wendy

 

[thistlebloom]

Rattler? On your property?
We used to have them every so often at our old place, and saw them a lot out hiking and riding.
One evening when our boys were young, they were jumping on the trampoline,when we heard a commotion and they blasted into the house to tell us they had jumped off the trampoline and almost landed on a big rattler. DH promptly vaporized it.
We also had a few gopher snakes which were very welcome, Lord knows we had plenty of those to feed it. Our newfie male didn't understand why we didn't want him to pull it out of gopher holes. :/