Holding Out Hope

Today is about day 18 and no babies still. I did see the male and female this morning on a distant fence. She is not sitting on them as much as she had been. I also saw the male this evening. I am hoping that I am just wrong on what day we are on and that they will still hatch! According to the bluebird forums, I have set up my nest boxes in the wrong place and could prove to be a disaster because of predators. I will be looking to redo them soon. I sure hope that these eggs do something. I am going to be soooo sad and disappointed if they don't hatch.

Hard Boiled and Missing Eggs?

Well today is about day 15 of incubation and no sign of babies. I am REALLY getting worried. I have been worried because of this extreme heat and the fact that the female has been sitting on the nest more then she did last time. The facts I have been told state that if it is hot they don't sit on them much. My mom thinks because of the heat they may be hard boiled by now. I thought she was just making a joke but now that I have been reading on http://sialis.org/index.html, I am thinking that may be true. The website says that extreme heat can be fatal to the eggs or babies. I wish I had read this before today as I could have put up a heat shield of some sort. This morning I saw the female fly out so I went to check the nest. All 4 eggs were there but one looked a little funny. It has gotten thin looking at one end and looked like a faint white ring at the top half of it. I thought it might be a sign of it about to hatch. I noticed the male and female hanging out on the fence all morning long. I tried to go out again but the male attacked me each time I tried. lol. So I stopped for a while then around 12:30 I tried again and still 4 eggs. No change. Then I noticed them still hanging out on the fences this afternoon. I checked the nest yet again. 3 EGGS????? An egg was missing!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooo confused. I have never seen a snake in the yard. We don't have cats or squirrels. I watched a lot this morning and the only thing I saw was our resident Mockingbird and the male Bluebird was not happy about him being around so he was pecking at him. The mockingbirds have a nest in the neighbors tree in the front yard. I know they are aggressive and territorial but would they take an egg from the nest? I am currently trying to get some advice from a forum http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/bluebird/. I am really worried and disappointed but am holding out hope for the remaining 3 eggs.

Male and Female Sitting on Fence

12:30 4 eggs

4:30 3 EGGS!

Nest Boxes and Redbud Tree

Impatiently Waiting!

I think I am as bad as a kid on Christmas morning. I keep thinking it will be soon but it isn't happening fast enough for me. HA! I believe today is about Day 13. They usually hatch in between 12-14 days. So that SHOULD BE ANYTIME!!!! I am starting to get a little worried. I am sure all is okay, just really impatient waiting to see those cute little babies. I will check on them again in the morning and post what I find. "COME ON BABIES - Use those egg teeth to pip your way out. The world is waiting on your arrival (well at least I am)."

Getting Closer

It is now getting close to time for hatching to begin. We are at about day 11. Incubation as I told you in the last post lasts about 12-14 days. So I sat outside this morning to watch the activity level for signs that they had hatched. I watched the female go in and stay about a minute or two and then leave again. She did this several times so I thought we might have babies. I waited until she left and I ran out with my camera for a peek but no babies, just eggs. I did not see any signs of cracks on the eggs so I think today is not the day. From what I read last night, they usually hatch in the morning and it can take anywhere from 1 to 6 hrs for them to peck their way out. I did take a few pics of the female today and the other day got some pics of the male. I will post them below. I am hoping tomorrow or the next day we will have babies.

Male Eastern Bluebird

Female Eastern Bluebird on Fence with Nest Box

Female Eastern Bluebird

4 Eggs in Nest