Left side & top left: Box 3 & 4, Box 4. Top right: Box 4 showing April '02 eggs. At 3-4 days old they were taken out (4/21) and placed in a paper towel-lined cup to check for Blowfly larvae. A blood sucking Blowfly maggot fell off of one of them so I destroyed that larvae. The mother and father have since returned and has been feeding them. I also checked the 6-7 day old babies on April 24, no larvae this time, the sterile egg was also removed.

2003

Bluebird nesting attempt #2 in box #4
Box mounted	Birds on box	Nest start	Egg start	Hatched	Fledged (left nest)
2/20/01	5/24/03	5/25	5/28, 1 egg. 6/1 4-5 eggs, 6/18 6 eggs	6/20 about 4 hatched. 6/23 all 6 hatched.	7/6 started fledging, 7/7 finished
Overall notes: A new chalet-roofed house was mounted on the pair in fall of 2001 with artificial perches. Woodpecker-enlarged hole was changed back to 1.5" on 5/3/2003 with a wooden portal. House Sparrows have been a major problem this year: 4 adults and 5 babies were 'removed' from box #3. No House Sparrow problems in this attempt except for the first 3 days. There was a lot of human and dog activity (almost daily) but never for long. I even kept from mowing for 3 weeks! 6/29: House Sparrows came back and tried to kill the babies even with an empty box just 15 ft away! 7/1: Babies had yellowish necks, a sign of Blow Fly larvae sucking out their red blood cells. 3 large 1 1/2" x 1/2" unknown larvae (maggots) were found under the babies, and one was attached to a 2-day-old dried-up dead baby. I threw away the dead baby, removed the remaining 5 babies, sifted through the nest, crushed the larvae, and put the babies back in the nest after cleaning it. The babies were apparently fed a lot of berries: There was purple staining on their stomachs and legs as well as under the inside of the entrance. 2 more large dead larvae found in nest on the day they all left it: 7/7. The baby that left on 7/6 could fly but not very well and had a short tail.

Bluebird nesting attempt #1 in box #4
Box mounted	Birds on box	Nest start	Egg start	Hatched	Fledged (left nest)
2/20/01	3/16/03	5/2	5/2, 1 cold egg	5/22 4 babies	-
Overall notes: A new chalet-roofed house was mounted on the pair in fall of 2001 with artificial perches. Woodpecker-enlarged hole was chnaged back to 1.5" on 5/3/2003 with a wooden portal. 5/24, all 4 babies missing and 3 House Sparrows on box. All 4 babies killed by House Sparrows

2002

Bluebird nesting attempt #2 in box #4
Box mounted	Birds on box	Nest start	Egg start	Hatched	Fledged (left nest)
2/20/01	5/14/02	5/21/02	2 eggs as of 5/26, 4 as of 5/29	4 babies as of 6/11-12	6/28-29
Overall notes: A new chalet-roofed house was mounted on the pair in fall of 2001 with artificial perches. This box just fledged babies earlier in the season. The mother is even more wary while with eggs this time around. I've seen her away from the box on 2 occasions for more than 30 min when it was 80F. One egg did not hatch and it was gone 4 days after thas last babies hatched. After they fledged, I removed and checked the nest. There were no blowfly larvae but I did see small shiny brown mites in the remaining feather dander.

Bluebird nesting attempt #1 in box #4
Box mounted	Birds on box	Nest start	Egg start	Hatched	Fledged (left nest)
2/20/01	3/15/02	3/26/02	4/1/02, 5 eggs as of 4/8	1 on 4/17, 4 on 4/18	5/7 - 4 babies
Overall notes: BELOW: Nestbox 4 babies on May 6, 2002. This may be the last photo before they leave the nest. On May 7, they all left the nest (fledged). A new chalet-roofed house was mounted on the pair in fall of 2001 with artificial perches. Unfortunately in heavy winds the box sways 3x per second at a 1-3" distance. This has occurred many times since the eggs were layed. One egg still unhatched on 4/21 and was later removed. 4/24: The parents are vistiting the Bluebird feeder containing soaked Zante Currant raisins and "C and S Bluebird Treats" pellet halves and giving them to their young. On 4/30 their feathers started getting a blue color and their eyes were open. On 5/7 they fledged and I removed the nest. The nest had about 10 Blowfly pupae in it so I crushed them. 3 were stuck to the inside walls of the box. Saw babies at feeder after 1 week and on 5/27 I saw a baby eating insects on its own.

2001

Bluebird nesting attempt #2 in box #3 (5 eggs lost to predators in attempt #1)
Box mounted	Birds on box	Nest start	Egg start	Hatched	Fledged (left nest)
3/20/01 Re-mounted on 5/10/01.	5/10/01	5/21/01	5/25/01 3 cold eggs, 5 warm eggs on 5/28	6/8/01 3 babies and 1, possibly 2 eggs. On 6/11 there were 4 babies and one egg. On 6/13 there was still 1 egg so it was removed and found to be slightly punctured and dead.	- -
Overall notes: This was moved 40' from it's original location on a wooden post. It is now on a steel post with a predator baffle hanging on it. Inset photo shows eggs from 1st nesting attempt. 9/29/2001: Saw small bat inside Bluebird nest box 3.

Right side: 4th Bluebird nest box. April 21 Tree Swallows investigated the box for about 8 days. After 2 fences were constructed within 10 feet of it's entrance and much human activity they did not return. On May 6 the nest box was moved out of the tree and onto a steel post in a calmer area of the yard with no entrance obstructions such as fences. It is about 40 feet away from the Bluebird nest box. On June 6 House Sparrows started building a nest in it. On June 8 nest was complete. On 6/11 there were 2 eggs. On 6/13 there were 4 eggs.