Bluebird banding time!

Bird nests are popping up everywhere and the Mountain Bluebirds have already hatched and grown. Last Wednesday we banded the first young from the nest boxes around the area and were even able to catch some adults in the process. We wait for mom or dad to go into the nest box with food for the babies, then we run over there like mad fools and cover the entrance. Then we can remove the lid and grab em!

These ones were too young to band, but not hold and take pictures with!


Allicia with a juvenile who just pooped on her hand! Their poop is called fecal sacs; they're contained in a mucous casing so mom or dad can clean up the nest easily. Yum yum!




A slightly older nest - we banded these little guys. Birds are amazing in that their feet and legs grow really fast. The bands we place on these young who can't even fly yet will last their whole lives.




Note the large amount of excess beak on the sides; this creates the gape that signals to the parents that they are hungry. It will shrink and disappear when they leave the nest - all that will be left is the dark bill in the center.


Mom and dad watching us closely:


A female we nabbed:


All the young from a nest:


The brightly colored flight feathers growing in:


We got a male! This was my goal for the day.




For those of you who have been out chasing Tree Swallows (Mom and Dad), some of the eggs have hatched. Here's the first of the young. Note all the feathers in the nest!