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#1
27th June 2005, 10:25 AM
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A Story About BluebirdsWe usually put up our bluebird house every spring. This year the bluebirds were prompt in building their nest and laying eggs. Each time we checked inside the house the babies seemed to be doing fine. Then, about four weeks ago, my husband went outside at dusk to close the pigeon aviaries for the night and found one baby bluebird on the ground, a good distance from the house. He brought it in because although it was fully feathered it couldn't fly and was cold. It had rained that afternoon and the little guy was soaking wet and shivering. He went to check the bluebird house and found them all gone. He started looking for the others and found four more on the ground - all wet and cold. I made them a bed and put them under a light (after drying them with a cloth) to get warm and then fed them meal worms. They did well during the night.
The next morning my husband went back out and found a 3 - 4 foot black snake trying to get into the bluebird house. Even with my husband hitting at him he was extremely persistent and was determined to get the birds that he probably thought were still in there. My husband caught him and carried him down to a pond in the woods (we don't kill snakes because they're so beneficial). We put the babies back into the bluebird house and the parents started feeding them. My husband rigged a wire cover that could be placed over the opening and each night after dark would attach it to the bluebird house. We set the alarm each night and he would go out before daybreak to remove the cover so the parents could feed the babies. It worked beautifully! Within four days the babies were large enough to fly out on their own! We figure the parents called the babies out when they saw the snake even though the babies couldn't fly - they probably thought they could at least find some cover from the snake that way. It is amazing to see the parents communicate with their babies - we've watched them call them out many times over the years. Birds have such a hard time. Not only do they have to worry over snakes and raccoons but crows and blue jays are notorious for stealing eggs from nests. 
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#2
27th June 2005, 12:33 PM
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Thank you for sharing this story.
I learned only today that crows steal eggs. And now you say that blue jays do that too. Poor birdies, they have so many predators. They are so intelligent and I am sure they communicate with each other very well. Glad all of your babies made it alright, thanks to you and your husband. Reti
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