Hi LT, Thank you for all of the help with my bluebird situation! The outpouring of support was awesome. I am so grateful. I am happy to report things seem to be going quite well for the newly single dad and his babies. Yesterday, I got live mealworms from the pet store (I was advised against dried due to possible dehydration issues for the chicks) and a hanging feeder from Russels. Within 5 minutes of putting it out, the male located it and fed his babies with the worms. It was quite sweet to see him with a beak full of worms, fly to the nest and hear all the chirping as he fed them. I spread out feedings through the day and again this morning. Today- day 15 since their hatching- I watched three of them fledge and take their first flights into our red maple. The dad is now feeding them in the tree. I think there may be two more in the box, but I will wait to check until tomorrow. I plan to supply daily mealworms for at least the next few weeks to give dad a helping hand. As unfortunate as it is to have the female die, the timing seemed okay as the babies seemed pretty hearty. The male is very dedicated and from what I read, the males do most of the feeding after fledging since the females tend to focus their energy on building a new nest for their next brood, so these babies are in good hands (or wings.:). This sweet male will have no problem finding a new mate soon, is my guess. I just hope his new mate finds my bluebird trail on the corner of Codman and Lewis to be attractive. I am quite smitten with him. Thanks again everyone! Best, Staci PS- another Lincoln resident had a similar situation this week. It was the male that died, though. I hope this isn't a pattern, just an unfortunate coincidence. I can't say for sure it was a window strike that killed the female. That was just my best guess. I hope there isn't an illness spreading amongst the bluebirds here.
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