The first bird was a Chestnut Sided Warbler. I didn’t think I’d ever seen one in the backyard before, but I noticed I had a post on May 21st from last year that referenced this bird.  Just like last year, the Chestnut Sided Warbler was interested in taking a drink.  This year, instead of going to a bird bath, the bird went to the Disappearing Bird Stream.

Chestnut Sided Warbler Heading Towards Bird Stream

The second bird was a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, a female.  She was fairly shy, only staying in the tree for a moment, then heading to the bird feeder for sunflower seeds.

Female Rose Breasted Grosbeak On Eastern Red Cedar

I did get some pictures on the day the last three left the nest.  All three babies kept peeking out of the nest and flapping their wings.  That wore them out and they would fall asleep at the nest hole.

The sad news is that I haven’t seen any of the babies since they have left the nest, but the parents still drop by for some meal worms.

Baby Bluebird Falling Asleep Contemplating Leaving The Nest

Baby Bluebird Contemplating Leaving The Nest

First up is the Red Bellied Woodpecker.  I’m pretty sure there is a nest nearby, as both parents are constantly feeding from the primary feeder.

Red Bellied Woodpecker With Nut In Mouth From Bird Blind

Next is a Bluejay.  I thought we just had two of them as I see them bathing every day in the bird stream, but today I saw a total of three.

Blue Jay With Nut In Mouth On Feeder

Next is the Tufted Titmouse.  We often hear these birds, but they don’t stay too long at the feeder.  They grab a nut, then head off into the trees to eat.

Tufted Titmouse About To Grab A Nut

Finally we have a male Northern Cardinal.  These guys are present all year round.  They also tend to be the most patient in using the feeder.  Whereas some of the other birds tend to dominate the feeder, these guys will just wait until early evening to get their meal after everyone else has left.

Male Northern Cardinal About To Feed

Day 14 Eastern Bluebird Babies

Although I’m sure the parents are getting tired, it doesn’t mean they have relaxed on their hunting.  Check out this giant grub that Mama Bluebird found the other day.  Whichever baby received this tasty morsel probably doubled their weight:-).

Eastern Bluebird Mama With Giant Grub

Eastern Bluebird Babies Day 6

There clearly (at least to me) is a runt of the family.  It’s the one on the far right of the picture.  The others appear to be a little more dominant and are always begging for food.  Hopefully the smallest one can get the food it needs while competing with the others.

Eastern Bluebird Babies Day 7

That brings me to the parents.  They are in full swing now in feeding the babies.  The male has turned into a feeding machine.  He is diving in the grass, hunting by my pond, and taking whatever meal worms he can get in order to feed the babies.

Male Eastern Bluebird Watching Over Nest

Here he is with a freshly caught spider.

Male Eastern Bluebird With Spider In Mouth

It’s been a strange year for the Ruby Throats in our backyard as we have seen very few compared to previous years.

Male Ruby Throated Hummingbird In Dappled Light

I saw this Woodpecker at the same time Leecy and I were watching over 20 Indigo Buntings fly overhead.  Unfortunately none of those birds paused long enough for me to take a picture.

Red Headed Woodpecker On Dying Pine Tree

Since today is day 5 and the average time before leaving the nest is 17-18 days, we’re looking at May 2-3 when the babies may leave the nest.  Either today or tomorrow their eyes should open, so some exciting times are happening.

Although I didn’t take any pictures of the babies, I did get a couple of the parents.

First is momma Bluebird with lots of meal worms in her mouth.  From watching her behavior, she seems to smash them on the fence post before bringing them to the babies.

Momma Bluebird Preparing To Take Meal Worms To The Nest

This was after she just fed the babies and is checking to make sure everything is okay.

Female Eastern Bluebird Feeding Nestlings Day Five

Finally, the male is always out hunting for insects, either from the meal worms I provide, or like in this picture, an insect that he captured.

Male Eastern Bluebird With Bug In Mouth

Today I saw two Monarch Butterflies that were feeding on the wildflowers and the Family Jewels Milkweed.

Those two black insects at the top of the photo are affectionately called “Love Bugs” and they are a big pain (just because they fly right into you, not that they cause any real damage).  I’m sure the insect predators love them.

Monarch Feeding On Family Jewels Milkweed

The picture below is from my wildflower garden.  I’ve essentially just let it grow wild this year and it has done fantastic.  The Butterflies love it, the Hummingbird loves it, and I’m sure some of the birds love it as well

Gulf Fritillary On Yellow Flower

The Eastern Bluebirds are still doing well with their 5 eggs.  I would expect them to hatch late this week sometime.  Both parents are very tolerant of me (they almost seem to expect me because I often have food), but not so tolerant of other birds or the Purple Martins when they get a little rowdy.

We’re expecting some big storms tomorrow and Monday so hopefully all the bird houses stay intact.

Male Eastern Bluebird Full From Eating

I checked the Bluebird nest today and it looks like she is holding steady with 5 eggs, which is about average.  As soon as I got home, I fed the Bluebirds their daily meal worms.  At first, the male seemed to be hoarding all the meal worms in its mouth, but then I saw why.

Male Eastern Bluebird In Flight With Mouth Full Of Meal Worms

He wanted to share the meal worms with his mate.  I’ve watched him do this many times before, but never been able to capture the image.

Male Eastern Bluebird Sharing Meal Worm With Female

Now I don’t know about you, but seeing the guts of the meal worm sure does like appetizing.  No wonder she chose him as her mate:-).

Male And Female Bluebird Sharing Torn Meal Worm

This first bird, the Turkey Vulture, is certainly no Hooded Warbler, but I still find it a rather interesting looking bird.

Turkey Vulture On Fence Post

The White Tailed Kite, is a very nice looking bird I think, and it is not one that I would want to mess with if I were a small rodent or lizard.

White Tailed Kite Sitting In Tree

The White Faced Ibis, in it’s Spring plumage, is a very pretty bird with very pretty feathers.  This one was preening when I photographed it.

White Faced Ibis Preening

The Eastern Meadowlark has one of the nicest songs of any bird.  When we were driving through the meadow you could just hear the pleasant songs coming from this bird.

Eastern Meadowlark Singing In Field

And, last but not least for this post, is the Common Yellowthroat.  I’ve never been successful in photographing one of these birds before because they seem rather shy.

Common Yellowthroat Looking For Food