Bluebirds and Wine!

Many people have fowarded this article to me and I thought I would pass it along.  Very interesting article about how the bluebirds are helping out wineries in CA.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/nov/11/5

Wow! Desi and Lucy Holiday Ornaments!

Wow!  Check out these beautiful PSBRP Holiday Ornaments with Desi and Lucy!  These ornaments are a one of kind and are made of high quality porcelain, 2.3"x3.25".  They come ready to hang with a red satin ribbon and would look great on your Christmas Tree or tied onto a gift wrapped holiday gift for a friend or loved one.  For a donation of $12.00, you can choose either the "Desi or Lucy" ornament or the "King Desi" design.  To learn more about these beautiful ornaments and to make a donation towards an ornament, check out our web site at http://www.pugetsoundbluebird.org/events.html  Or if you live in Kitsap County, WA, you can also get them at Wreath Works Christmas Tree Farm in Port Orchard http://www.thewreathworks.com/

Desi, Lucy, and the kids have moved on

No bluebirds in the box :-( "Empty Nest Syndrome"

I was kind of dreading this day, but knew that sooner or later, it would happen.  It looks like Desi, Lucy, and the fledglings have decided to move on to their next big adventure in "Bluebird Land".  Lucy never showed any signs or interest in July of making another nest.  It started to become evident after a couple weeks.  At first, I thought that there was a good chance that she would have enough time to have a second clutch after the first brood fledged on July 1st, but each week I went to check the box, there were no signs of any new nest building.  The Bird Cam set up to take photos of the nest box also showed no activity.  During the week of July 17th, I went out twice that week to check in on the bluebirds, but each day I went (7/19 and 7/21) it was quite windy.  It has been my experience that bluebirds stay perched high up in the trees during windy days, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't see them flying about.  The only birds who were brave enough to battle the winds were the local violet green swallows, and even then, they were being tossed about in the air.  Phil and Fran, owners of the Christmas Tree Farm, mentioned to me that they had seen the bluebirds earlier in the week, so I wasn't too concerned about not seeing them.  Then on July 24th, I received an email from Phil, stating that he had not seen the bluebirds since early Thursday morning on the 21st, and he was beginning to think they had left the area.  I was getting ready for a trip to CA, so I thanked him for the update and asked him to keep me updated if the bluebirds returned.  No news from Phil while I was gone, so on August 1st, I headed out to the trail.  Sure enough, there were no bluebirds to be found.  Phil also agreed that he had not seen any bluebirds for two weeks. 

So even though I am feeling a little bit of "empty nest syndrome", I am also happy for Desi, Lucy, and the fledglings.  Desi and Lucy had a very successful clutch:  Out of the 6 eggs laid, 5 of them hatched, and all 5 of the nestlings fledged!  A 100% success!  It has been an honor and pleasure to watch and monitor Desi and Lucy's kids this year, and we have high hopes that Desi and Lucy will once again choose our trail again next year for their family.  And who knows, maybe the fledglings will return to the area and take up residence in some of our other near by bluebird trails?  We can only hope this will be the case, and we anxiously look forward to next years trails and bluebird adventures!

A big thank you to Phil and Fran, owners of the Christmas Tree Farm where the Christmas Tree trail is located.  We appreciate your support of our project and for being such an active part in the bluebird's lives.  May all your days have the Bluebird of Happiness!

Desi and Lucy are in the news!

Photo of Desi in the Kitsap Sun newspaper.  Photo taken by Paul Carson

Joan Carson of the Kitsap Sun newspaper wrote an outstanding article about our beloved bluebirds, Desi and Lucy.  It was published today, Sunday July 17, 2011.  Check out the article at http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/jul/12/joan-carson-on-the-trail-of-western-bluebirds/
Thank you Joan for the wonderful article!

Meet the Fledglings!

"Little Ricky", one of the male fledglings of Lucy and Desi.

Tania Nachsel of Divine Photos took these awesome photos of some of the fledglings as they flew around the Christmas Tree Trail in Port Orchard, WA on July 8, 2011.  It is so much fun to watch the "kids" as they fly around the farm, vocalizing and chasing each other as they zip around the field.  The fledglings are doing great and are quickly learning how to hunt for insects.  I am so amazed how well they fly and maneuver around the trail. The fledglings are a bluish-gray color, with spots on their chest, but you can tell the males from the females by the coloring on the tips of their wings.  The males will start showing the beautiful bright blue coloring on their wings, which stands out against the gray color.  The females have a lighter blue on their wings.  The fledglings have been hanging out a lot around the residential home of the Christmas Tree farm, and they love perching in the big tall trees next to the home with Desi and Lucy.  A great big thank you to Tania for taking these spectacular photos.  Check out her web site for more great photos at www.divinephotos.net

One of the female fledglings.  She sure blends in well with the tree!

Desi is a great father to his kids.  Here he is with one of the fledglings.

 

Desi is not amused as the fledgling says "Hey Dad!  Feed Me!"

Fledglings are doing great!

Lucy hanging out on the nestbox

Went out to the Christmas Tree Trail Friday with Tania Nachsel of Divine Photos.  The fledglings were everywhere!  They are now hanging out at the residential home of the owners of the farm, and they were flying all over the place-- it was hard to keep up with them!  They were in the bird bath, on the roof, in the grass, in the trees.  Desi and Lucy were close by to monitor them as the zoomed back and forth.  Every once in a while, a fledgling would beg for food from one of the parents, but not as much as I noticed last Tuesday.  Tania took some awesome photos of the entire bluebird family.  The ones posted to this blog are of Desi and Lucy, but I will definitely be posting picture of the kids soon.  Stay tuned for more pictures of "Little Ricky"!

Baby Bluebirds!

I went to the Christmas Tree Trail today to check in on Lucy, Desi, and the kids.  I have to admit, I've had a bit of "empty nest syndrome" since the nestlings fledged last Friday.  I don't know why....it's hard to explain. I am very happy that the fledge seems to have gone successfully and that they all fledged before the 4th of July (fireworks can cause many nestlings to jump out of their nests pre-maturely), but maybe it's because they have left "home" and there is a possibility that once they leave, I may not see them again.

When I arrived at the trail, I saw Desi almost immediately.  He was flying around the Christmas Trees like normal, and hanging out around box #6 (a nestbox I have thought that Lucy and Desi have also laid claim to, by placing several pieces of grass and blue feathers in it).  He then disappeared as I headed down towards their nestbox.  I thought he would be following me like he normally did, knowing that I would have a few tasty meal worm treats for him, but when I looked back to see if he was there, he was gone.  As I opened their box, I noticed there was no change since last Friday.  The old nest was still smashed down and there were no signs of any new nest building.  I left the meal worms on top of the box and stepped back and watched, but no bluebirds appeared.  After a few minutes, I went back to the box, collected the worms, and went and checked the rest of the boxes on the trail.  After going through the rest of the boxes, I returned to Lucy and Desi's box.  Still no sign of them, so I placed the worms back on top of the box, stood back a few hundred feet and watched.  After several minutes, I decided to leave, and as I began to walk by the box, Lucy suddenly appeared with Desi.  How happy I was to see them!  I tapped lightly on the box to show them the worms, and they dove down and grabbed up the worms.  Just then, Desi flew up to the large tree near by to the familiar "chew chew" sounds of the fledglings.  Then, to my surprise, some of the fledglings flew down to nearby trees.  Eventually all the fledglings came down and were flying from tree to tree, sometimes begging for food from their parents, but mostly flying down to the ground and "pouncing" on insects.  As they flew around, they made the familiar "chew chew" sound that bluebirds sing to each other to keep track of each other.  First of all, I was amazed how well the fledglings were flying!  They flew so well and were maneuvering like their parents.  They also flew longs distances, and were seen close by to the house on the property(never had seen Desi or Lucy go that far before).  But I was also amazed to see that the fledglings were actually trying to hunt.  I'm not sure if they were able to catch anything, but they were definitely acting out the hunt.  Desi and Lucy were there to monitor the kids and occasionally, would feed one of the fledglings an insect that they had caught. 

What a thrill it was to see Desi and Lucy with the fledglings.  It definitely made my day!  I don't know if Lucy will build another nest for a second clutch.  Western Bluebirds sometimes will have a second clutch, but it is not a guarantee.  I believe Lucy may still have time to have a second clutch, but that is something I will just have to wait and see.  It is my hope that conditions are just right for a second clutch of nestlings.  Until then, I will enjoy seeing the fledglings, Desi, and Lucy during their time here.

The nestlings have fledged!

The nestlings have fledged!  All that's left is a squished nest and a lone egg.

Today, July 1, 2011,  I went out to the Christmas Tree  Trail  to check in on the nestlings and see if they had fledged yet.  The nestlings are 21 days old today, and I have been checking on them all week,  going out to the trail on Monday and Wednesday of this week to see how they were doing.  Western Bluebirds usually fledge from the nestbox between 19-23 days old, but I could still hear them inside the nestbox earlier this week, and Desi and Lucy were still busy going back and forth between the box and their hunting to feed the kids.  Today, though, was quite different.

When I got to the trail this afternoon, I didn't see Desi and Lucy right away like I have been.  I went up to the box, tapped on the side, but heard nothing.  As I looked up, Desi had seen me and came to greet me.  He hovered over the box, and flew from tree to tree, to see if I had brought his treat for him (I leave a few meal worms for Lucy and Desi when I come to the box, so they associate my monitoring of the box as a positive thing).  As I left the worms for Desi, Lucy came by as well, and both of them swooped down and picked up the worms.  But instead of bringing the worms to the nestbox (like they normally did), they both made a b-line straight for a large nearby tree.  When they landed inside the foliage of the tree, I could hear the familiar chirps of baby bluebirds in the trees.  The nestlings had fledged!  It either had been yesterday or today (Friday) because they were still in the box as of Wednesday.  I spoke to Phil and Fran who own the Christmas Tree farm, and they both stated that earlier that day, they had gone down to the box to leave a couple worms for the bluebirds, and that instead of taking the worms to the box, they also flew straight up to the same tree as I had witnessed.  the only difference was that they heard a small chirp in the box.  This was about 1:30pm and I had arrived around 5pm, so we are quite sure that the nestlings fledged today.

Closer view of the nest and egg

We then went ahead and opened the box to check inside and sure enough, there were no nestlings in the box, only a very squished down nest that had become quite messy in the last few days from the energetic and growing nestlings.  It was amazing to see how the big beautiful nest that Lucy had built was now a quarter of the size it once was (her nest was so sweet--she had a couple of small bird feathers neatly tucked into the sides of the nest).  But what surprised me even more, was the 6th egg that Lucy had laid and that had never hatched, was still intact and sitting on the side of the nest.  I was absolutely amazed by this!  With five energetic nestlings in the box, jumping up and down, I was sure eventually it would have broken into many small pieces and discarded by Lucy.  A very special treasure for me to find!

I was hoping that the bird camera would have caught pictures of the nestlings taking their first flight from the box, but the SD card filled up quickly from taking photos of Desi and Lucy's many trips back and forth from the field to the box with tasty insects.  I did take a photo of the 6th egg in my hand, to give you all a reference of how small bluebird eggs are.

Bluebird eggs are really tiny!

A very exciting day indeed!  We are all very happy the fledgling of the baby bluebirds was successful.  We now get watch the babies grow and learn how to hunt, as Desi will take them under his wing and show them the ropes on how to hunt for insects.  The fledglings will stay with Desi and Lucy for the remainder of the year and will help their parents out as Lucy prepares to build another nest for her second clutch of eggs for the season.

Come join us at the market!

Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project will be at the Bremerton Farmer's Market Thursday, June 30, 2011 from 4-7pm at Evergreen Park in Bremerton.  Come visit our booth to learn more cool things about bluebirds and our organization.  We will also be selling several different types of plants that are native to the Puget Sound region, like Vine Maple, Grand Fir, Shore Pine, Black Twin Berry, and Devil's Club.  Haven't had a chance to purchase a raffle ticket for our Nothing But Blue Skies Raffle?  We'll also be selling tickets at the market as well, $1 per ticket, or 6 tickets for $5.  All proceeds from the sale of items at the market will go directly to PSBRP to help Bluebirds, so come on down to the market!  We'd love to see you there!

Nestlings at 10 days old

Nestlings at 10 days old.  Notice their eyes are now open and their feathers are growing

Lucy and Desi's "kids" are starting to look more and more like baby birds every day!  Yesterday, June 20, 2011, the nestlings were 10 days old.  Their eyes are starting to open and their feathers, although still in sheaths, are growing and becoming longer.  The nestbox is also starting to become a bit cramped, but the nestlings don't seem to mind, and snuggle up next to each other for warmth and comfort.  Yesterday was the last time we will open their nestbox up until they fledge.  It is recommended that the box is not opened when they are 14 days old or older, because bluebird nestlings sometimes will try and fledge from the box pre-maturely if given the chance at that age.  Normally, western bluebirds will fledge from the nest box any where between 19-22 days.  We will continue to monitor the boxes from afar and will keep you updated on the nestlings first big flight from the nestbox!

Baby Bluebirds are doing well at 7 days old

Nestlings at 7 days old

Went to check in on Desi and Lucy's nestlings Friday, June 17th and they are doing well.  They were 7 days old on Friday and I could hear them chirping inside as I opened the box.  As I peeked inside, I found that there were 5 nestlings in the nest instead of 4!  I could also see the 6th egg that was unhatched, still sitting in amongst the nestlings, so our official number now is 5 nestlings!  I took a quick photo of them with my i-phone.  Definitely not the best picture, but you can see that they are starting to grow in their feathers even though their eyes are still shut.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Nestlings!

Here are some photos of Lucy and Desi's 3 day old nestlings.  Mom, Dad, and kids are doing well :-)

Nothing But Blue Skies!

Introducing our newest fund raiser for bluebirds:  It the "Nothing But Blue Skies" Raffle.  To kick off the summer season in style, we will be raffling off an amazing wildlife kayak trip, courtesy of Spring Courtright of Olympic Outdoor Center, and a beautiful Portrait of a Downy Woodpecker, courtesy of Tania Nachsel of Divine Photos. And the purchase of a raffle ticket is only $1.00 a ticket! Or, if you want to increase you chances, you can purchase 6 tickets for $5.00! Can't come to an event this summer to buy tickets? No problem! We are now offering a way to purchase "virtual raffle tickets" online to join in on the fun. Just click on the donate button on our events page at http://www.pugetsoundbluebird.org/events.html to purchase your tickets via PayPal, and state in your purchase that you are purchasing raffle tickets. We will send you an email confirmation letter as your "ticket stubs" for the raffle.

On the Wildlife Kayak Tour, one lucky winner will spend the afternoon on a guided 2 hour Liberty Bay kayak trip in Poulsbo, WA. On this trip, the winner will have the opportunity to view many different types of wildlife and sealife such as Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, Dungeness Crabs, Aquatic Birds, Seastars. River Otters, and Osprey. To learn more about this fun filled trip, check out this link.

The framed Downy Woodpecker photographic print is a one of a kind work of art by Tania Nachsel, and very talented local professional photographer. Tania has a real gift of capturing wildlife in their natural habitats, and this print is a beautiful 8x10 matted and framed print, ready to hang on your wall. To see more of Tania's photographs, visit her at the Verksted Gallery in Poulsbo, WA, or check out her web site at www.divinephotos.net

Raffle drawing will be on July 30, 2011. No need to be present to win. For more information on our raffle, contact us at info@pugetsoundbluebird.org 

PSBRP now has a web site!

We are very excited to announce that Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project now has a web site!  Check it out at www.pugetsoundbluebird.org to learn more about bluebirds and our organization.

4 little "Ricky's" found in the nestbox today!

Today we went out to the Christmas Tree Trail to check in on the nest of Lucy and Desi.  We saw Lucy fly out of her box, so we took advantage of this opportunity and quickly went to take a peek inside (I had checked the box yesterday, but Lucy was sitting tight on her nest, so I closed the box up and let her be).  As we opened the box, we were very excited to see 4 tiny little hatchlings in the nest!  Scott Ford, one of our board members and an Avian Veterinarian, lightly touched them and said they were warm to the touch and dry, two very good signs!  A couple of the hatchlings also gaped (opened their mouth wide for food) when they were touched. I noticed that the four hatchlings were laying on top of one of the un-hatched eggs.  The other egg was not seen under the hatchlings, so either those eggs will hatch soon, or they are not viable and will not hatch.  Scott said that he felt the hatchlings were no more than 1 day old, and because they were dry, he believes they may have hatched yesterday.  It is hard to say since I was unable to see any of the eggs yesterday when Lucy was sitting on the nest, and there is a chance that the other eggs may still hatch, so we are going to say they were officially "hatched" on June 10, 2011.  We are absolutely thrilled and we will keep you up to date on how Lucy and Desi's new family is doing!

Lucy now has 6 eggs!

I went to visit the Christmas Tree Trail yesterday and see how Lucy and Desi were doing.  When I got there, Lucy and Desi were out sunning themselves on the tops of some Christmas Trees.  When I saw they were both out, I decided to take advantage of this and went straight to their nestbox to check in on the condition of the nest and eggs (the last few times I have been there, Lucy has been sitting on her nest).  To my surprise, there are now 6 eggs in the nest!  Shortly after, Lucy and Desi returned to the box and Lucy resumed her incubation of the eggs.

Spring Cleaning for Bluebirds event was a great success!

Come to our event! "It's good for you!"

Beautiful day for a yard sale

On June 4, 2011, we had our Spring Cleaning for Bluebirds yard and plant sale and it was a great success!  The day was absolutely beautiful--clear, sunny, and warm, with the temp in the 70's!  A perfect day for a yard sale.  We sold many of the items that were donated to us for the sale, and it was a great way to let the community know about our organization and what we do.  Bob Wiltermood also donated some beautiful native plants to the Puget Sound for us to sell as well.  We had Grand Fir, Shore Pine, Vine Maple, Devil's Club, and Black Twin Berry plants for sale.  We also had raffle tickets for sale for our newest fundraiser, "Nothing But Blue Skies" raffle.  In the next month, we will be raffling a framed photographic print of a Downy Woodpecker donated by Tania Nachsel of Divine Photos and a Wildlife Kayak trip donated by Spring Courtright of Olympic Outdoor Center.  A great big THANK YOU to Tania Nachsel, Scott Ford, and Bob Wiltermood for helping with the event.  Your help is very much appreciated!

Native plants donated by Bob Wiltermood

Our newest fundraiser, "Nothing But Blue Skies" Raffle

Board member Scott Ford enjoys the cool swivel chair donated to the sale

Tania Nachsel proudly displays her purchase of "Captain Monkey" at the event

Lucy now has 4 eggs!

Four beautiful eggs in Lucy's nest

 Went out today to check the Christmas Tree Trail on this rainy day and found that there is now 4 eggs in Lucy's nest!  So it looks like Lucy has been laying 1 egg per day since Monday.  Bluebirds usually will lay one egg a day in the early morning hours, and will lay any where from 4-7 eggs in a clutch.  Once she has laid all of her eggs, she will start incubating them for a total of 14 days.  I snapped a quick photo of the nest with my phone while monitoring the boxes today.  The eggs in the photo look big, but they are actually very small--about the size of a nickel!  As I finished up my route on the trail, I noticed Desi and Lucy close by, foraging for insects and sitting on top of Christmas Trees.  Hopefully in the next few months, there will be some little bluebirds hopping along with them!

Lucy has started laying eggs!

Lucy and Desi enjoy the sunshine as they preen their feathers on top of their nest box

Today I went to the Christmas Tree trail and found a small blue egg in Lucy and Desi's nest box!  We will keep you posted as we continue to monitor the nest boxes and the trail.  Enjoy these beautiful photos of Lucy and Desi taken by Cathy Mitchell of Mitchell Designs.  Thank you Cathy for these beautiful photos!

Lucy and Desi

Desi is a very handsome bird!

Mmmmmm.....this meal worm is really tasty!

Introducing "Desi and Lucy"

We at the Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project would like to introduce you to "Desi and Lucy"!

Well......maybe not this Desi and Lucy, but THIS Desi and Lucy

"Desi", the male Western Bluebird of the Christmas Tree Trail

 

"Lucy" the female Western Bluebird of the Christmas Tree Trail

Both Desi and Lucy have been hard at work, building their nest at the Christmas Tree Trail in Port Orchard, and Tania Nachsel of Divine Photos was able to capture a few photos of them as they flew around the farm, hopping from tree to tree.  Check out the rest of these beautiful photos below and check out Tania's web site at www.divinephotos.net for more beautiful wildlife photography.  A great big THANK YOU to Tania Nachsel for donating these photos to our organization.

Desi

Lucy

Desi flies through the air like a torpedo!

Up, up, and away!

Lucy looks down from the top of a Christmas Tree

Desi

Desi

Desi

Desi

Desi

The Bluebirds are nesting in the boxes

Male Western Bluebird hangs out on top of the nestbox early in the morning 5/9/11

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, we installed a bird cam at the Christmas Tree Trail to monitor the nestbox that has a nest.  We stopped by the trail again today to remove a wasp nest that had started in one of the other nestboxes, and decided to check our bird cam and download the photos.  After downloading the photos onto our computer, we were thrilled to find photos of our resident bluebirds hopping in and out of the box!  We noticed from the series of photos that shortly after installing the bird cam on Saturday, the bluebirds were back at their box within minutes of our being there, and that in the last few days, they have been back to box several times.  We did notice today that the nest inside the box was much bigger than it was on Saturday, so the bluebirds have been hard at work.  Check out the photos below to see the bluebirds of the Christmas Tree Trail at their nestbox.

Female Western Bluebird gets ready to go into the box shortly after we left....

 

...then the male Western Bluebird checks out the box

The female continues to work on the nest

Somebody is perching on the camera!

Hanging out on top of the box 5/9/11

Continuing to work hard on the nest