I was helping to teach a photography class this morning in the Arboretum and had the chance to peek inside a few of the bird boxes in Longenecker Gardens. We saw a female bluebird leave this box as we approached and inside found these five beautiful pale blue eggs. The incubation for these is about two weeks, and then after hatching the chicks will spend another two to three weeks in the nest before flying. Female bluebirds may make several nests if there are many available tree cavities or nest boxes within its territory. They may lay up to three broods in one season, often reusing the same nest if it is successful on the first attempt. When born, the young will be featherless and blind, and so will be completely dependent on the parents for food and warmth. Also nesting in boxes around town are many house sparrows (not desirable, but reality), tree swallows, and chickadees. Soon there may be persistent cries of hunger coming from the holes, begging parents to return with a filling morsel.
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