March is generally a month

that is full of anicipation for me while nothing really much is happening yet. We might still get snow, but there are signs of spring. Like Bluebirds scouting nestboxes. The March couple in the calendar are a female (left) and a male (right). I give them new names each year because I can never really be sure if it’s the same couple. Bluebirds are very territorial, and I have seen males and females alike fight the most gruesome battles. They are one of my favorite birds, and I immensely enjoy being able to watch them raise their babies.

You can get an Ostdrossel calendar in my shop here or following the link here at ostdrossel.com.

The Bluebirds

know that they can still get to the mealworms in the caged feeder without being bothered by the Starlings (the openings are too small for them), so they are coming around frequently. Visiting the bath, going for mealworms, and delighting me. I guess they do have their nickname for a reason :)

(male, female, female w/ House Finch, male, male)

Ragnar the Bluebird man

is having a relationship with the golden morning light and the camera. There is no bird that looks better on my setup than the Bluebird. It is no wonder that they are one of my favorites. And the inspiration for my alias. “Ostdrossel” was what came up when I first tried to find out the German name for the Eastern Bluebird. An automated translation result. In reality, they are Rotkehl-Hüttensänger (“red-throated hut singers”), which is also not too bad of a name.

The smurf family

is here regularly now, finding their way back to the caged feeder, the bird bath, and also peeking into the nestbox several times a day. I wonder what they are thinking because I made a little bed of dry grass in there for the Downy that is using it as a roosting spot. Here is a female BB. I am not sure if it is Lagertha, it might just as well be one of her kids. It is the same bird, these are from a series of photos.

It is wonderful

to see the Bluebirds returning to my yard. I have to admit, I almost took them for granted because they were so much around in recent years. But this year’s couple was a bit different, they never returned after the last brood fledged. It looks a lot like the family of Ragnar and Lagertha are here to spend the winter.

Ragnar and Lagertha

and their brood have been pretty much absent since the last set of babies fledged. I have heard them in the trees and seen them hunting nearby though, so I hope they will be visiting more frequently when it cools down. Last night, one of the first babies showed up, in all it’s teenage feather glory.

The Bluebird babies are at the "strawberry with grandpa hair" stage. They are very awake, hungry, exercise their wings and peek out. They also still nap a lot. Fledge time is almost here.⁠⠀

The Bluebird family

has four thriving babies. We are experiencing very hot and dry weather, and I have to admit that there are times where I am concerned about the babies in the box. But they are doing good. Tonight, Lagertha is not staying with them for the first time. According to my calculations, they should fledge around Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

I have been slacking a bit

with Lagertha nestbox updates, but she has been busy 🙂 She has laid three more eggs after the first one, so now the clutch has four eggs. Tomorrow, we will see how big the clutch is going to be. I never had a BB lay more than five eggs. Meanwhile, Ragnar and the three babies (I haven't seen more than three) are around, playing in the pool and figuring out the food options around here.

As you know, I have been using the Birdsy camera for quite a while now. (If you don’t - that is the camera I am using for my videos. I have written a bit more about it in the FAQ on my website.) It has helped me getting to know my backyard visitors and also the ecosystem of my garden a lot better. It has brought me joy in the cold of the winter and the heat of the summer, in daylight as well as during the night, and it was a pleasure to share that with the world. Many people have asked me about it, and now I am happy to let you know that Birdsy is going to launch on Kickstarter on Monday, June 15th 2020. You can learn more here. I can help you out if you have questions, and I will also provide a special Ostdrossel link once it has started. I am very excited for the Birdsy team, they have created a fantastic product that I am sure will make lots of people happy.

(The video shows Ragnar, the Bluebird papa, feeding one of his babies.)

Stay tuned!

These babies.

The Bluebird babies seem to be much more alert this year. Usually, once the parents bring them down to the yard, they sit on the cameras while the parent flies from the bowl to the baby to feed it for a couple of days. But these babies are jumping down on the bowl themselves on their second day in the yard. I have a very good feeling about them, and I still don’t know how many made it so far. But I am madly in love.

I heard them yesterday but they didn’t come down, but today was the big day. Ragnar and Lagertha, the Bluebirds, brought their first set of babies to the backyard (her new nest is almost done too). I saw three, but I was keeping a distance, so I am not sure how many there are. They are as adorable as ever, and my heart is full of joy. Ragnar made a big display at the pool too, showing that wonderful slow moving of the wings that is so typical for Bluebirds. The baby bunny, a baby Robin and the baby Grack also paid a visit, and I think the livestream is going to be a lot of fun in the coming weeks.

And Lagertha is building again too.

Now that the first set of Bluebird babies has fledged, she is ready to give it another go, and has started to fill the box with nesting material again.

The Bluebird babies

are at what I call the “strawberry stage” right now. they are basically done, and wear their gray kiddo PJs with the white dots, which on the nestbox cam makes them look like strawberries. They have been very agile for the last two days, exercising their wings and also peeking out of the nestbox with their little froggie faces. They hatched on May 7, which means they are very close to fledging. It has been rather hot and humid today, and I feel like tomorrow might be fledge day, even though Wednesday would be day 20 and more normal. They just look so incredibly lively already. The parents will then lead them away a bit to teach them the basics of BB life, and bring them back to the yard to show them the feeders after a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Lagertha might start another nest. I cannot wait to see them outside!

While we are talking nests... Ragnar and Lagertha‘s babies are also doing fantastic, and as you can see they’re quite the handful. Mom and dad feed them constantly, and they always wait a tiny bit after for those who are to poop. Then they either carry the diaper out or eat it. You might have seen Bluebirds carrying white sacks, that’s the “diaper”. The poo is in a casing so it can be easily carried away.

The proud mama

Here’s Lagertha, proud mama of at least four Bluebird babies. One egg did not hatch so far but it might be a straggler. The mama bird only starts incubating the eggs once her clutch is complete to make sure that they all hatch at the same time. Often, that works, sometimes it does not work completely, so we will have to see what happens. She helped all the hatchlings to get rid of any excess egg shell by eating it. The babies all look great, and Ragnar is very attentive, bringing her snacks to the box, so I am sure they will make it through the coming cold snap just fine. They are Vikings after all :D

Ragnar, the Bluebird

has been kind of absent throughout the day but came back in the evening for a fierce portrait. Sometimes I feel like my camera loves the Bluebirds because they almost always get fantastic shots. Lagertha is spending the night on the nest, and while it is pretty cold outside right now, I think she has actively started incubating. Hopefully Ragnar brings her some goodies to the nest tomorrow.