A Day for the Birds

Some might have called it a Dog Day of Summer, but I call it a Day for the Birds!  Right after lunch on the way to BIL's we passed a country road just south of thier place.  DH hit the brakes and blurted out, "You have GOT to see this!" while backing up the truck.  He pointed my eyes down the gravel tree lined road.  Wow!  A whole gaggle of turkeys gathered in plain sight in the middle of that side road.  We counted nine in the picture.   We are seeing more and more turkeys every year! 

Later this evening, I was out making the rounds, checking the birdboxes and much to my surprize I managed to catch the babies on their BIRTHDAY!  You can see in the pic that three are completely hatched out and the last one has pipped.  See his cute little bill peeking out of the egg?  The others are all ready to eat.  I wonder if the parents have fed them yet?  Father bluebird was not too far off.  He perched on a T-post not too far away, keeping a close eye on me as I snapped a few pics of his tiny newborns.

Bluebirds

Checked the BB box the other day and the babies seem to have fledged at some point.  I have not monitored them closely...too busy.  There were three of them and all seemed healthy last time I checked.

Still No Success

Well, yesterday I removed the last two remaining eggs from Mo, the goose's nest.  One by one the eggs went bad...some of them breaking in the nest and stinking to high heaven, Poor thing.  Her due date would have been between July 2 and 4th.  I let her set on the last two for another week-- just in case.   I felt pretty safe in removing those last two that there was not going to be any goslings...again.  She has been getting off the nest a lot more lately, so I think she just knew... but also felt kind of obligated to set on them since they were there, I guess.  So when I checked on her later, I could see that she had scattered the straw everywhere looking for her eggs...but didn't really seem bothered, but in fact relieved, that it was over.

On a happier note, Bluebird nest box number 3 has three bluebird hatchlings again.  I had not checked on it in awhile, so not sure when they hatched.  They have been there for a few days anyhow.  Box number two still has HOSPs building nests in there.  I keep removing it and they keep rebuilding.  No eggs yet, though.  Box number one needs to be moved back to its usual post.  I had moved it next to the back door when I had a pair of tree swallows trying to build a nest on top of the porch light.  I was hoping they'd see the box and take a hint...

Bluebirds Fledged

I had not been posting on the bluebird babies in the two boxes, but have been checking on them every couple of days for the last couple of weeks.  Today I checked on them expecting them to be fledged or very close.  Sure enough both nests of babies have fledged within the last couple of days!  I am so glad that they survived this time...no problems whatsoever!  Four fledged from the #2 box and two fledged from the #3 box. 

Goose is Broody

Yesterday our goose 'Mo' decided to begin to set on her eggs.  She began laying almost on the first day of Spring and I only collected the eggs for a couple of weeks.  So the oldest of these eggs are from around the second week of April.  I read somewhere that in eggs older than seven days the fertility begins to go down.  This goose has never successfully hatched out a brood and she is about five years old.  There could be any number of problems from the eggs not being turned enough, lack of humidity, too old, etc.

For a goose, the egg incubation period is 29 to 31 days.  So if she is successful this year, we can expect the goslings to pip between July 2nd to the 4th.  Talk about Independence Day!

Bluebirds are hatched!

Both boxes #2 and #3 are hatched!  Box #2 has four tiny bald babies and #3 has two.  It looks like they may have hatched either today or yesterday.  Box #1 has been taken over by House Sparrows.  I have removed the nest several times.  I guess they ran the tree swallows off.

Good News...

Well a few days ago, I made the rounds of the three nest boxes.  I had removed the dead bluebirds from the first box, but left the nest intact.  Today, this one had some fresh dried grass lining the old nest.  Very good!  Even better, was that the two others also had what looked like bluebird nests!  These are the two that the English House Sparrows had been trying to build their nests in.  I wasn't about to let them though.  I kept removing the nests before they were ever finished.  Finally, I think they just gave up and went away.

So now all three have nests in them.  No eggs on that day.  Today, I was surprized to find three bluebird eggs each in boxes two and three!  Box number one, though seems to have been claimed by a pair of tree swallows as it had several large feathers in the nest.  These look like they might be turkey feathers that were left outside from the turkey that DH shot fourth season.  It was his first turkey ever and Boy, was it delish!  Turkey Fricasse for dinner that night and enough put into the freezer for another ten or twelve meals for the two of us!  But that is another story.

What Happened?

On the 25th, I went out to check on the bluebird hatchlings.  I opened the door of the box and to my dismay, none of them were moving.  I thought they were dead.  I touched one and it was ice cold!  I noticed a slight movement in one, so one by one, I picked all four of them up and held them in the palm of my hand.  Other than the one who seemed to move a tiny bit, I was sure the rest were already gone.  One a whim, I cupped them in both hands and began to blow my warm breath onto the poor things.  Bit by bit, as they warmed up, they each began to move!  Still alive!...all four. 

At this point there was not a parent bluebird to be seen.  Usually they stand watch from the powerline just across the street.  I wondered if something happened to one or both of them.  Why would the mother leave them like that; so long that they were chilled to the point of hypothermia? 

I brought them to the house, still cupped in my hands, breathing on them as I walked.  Inside I found a box lined with excelsior.  I placed a soft tissue in the box and this gave me a place to hold the babies while I tried to figure out what to do...  In hindsight, I should have called someone...the bluebird man could have told me what to do.  probably even knew of a nest, or several nests with two day old babies that we could divide them between.  I wish I had. 

All I could think to do at the time was to try to keep them warm and to see if I could give them something to eat or some water with a dropper.   I first gave them each a drop of water from a dropper.  Their naked little necks were so weak that they couldn't even hold up their heads.  The weakest three wouldn't even open their little mouths at first.  It took a little prodding, but finally they did.  I got them all to take some water and they seemed to gain some strength.  By then they were opening up thirstily for the water. 

I soft scrambled a little egg and tried to give a tiny bit of this to one.   He was still too weak and I could not manage to get it into him without scaring myself.  Was I going to choke him?   

I decided to check outside and see if the parents had showed up.  When I went back out, the father was there on the powerline and divebombed me as I walked up to the box!  Still the mother was nowhere around.  I placed the babies into the box along with some foot warmers stuck to the inside of the box... maybe this would help keep them warm if the mother was gone.  And I hoped that the father would be able to take care of them on his own in that case.

When I checked on them the next day, they were still alive!  They even looked up at me when I opened the box!  This gave me some hope for the little guys. 

I checked on them today and they were all four dead.   Lesson learned.

First Blue Babies

Has it really been since January that I last posted? 

Well, I have been expecting...bluebirds that is!  After checking the boxes the day before the Annual Blubird Conference (April 10th). I found one nest with five eggs.  The other two boxes were either empty or had the beginnings of a House Sparrow nest.  I have removed it half a dozen times by now.  The sparrow spooker that I attached a couple of weeks ago did not 'spook' these determined sparrows.  I guess they were already too attached to this box!  This is the same box that the sparrows kept getting into last year.  I am thinking about just moving it to a new location.  I am not up to the 'final solution' as some other bluebirders are. 

So for the last two or three days I have been checking box number one.  I knew that it would be any time now.  They must have just hatched.  Four were there and one egg remained.  I will check again tomorrow and snap a picture to post.  Such tiny babies!  Tiny little, fuzzy, pink, almost bald babies!

Least Weasel

Found this weasel near the back door today. I assume that it met its grisly doom by way of the cats, but for some reason they didn't eat it. At first I thought that it was a juvenile--I had always thought weasels were much larger than this. It gave me something to worry about for a little while, anyway, since they are carnivores and could easily burrow into the chicken coop.

Finally, I had the chance to look up weasels on the Illinois Department of Natural Resources site. It appears to be the 'least weasel' according to the description. The least weasel eats mainly voles and mice. Too bad. The cats are great for rodent control, but this little weasel was, too! Not to mention that they are kinda cute. If this had been the long-tailed weasel, then I might have had something to worry about, as the list of its prey includes larger animals such as rabbits. There is also a statement that the [long-tailed] weasel can become a problem for poultry.

I had heard that there were once fishers in our area. I have never seen one and hope I never do. Now that might be something, as far as the chickens go.

Bluebird Report

I had to go back and review all of my observations this year (which were not done as carefully as they should have been). My final report is a mere sixteen bluebirds fledged this year and a big fat ZERO tree swallows... due to the six that mysteriously died in the nest. Probably because of the blasted black flies, I've been told. Sure hope to do better next year.

Cover Crops

I have been reading up on sustainable gardening methods... I have been reading Eliot Coleman, his wife Barb Damrosch, Terra Brockman's new release; 'Seasons on Henry's Farm' most recently, not to forget the usual Rodale's Organic Gardening line up, etc. ...

Today this article Improve Your Soil with Cover Crops from Mother Earth News came to my attention. Always good to gain information from as many sources as possible...this helps to sharpen the focus as I'm trying to gain a grasp of the direction I want to go. Each writer may make just one more statement that makes a certain point more clear for me.

I have been thinking of the use of cover crops for several years. In the vege garden (of course) I have been dealing with the weed problem...mostly keeping somewhat of a grip on it by mulching with flakes of old hay. This does biodegrade and adds to the organic matter in the soil, which is good. It is labor intensive at certain times of the year, when I would rather be doing something else. I cannot handle it by myself as quickly as it needs to be done and must enlist the help of DH. Growing cover crops at the right times would be far less work, I think. And would do more for the health of the soil in the long run...especially by repairing compaction problems and then aeration.

I have some leftover legume seeds that it may not be too late for...not for a harvest, but soil improvement. It's a nice sunny day and have been working in the kitchen garden-- even though the soil is yet a little too damp than ideal after yesterday's three inches of rain. I will make a point of sticking some of those peas throughout some bare spots though as it couldn't hurt and might help.
_________________________________________________
Read the book 'Managing Cover Crops Profitably'.  You can order a hard copy, or download it in HTML or as a PDF and read it online.

Insect Repellent

One of many projects that I never got around to finishing this summer was adding a new raised bed that will surround the chicken and goose run. I did get the thornless blackberries planted at the southeast and southwest corners, but the plan for the herb bed never came to fruition. The problem? Ground ivy! or creeping charlie...whatever you want to call it. Not to mention that nasty burdock with the massive roots that grow all the way to China.

I did lay plastic part of the way around with the hopes of getting rid of some weeds (I don't use chemical weed killers, especially not around the livestock). Well, the plastic did do a good job of suffocating out everything that grew under it, but anywhere the ground ivy found a hole or a tear, it did not hesitate to move in and make itself at home. And around the edges of the compost covered plastic? Up and over the ivy went. It's now looking very plush.

I plan to remove the plastic, rake it all out and then cover the area of the desired bed with thick flakes of old hay. It will have the entire fall and winter to choke out the ivy and then decompose somewhat to make for a nice rich spot for a late spring planting of my insect repelling herbs. That is the main point of this particular bed. I found an article at Horticulture magazine's website that gives me some ideas of what to plant for this purpose. It speaks specifically of mosquitos, but there are other insects those plants will target. In addition to the plants mentioned there, I also will research wormwood (Artemisia), tansy, citronella and others. I have to be careful not to plant any insect repelling plants, that might also do harm to the geese and chickens if they were to take a nibble...

Aaaaah...so much to do, so little time.

Pullet's First Eggs

Yesterday I found our first brown egg from one of the new pullets! It must have been from one of the sex links because the Americaunas will lay blue or green and the Leghorns lay white eggs, I believe...need to double check on that. Today there were several eggs and I have one of the old hen's eggs with them in the photo for comparison.

I was not really expecting any eggs this soon...I thought maybe another month to wait, but they surprized us! We brought home the baby chicks on the 20th of March. They may have been as much as a week old--not really sure. That would make them between 19 and 20 weeks old...so I guess that is about right. The eggs are a little larger than the first eggs of our pullets four years ago. The shells are nice and hard, especially the Americauna's. This may or may not be due to the extra electrolytes and vitamins and also apple cider vinegar that I have been adding to the water. I did not do this for the older hens a few years ago. All of these eggs have yolks also.

For breakfast I made zucchini fritters with zucchini from the garden and these yummy little chicky eggs! Thanks, Girls!

The Last Nestlings

Well, this will be it for the year, I think. There are four baby birds in nestbox #2.

Last birdies of the season...I think

I haven't been keeping up with my bluebird reports. Before I forget, I should note that the four bluebird babies in box #1 fledged sometime ago. Just the other day, I found that the bluebirds in box #2 had hatched. This is the same box where I found the dead tree swallow babies.

I also have two boxes near the house for the Jenny Wrens. Both have nestlings in them, but I don't track these. One box is in the kitchen garden right out the back door. It is over my raspberry patch where the Wren parents enjoy the raspberries and Japanese beetles, too, I'm sure. My chickens sure do. I have caught them in the act of jumping up and grabbing raspberries straight off the cane. They really love 'em! Our one little Rhode Island Red Hen (Rhoda) who is so tame, will stand on my hand and eat raspberries and japanese beetles as I pull them off the canes for her with the other hand.

Tropical Hybiscus

A couple of weeks ago, a friend put me in touch with someone who was moving and looking for a new home for her very large potted tropical hibiscus! Well, thank you so much! I have never owned a tropical before.

Hibiscus moscheutos

I do, however, have the hardy Hibiscus moscheutos here in my garden which I enjoy very much. The tropical will be a nice addition...even though I will need to over-winter it indoors. It is too large to bring into the house and also I am afraid the conditions will not be right for it...it was always over-wintered in a semi-heated garage in the past. I may be able to fit it into the foyer by the front door. It stays above freezing in there, but still very cool as there are no heat ducts. But...that's jumping ahead about five months! Right now I just need to repot it. The old pot is lightweight plastic and too narrow in diameter at the bottom to keep it from blowing over with a good gust of wind. What I would really like is a nice glazed ceramic pot---or faux ceramic with a with broad base. The ones that I have seen so far still have the narrower base and would not likely solve the problem. Gotta do something soon...

............................

I did my rounds of the bird boxes today. Box number one has brand new baby bluebirds! I caught them at just the right moment as all but one are hatched out. A single shiny blue egg remains. He has not even pipped yet. Maybe a bad egg. Will check on it again tomorrow.

.

Bad news on the tree swallows in box number two. They hatched out a week or so ago--all six of them were fine. Growing and seemingly healthy. Well... checked on them today and they were all six DEAD in the nest! I have no idea what happened to them. They were not attacked, there is no evidence of insects, they all appear fat/well fed. They probably just died today or yesterday...don't know. I last saw them two or three days ago and they seemed just fine. I don't think they gaped at me when I opened the door, but I didn't think anything of it. They were all breathing then. I do know that there was at least one parent flying around as usual. We did have a torrential downpour yesterday afternoon. I was driving home and it was so bad that I could barely see the road. It seemed to come out of the Northwest. The opening in the box is facing Northeast, but maybe the rain came in and hammered the poor babes. The nest did seem a little damp. I guess I will never know what happened to them for sure.

.

Box number three has had an English House Sparrow trying to nest in it. I have removed the nest at least three or four times now. I hope they give up and go away soon.

Bluebird Report

I had checked the boxes a couple of days ago...maybe Wednesday? I didn't have my camera with me, but wish I had as the bluebird babies in box number three were quite large and fully feathered out! I finally got around to bringing my camera out with me today, but alas!--they had fledged sometime between Wednesday and today (Friday). They were so beautiful. I guess I will have to make a point of taking the camera out each time.

So now that makes nine fledged so far this season. Four from the first and now five from this one. The eggs in box number 1 are now four count. The tree swallows have not yet hatched, but momma tree swallow will now stay put when I check on them. She hunkers down and stares at me until I dutifully close the door---leaving her in peace to do her motherly duty of keeping the eggs perfectly warm.

************
On another note-- some not so happy news to report: Mama Kitty brought me a little gift and dropped it at my feet on the kitchen floor this morning. I picked it up and to my utter dismay, it was a tiny fledgling hummingbird! Oh, it was very dead and mangled. I had to have another talk with Mama Kitty about which species of birds she absolutely must not touch and those which she may hunt and eat (exotic invasives, such as English House sparrows and European starlings). I really don't think it sunk in. She stared at me for a short second, and then promptly turned her back and walked back outside. I don't think she cared for the stern tone in which I berated her...especially after bringing me a 'love offering'.

So far they have brought us a red winged blackbird, a fledgling tree swallow, an American goldfinch, robins, and now the fledgling hummingbird...

All this in addition to the legal House sparrows and rodentia.

Infestation Not Bothering 'my' Nestlings

We first noticed the flying buggers last Sunday. They were all over the chickens, annoying the H-E double hockey sticks out of the poor things. I did not know what they were, but noticed when I smashed some against the window pane in the chicken coop door that blood splattered. The evil things were blood sucking vampires! Poor chickies. I dusted all that I could catch with diatomaceous earth that I had on hand. Not much else I could do that night.

The next morning, they all seemed to be gone as if by magic...as quickly as they arrived. I have since found out that these pesky buggers are 'black flies' or 'buffalo gnats'. They do suck blood and can actually kill a BULL if the infestation is bad enough!

A day or two later when we started butchering our meat chickens, we noticed that the black flies were back. They didn't bother me too much, but seemed to like DH better. We could only get about a fourth of our chickens processed outside because of it.

I received an e-mail from our bluebird club about the pests. Apparently they can be a real problem for baby birds---even killing the babies still in the nest. The recommendation is to paint pure vanilla around the box opening using a Q-tip. For some reason this repels the black flies. I did this immediately...what a horrible way for a baby bird to go!

Yesterday when we had to get some more chickens processed, I got the idea to put some pure vanilla and some water in a spray bottle. We sprayed our arms, head and neck with this vanilla water while working and this seemed to help.

Bird Box Update

The tree swallows have six eggs in the nest now! I guess they were not yet setting when I last counted four. Six will probably be it.

The bluebirds in box number three are growing fast. I can still only identify five in the nest. When I opened the door, one of the babies offered me his fecal sac, which I gladly removed for him. See, I can fill in for mom and dad bluebird if the situation arises!

Box number one has the beginnings of a new nest. Looks like bluebird nesting material again!