Bluebirds Adapt to Single Parenting

As I have watched this family of nine adapt to the loss of the female parent, I have marveled at how quickly they have reorganized their family behavior.

Prior to the loss of the female, the juveniles have wandered to hunt, but returned throughout the day to be near their parents.  Often they've perched in overhead limbs to watch the parents feed the nestlings, and on several occasions in the past week, the male juvenile has brought food to the nestlings.

On June 8th, the last day the female was present, the juveniles made quick visits to the mealworm feeder while the parents were away.  Often the female was not tolerant of them sharing that space with her and they avoided meeting either parent inside the feeder.  Later that same morning, they were seen overhead foraging for insects in the leaves trapped in the gutters.  They flipped leaves, followed each other around, ran to see what had been stirred up by a sibling, and generally entertained themselves while the parents fed the nestlings at a steady pace.

In the images above, taken yesterday, you see two juveniles arriving at the nestbox predator guard at the same time.  The one inside is the male juvenile.  I believe he is encouraging the female juvenile (who at this point had not learned how to enter the predator guard) to hand off her food.  But she didn't like that idea.

Since the female has been absent (last seen June 8th), these juveniles have rallied around the male.  Not only are they steadily present, they are keeping watch over the nest area, sounding alerts, chasing away intruders (titmice primarily).  And as of yesterday, everyone of them is feeding the nestlings and with greater proficiency.

In yesterday's video below, watch as one of the juvenile females, the last to begin feeding the nestlings, struggles to figure out how to reach the nestlings with the food she has brought.  While she is figuring this out, you will see the juvenile male enter to feed first, followed by the adult male.  The female juvenile is determined and persistent and tries every angle available to reach the nestlings from her position.

This is the stuff that tugs at the heart-strings.  It certainly suggests that there are complex emotions and motivations driving her effort.  The male is patient with juvenile efforts, waiting for them to feed, watching as they try to contribute and encouraging with chattering and wing-waving.  
The nestlings are popping their heads out of the nestbox to receive food now and are calling when they are hungry.  This call is only heard when they haven't been fed for a while and stops soon after feeding begins.  I am feeding generous quantities of mealworms several times a day and the family arrives immediately, sometimes before I leave the feeder, eager to begin feeding.  Family members are not dependent on the mealworms, however.  They are also hunting individually and bringing a variety of other foods.

Today the nestlings are sixteen days old, an age that falls within the 15-18 day range for expected fledging.

To see last year's juvenile's bathing visit:  Juvenile Bluebirds Enjoy the Water, and to see last year's juveniles feeding their younger siblings, visit:  Juveniles Helping Parents.  To see all my bluebird posts visit:  Bluebird Family.


Visit this link to learn how to make the predator guard that protects my nestbox residents from cats and raccoons.