It has become quite common to see Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes attached to poles and fences along farm fields in Ontario. These boxes provide much needed nesting sites for these useful, colourful birds now that dead trees are often cut down quickly to avoid damage to people or property. So it was a pleasant surprise to find a pair of nesting Eastern Bluebirds popping in and out of a standing dead tree trunk in a swamp on a recent ramble.
Eastern Bluebirds Nest in Tree Cavities Including in Standing Dead Tree Trunks
When I first saw the female Eastern Bluebird she was perched in a small sapling beside the road with a beakful of insects. It was easy to guess she had a nestful of hungry chicks nearby. By staying quiet and looking at a variety of nearby plants and creatures, I was able to reassure her and she quickly dropped down onto the outside of a standing tree snag. Only her head went into the hole while she fed the young inside, then she zipped off again, only to return a couple of minutes later with another batch of freshly-caught food.
Do Both Male and Female Eastern Bluebirds Feed the Young?
Birds have different preferences for feeding their young. Mother Mallards lead their brood around to various spots where the young ducklings can forage for themselves. The Mallard drakes just loaf around elsewhere providing no feeding advice for the ducklings at all. When the chicks are very young, Peregrine Falcon males bring prey such as pigeons to the female who shreds off bite-size bits to feed the chicks. So I watched the Eastern Bluebird nest from a respectful distance to see what they preferred. Soon, I saw the male Bluebird arriving with a beakful of insects which were quickly offered to the nestlings.
How Do Eastern Bluebirds Keep the Nest Clean to Avoid Predators?
While I didn’t capture it with a photo, I also saw the male take a shiny white drop away from the nest as it left. Like some other birds, Eastern Bluebirds can carry the chicks droppings away to keep the nest site clean and less likely to attract the notice of predators.
This particular nest is in a tree that is surrounded by water. (The tree likely died from the flooding.) On the floating logs and rocks below were several basking Northern Watersnakes of varying sizes. I hope that they don’t realize it would be worth climbing the tree. Otherwise, it’s a pretty good location to reduce attacks by common predators like squirrels and raccoons as it isn’t a tree that is noticeable amidst a group of similar dead trunks.
What Do Eastern Bluebirds Feed Their Chicks?
Eastern Bluebirds in summer eat large numbers of insects, including caterpillars, moths, butterflies and grasshoppers. They also will eat small fruit from sumac, juniper and crabapples especially in the winter, according to AllAboutBirds.
The only food I could identify that these two brought in, was a large sphinx-type moth that the female Bluebird brought. I’m not actually sure how she fed such a large body to a small chick. She may have broken it up.
Don’t Worry Parents By Watching a Nest Too Long
I followed my own advice and didn’t stay close to the nest very long. Instead, I followed a Chalk-fronted Corporal dragonfly down the road until it perched and posed. The Bluebirds kept working diligently away. After they launch this batch of nestlings, they will probably start all over again and raise a second brood!
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