Peek-A-Boo!

Your birdhouse has been a busy place lately, and you have been watching the bluebirds, titmice or chickadees going in and out a lot. Curious? Wanting so badly to take a look? Looking into the bird house is not a bad thing if you do it right!

Bluebird babies - one day old

First, stand to the side of the birdhouse and tap gently on the box. If an adult is inside, it will usually leave. Then open the door slowly. If an adult is still inside, close the door slowly and check back later. Now is a good time to forget all that nonsense about the mother bird smelling you. Birds  have almost no sense of smell and will not abandon the nest or babies because you opened the box. If you want to monitor the progress of the nest once a day, you can.

From the time the last egg is laid, it will be approximately 12 to 14 days until the babies hatch. It will be only about 15 to 16 more days until they fly out of the nest. Think about that! It is just over two weeks from the time the young hatch until they are flying. What an amazing process to witness! Observe and enjoy, but remember it is best not to open the nest box once the chicks are more than 12 days old. At this stage they may become spooked and decide to bail out of the box early. For this reason, I recommend keeping a nesting schedule or journal on any boxes you plan to monitor.

Last day for nest box checks! Twelve day old bluebirds...

Another thing to keep in mind is that most birds leave the nest before they are able to fly well, and in some cases - at all! There is very little room for practice in the tight quarters of a bird box. Please resist the impulse to pick up and "rescue" these young birds. The parents are nearby and are watching...I promise! If the youngster is in danger of being grabbed by a dog or cat, or is out in the road, gently place it in a nearby shrub or other cover for safety and leave it alone. The adults will hear its cries for food and will find the wayward fledgling and continue to care for it.