Ok, Blue Bird fans, we’re near the end of the Blue Bird mating season here, and it’s Week #19 update time for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Blue Bird Program in the city of Long Beach, on the 45-acre campus of the South Mississippi Regional Center!
Here is what ‘Master Naturalist’ buddy John and I found today, July 11, 2008, walking around campus during a Friday morning, taking the Blue Bird Trail nesting survey.
Here are this week’s Survey results:
Emily The Tree-Climbing Wonder Dog, always goes on the Survey Walk.
Box #1- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
Box #2- 3 Blue Bird babies flew from the nest. – Last week: 3 Blue Bird babies.
The Blue Bird baby in nesting box #4 has grown very large and should be flying from the nest before next week’s Survey. Unfortunaely, it appears the three eggs in the nest with him/her are sterile.
Box #3- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
Box #4- 1 Blue Bird baby, 3 sterile Blue Bird eggs. – Last week: 1 Blue Bird baby, 3 Blue Bird eggs
Box #5- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
Box #6- 4 Blue Bird eggs. – Last week: 3 Blue Bird eggs.
Five new babies in nesting box #12 since last week!
Box #7- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
Box #8- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
Box #9- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
The Killdeer babies continue to grow.
Box #10- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
Box #11- Empty nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Few old straw, no new activity.
A number of beautiful wild flowers also grow along the Blue Bird Trail on our Campus, including many Trumpet Vine flowers.
Box #12- 5 new Blue Bird babies. – Last week: 5 Blue Bird eggs.
Box #13- Empty Nesting box, no activity. – Last week: Empty nesting box, no activity.
Another Trumpet Vine flower, this one has a visitor.
Totals This Week: 4 Blue Bird eggs, 6 Blue Bird babies, 9 Empty nesting boxes, 3 Blue Birds flew from the nest, 2 Killdeer babies (one baby and one parent have disappeared, perhaps to a nearby area).
Totals Last Week: 11 Blue Bird eggs, 4 Blue Bird babies, 9 Empty nesting boxes, 3 Killdeer babies.
Master Naturalist buddy John continues to be very enthused about the activity, and reports that during the last 18 weeks of the program, 39 Blue Bird babies and 6 Chickadee babies have flown from their nests, and we also have 2 of the original 3 Killdeer babies left who have left their ground nest in one of the grassy areas on campus, and have joined their parents in feeding on the ground, during this first season of the new Blue Bird Trail. We are hoping to have at least 50 Blue Bird babies fly from the nests this season, but the season is near the end, and we feel it will probably be over in the next 2-3 weeks.
The weather today was partly cloudy, light wind, humid and about 93 degrees.
Another update will be along next weekend. Have a great Weekend!
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Meanwhile, we thought we would have a little Wild Flower contest.
Please have a look at the following wild flowers which were in bloom this morning along the Blue Bird Trail and see if you know their names: (Winners and names will be announced in next week’s Survey)
Wild Flower #1 – below:
Here’s a closer view of Wild Flower #1 – below:
Wild Flower #2 – below: *Note: This flower starts out as a purple color and fades to the white it is here.
Wild Flower #3:
Wild Flower #4 – below:
Here is a closer view of Wild Flower #4 – below:
Here is Wild Flower #5 – below:
Good luck on coming up with the names of these beautiful wild flowers!
Another Survey next week!
I’m embarrassed to tell you that while I have everyone of those flowers in our field (except for the succulent, it’s in the rock garden), I can’t name even one of them! The birds are beautiful.
That is seriously the biggest mouth on that baby bird..so cute. I think he’s telling you to get your camera out of there! Ha!
Baby birds, baby birds! Those pictures are too much, especially the mouth-open one.
I don’t know what any of those flowers are, damn it. I would guess the blue on is a bluebonnet, but I’m thinking those are only in Texas.
It has been a great week for nature watching here in Texas! Lots of rain and the natural drainage ditches are really high, I saw a baby alligator swimming across one two days ago. There’s also a pair of great white egrets that I see almost every day on the way home from work from the bus window, and it looks like they’ve had a chick because now there are three of them and number 3 is pretty small.
Some kind of songbird has taken up residence in one of the trees right outside the front of our house, and it has been singing day and night. I love it that my little one is waking up to that bird singing every day right now, his room is upstairs and overlooks all the trees so he hears it loudest of any of us.
Lovely photos, as always! I used to go on nature walks with my Gam and she’d always say–“isn’t it wonderful? No two things are alike. In all of the world, no two things are alike.”
amazing photography!
ooh, ooh, number 4!! Looks like ice plant?!
5? reminds me of coreopsis.
And NOT wild flowers in my neck o the woods, Luuckyyy.
Love those flowers! They are so pretty in the south–so showy.
Super shots!
Your dog is sweet! I am not good at identifing flowers but Amy at Twelve Acres sure is. I’ll tell her to take a peek at your pictures! ~Kim