After the abrupt and sad end to the 2019 nesting season, I was eagerly looking forward to 2020, although I was not sure if the bluebirds would return.
In the interim I had built a second nest box using the dimensions of the box I’d used the previous year but with a few minor modifications. I constructed a predator guard for the new box and pole, and I made one for the old box and pole as well.
I put both nest boxes in the back yard in January. If the bluebirds did return, I wanted to see if they preferred one box over the other. After about three weeks, I had my first bluebird sighting on February 11; both the male and female had returned. Over the next several days they inspected both boxes; some days I wouldn’t see either one.
Dad, with nesting material in his beak, tries to convince mom that the original nest box is the place for them. Mom checks inside the box to see if it is to her liking.
The male seemed more interested in the original nest box and, with nesting material in his beak, tried to convince the female of this selection. They seemed to have trouble making up their minds and continued to inspect both boxes until March 13 when the female decided on the new box and began building her nest.
Mom, with nesting material in her beak, begins building her nest in the new box.
The first egg was laid on March 19, with four more eggs laid in the coming days to bring the clutch total to five. I checked the nest box daily and all eggs appeared intact.
The first chick hatched on April 6, and three more hatched the next day. The fifth egg did not hatch, possibly for one of two reasons. Half of a shell from another hatched egg had become stuck to the unhatched egg; this sometimes prevents hatching as the chick cannot peck its way out. Or the unhatched egg might not have been viable to start with. After a few days I gently removed the unhatched egg using a plastic spoon. Removing the unhatched egg gave the chicks a little more room and also eliminated the possibility of it breaking and attracting harmful insects such as ants.
Four chicks hatched. The unhatched egg had half of a shell stuck to it, possibly preventing hatching.
Apparently one of the chicks had died during the night, as only three were in the nest on April 11. I assume the chick had been removed from the nest by a parent; if this had been a nest raid by a predator it’s likely that all chicks would have been gone. So, after nature took its toll, the brood now stood at three; a reminder of how the odds are stacked against these beautiful creatures.
The three remaining chicks are healthy, hungry and growing nicely. 
Dad stands guard from one of his favorite perches atop a hummingbird feeder. 
With fledging imminent, mom and dad take their perches high atop my rooftop where they can see in all directions around the nest box and can track their chicks when they fledge. Both have meals in their beaks ready to feed the fledglings. 
One wayward fledgling ended up on the rooftop but soon joined dad in a nearby tree.
After a rough start, everything went well from that point forward and on April 24 fledging was imminent. The chicks could be seen peeking out of the nest box, and the parents were perched high atop my roof, holding insects in their beaks, ready to follow their fledglings and guide them to safety.
The first two chicks fledged directly to nearby trees; the third ended up on my roof. Dad was nearby keeping a sharp eye on the wayward chick, which eventually got its bearings and flew into a tree.
Then, as before, the entire family disappeared. And, as before, I was left happy yet sad, but I was also gratified that the bluebird population had just increased by three.
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This is the sixth column in a series.
Next in the series: “The Second Brood of 2020: Excitement, Anticipation and Then Letdown”
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