Here's father coming out of nestbox after feeding the young. At first the parents enter the box to feed them but in a few days the young take food when parents stick their head in hole.

Here's mother coming out of nestbox after feeding young. In a few days babies will take food at the hole & parents do not enter.

Here's mother doing some housecleaning... removing egg shells. This is done to keep nest clean so varmits will not be attracted to the nestbox & harm the young. After babies fly out, I remove the nest that day & discard it far away from nestbox... again so no varmits will smell & bother nestbox. After removing nest I wash the inside of nestbox with bleach & water so it will be clean & ready for a new nest.

Here's father again. He & mother took turns going to the hole & chirping & "talking" to the young, telling them it was time to leave the nest. They would chirp at the hole & get on top of the box giving encouragement. Also they would perch on a nearby tree & chirp to them to come out.

On the 16th day, the young flew out of box. One by one they came to the hole & flew to a close tree. The parents were chirping all the time, encouraging them. Then they flew to nearby woods where the parents continue to feed them until they can catch food themselves. Baby blues are not blue when they leave the nest; that comes later. The first season 2001 there were 2 nestings & in 2002 there have been 3 nestings of 5 each. Every spring I look forward to a new group of baby bluebirds. BLUEBIRDS ARE A JOY!! Email k1016@webtv.net