Fledgling

Bluebird fledgling

Our bluebirds fledged 5 babies this morning early, after a night of thunderstorms. Rain, drizzle, rain, drizzle and more rain today. We kept the parents well supplied with the mealworms today, which must have helped them feed the 5 hungry mouths they have stashed in the trees nearby. When the fledglings first leave the nest, they can fly, but not well, and are still totally dependent on the adults for food. This is a very vulnerable time for them. They're very cute, we could see them in the trees and occassionally heard them give their "tur-wee" begging, fledgling call. The photo above was taken several years ago, of "Blue" an orphaned bluebird fledgling we raised under the guidance of a licensed bird rehabilitator.
The 10 day forecast is for thunderstorms for every day, except Sunday, which will be partly cloudy. Ugh!