Young Eastern Bluebird Fledging Day

Yesterday morning, the Eastern Bluebird in Steve Creek’s third brood fledged. We sat for hours on his deck, waiting for the one chick to leave the nest box.

The day before, there were signs that the bluebird chick would be fledging soon. The parents were feeding the single chick, and the food deliveries were preceded by the adults perching a distance away from the nestbox, calling.

Female Eastern Bluebird in a natural vignette – Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1/640, ISO 1600, -2.0 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light

I took a few images of the female bluebird that day. She looked gorgeous framed by a natural vignette in the bright morning light. I couldn’t resist taking her photo.

Female Eastern Bluebird in a natural spotlight – Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1/1000, ISO 1600, -2.7 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light

Then I moved a bit on the deck and caught her in a natural spotlight, with the shaded areas under the trees behind her. She had food for her young chick in this image.

Young Eastern Bluebird about to fledge – Canon R7, f8, 1/125, ISO 1600, +0.7 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 451mm, natural light

Early yesterday morning, I saw the bluebird chick sticking its head out of the nest box hole. We believed the young bird was going to fledge, so we stayed on Steve’s deck, hoping to photograph the chick leaving the nest.

Female Eastern Bluebird feeding her chick – Canon R7, f8, 1/250, ISO 2000, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 343mm, natural light

I was delighted to take photos of the parents coming in to feed the Eastern Bluebird chick while it had its head sticking out of the nest. This feeding behavior was something I’d hoped to have in my viewfinder.

In this image, the female parent had already placed the food in the chick’s bill, but the chick wanted more and kept its bill open.

Female Eastern Bluebird delivering food to her chick – Canon R7, f8, 1/200, ISO 2000, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 400mm, natural light

We had low light conditions because the sun hadn’t risen over the roof of Steve’s house yet, and I managed that as best as I could. The motion blur of the female bluebird’s wings, due to the slow shutter speed, was acceptable to me; your tastes may vary.

Female Eastern Bluebird with her chick in the nestbox – Canon R7, f8, 1/320, ISO 2000, Canon 100-500mm at 400mm, natural light

Being able to include both the adults and the chick in the same frames as often as I did made me happy. I’d missed out on that with the other two broods of Eastern Bluebirds in Steve’s yard this year.

Male Eastern Bluebird feeding a grub to his hungry chick – Canon R7, f9, 1/500, ISO 2500, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 254mm, natural light

Finally, the male bluebird flew in with a large, juicy grub to feed his hungry chick. The young bluebird gobbled it up before the male flew away.

Eastern Bluebird chick leaving the nest – Canon R7, f9, 1/200, ISO 2500, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 254mm, natural light

Very soon after the male took off, the only bluebird chick in this brood fledged from the nest. In my photos, it seemed to want to return to the nestbox, but it tumbled down to the soft grasses below.

For a few minutes, the adults called from a nearby pine tree. When they flew into an oak nearby, this young bluebird followed them. It was incredible to watch the chick take its first flight.

Nature continues to enchant, thrill, and astound me. I wish the best for this young Eastern Bluebird.

Life is good.

Mia

See Steve’s post about the bluebird fledging here.

Click here to see more of my Eastern Bluebird photos plus facts and information about this species.