Babies!

While I was out weeding this morning, I noticed mama bluebird flying in and out of the nesting box.  I thought it was time to take a look at what she's been cooking in there!

I recruited my husband's help so that we could open the box, view its contents, and leave as quickly as possible.  As we approached, I could hear muffled peeping from inside the box.

From the research I'm doing online (there's nothing like learning on the fly!), it appears that the nestlings are perhaps one to two days old, as they are readily gaping and their down feathers have started growing.  I examined them quickly, and it appears that 3 of the 4 eggs have hatched.  The last egg may not have hatched yet, or perhaps the nestling was buried out of view underneath his/her siblings and is still too weak to gape. 

Now that we've managed, as a group effort, to create a successful nesting environment and hatch babies after all of the bluebirds' efforts this year, I am experiencing feelings of cautious celebration and, of course, worry.  I plan to check on the babies once or twice more while they are still in the nest.  My husband has strict instructions not to mow too close to the nesting box, to allow the parents to continue regular feedings, and I'm going to see if I can find a way to make mealworms available without attracting any predators or nest robbers.  This photo will probably also be my last one using the flash, as I don't want to affect the nestlings' developing eyesight (their eyes will not open for a few days yet).

I am enjoying the fact that we have reached this milestone with our feathered residents!