In spite of our blundering efforts, we have Bluebird eggs!

We are very excited to discover the first egg in the nest!

Three days later, there are four.

The final tally of eggs in this nest is five, just as the first nest had been. We begin calling Padme a "five-egger".

Meanwhile the Gilbertson's box does not go to waste. Our tree swallow couple make a beautiful nest, and they also lay five eggs. Neither the swallows nor the Bluebirds seemed to be bothered by our nest monitoring. We try to monitor while they are out feeding, but if they happen to be nearby, they simply fly off a little distance and chatter at us until we're done, then go in to check on the eggs. I don't know who is more surprised the day I remove the Gilbertson's box from its mounts to have a look inside, and find mama tree swallow looking back at me. She just peers up at me while I stammer an apology and gently and quietly put back the box.

The day finally comes when the tree swallow eggs hatch. We peer in to see five of the cutest, pinkest, nakedest baby birds! It is truly an awesome experience! Go on to next photo page