{"id":131612,"date":"2024-07-31T02:37:48","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T07:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=131612"},"modified":"2024-07-31T02:37:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T07:37:48","slug":"young-eastern-bluebird-fledging-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/31\/young-eastern-bluebird-fledging-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Eastern Bluebird Fledging Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Eastern Bluebird in a natural vignette \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/640, ISO 1600, -2.0 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Eastern Bluebird in a natural spotlight \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 1600, -2.7 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung Eastern Bluebird about to fledge \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/125, ISO 1600, +0.7 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 451mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Eastern Bluebird feeding her chick \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/250, ISO 2000, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 343mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Eastern Bluebird delivering food to her chick \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/200, ISO 2000, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Eastern Bluebird with her chick in the nestbox \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/320, ISO 2000, Canon 100-500mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Eastern Bluebird feeding a grub to his hungry chick \u2013 Canon R7, f9, 1\/500, ISO 2500, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 254mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"EasternEastern Bluebird chick leaving the nest \u2013 Canon R7, f9, 1\/200, ISO 2500, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 254mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Nature continues to enchant, thrill, and astound me. I wish the best for this young Eastern Bluebird.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

See Steve’s post about the bluebird fledging here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Eastern Bluebird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13950,27,14094,13951],"tags":[4004,5933,4880,4134,15482,14096,4040,4070,15481,15484,1130,13931,15483,6493,4067,4071,9080,4062,6905,2279,13388,14095,9852,2315,3844,4881,8018,15480,13966,4193],"class_list":["post-131612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-avian","category-eastern-bluebirds","category-sebastian-county","tag-adult","tag-bluebird","tag-bluebirds","tag-chick","tag-delivering","tag-eastern-bluebird","tag-feeding","tag-female","tag-fledge","tag-fledging","tag-food","tag-garden","tag-grub","tag-hungry","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-leaving","tag-male","tag-natural","tag-nest-box","tag-nestbox","tag-sialia-sialis","tag-spotlight","tag-summer-3","tag-thrush","tag-thrushes","tag-urban","tag-vignette","tag-yard","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-nest-box-mia-mcpherson-8095.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-yeM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":134720,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/17\/hatch-year-eastern-bluebird-at-a-birdbath\/","url_meta":{"origin":131612,"position":0},"title":"Hatch Year Eastern Bluebird At A Birdbath","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been quite the spring and summer for me. Part of the reason is seeing three broods of bluebirds. This hatch-year Eastern Bluebird might be one of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hatch year Eastern Bluebird male at a birdbath, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-bluebird-hatch-year-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-C1488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-bluebird-hatch-year-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-C1488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-bluebird-hatch-year-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-C1488.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-bluebird-hatch-year-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-C1488.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":151051,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/07\/29\/eastern-bluebird-nest-box-news-chicks-are-ready-to-fledge\/","url_meta":{"origin":131612,"position":1},"title":"Eastern Bluebird Nest Box News – Chicks Are Ready To Fledge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Eastern Bluebird chicks in one of my friend Steve Creek's nest boxes are getting ready to fledge. It won't be long before they start exploring the world.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Bluebird chick getting ready to fledge, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-3811.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-3811.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-3811.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-3811.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127858,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/25\/baby-eastern-bluebird-images-from-the-day-they-fledged\/","url_meta":{"origin":131612,"position":2},"title":"Baby Eastern Bluebird Images From The Day They Fledged","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In my post yesterday I mentioned that three of the Eastern Bluebird chicks left their nest box in my friend Steve's yard. Today I am sharing two photos of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Baby Eastern Bluebird about to leave the nest box, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/eastern-bluebird-chick-fledge-day-mia-mcpherson-9845.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/eastern-bluebird-chick-fledge-day-mia-mcpherson-9845.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/eastern-bluebird-chick-fledge-day-mia-mcpherson-9845.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/eastern-bluebird-chick-fledge-day-mia-mcpherson-9845.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":151134,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/07\/31\/three-eastern-bluebird-chicks-fledged-yesterday\/","url_meta":{"origin":131612,"position":3},"title":"Three Eastern Bluebird Chicks Fledged Yesterday!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning around 9 a.m., the Eastern Bluebird chicks finally took the leap and fledged from their nest. There were three of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Bluebird chick leaving the nest box, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-leaving-nest-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-leaving-nest-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-leaving-nest-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-bluebird-chick-leaving-nest-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142048,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/27\/female-eastern-bluebird-is-busy-nest-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":131612,"position":4},"title":"Female Eastern Bluebird Is Busy Nest Building","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The female Eastern Bluebird here has been very busy the last three days, bringing in nesting materials by the beakful to place inside the nesting box.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Eastern Bluebird with nesting materials, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eastern-bluebird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-1632.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eastern-bluebird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-1632.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eastern-bluebird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-1632.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eastern-bluebird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-1632.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129969,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/30\/young-eastern-bluebird-second-brood\/","url_meta":{"origin":131612,"position":5},"title":"Young Eastern Bluebird – Second Brood","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This young Eastern Bluebird is from the second brood in my friend Steve Creek's nest box in Arkansas this year. I took these bluebird photos two days ago.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Eastern Bluebird foraging on its own, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/eastern-bluebird-young-mia-mcpherson-6635.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/eastern-bluebird-young-mia-mcpherson-6635.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/eastern-bluebird-young-mia-mcpherson-6635.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/eastern-bluebird-young-mia-mcpherson-6635.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}