Five baby bluebirds are nine days old! Second brood of the season.

My husband is holding the Gilbertson nest box while I take a quick photo. And don’t worry, according to Sialis.org…

MYTH: If you open the bluebird box, or touch the nest or babies, the parents will abandon the nest.

REALITY: Don’t worry that monitoring will make the parents desert the nest. Bluebirds are very tolerant of human presence. Touching the nest or birds will not make the birds leave–your mother just told you that to keep you from harassing them.

The way it is hard to tell where one nestling begins and another ends reminds me of the tessellations of M.C. Escher.