Last year was the first time our nesting box was used and all 5 Eastern Rosellas successfully fledged.
There has been a lot of interest in the box this year between at least 2 pairs of Eastern Rosellas and the winning pair have already laid 3 eggs.
Hopefully we have another successful year!
That's great news, keep us updated please.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Excellent, Mishkaka. With all the land clearing that's occurring our hollows-dependent wildlife species need all the help they can get.
Great news that the nesting box is so attractive.
Had another quick check when Momma was away and there's now 5 eggs.
I'm pretty sure the eggs would have hatched by now but I haven't gotten the chance to take a peek.
There is another pair of Eastern Rosellas that keep trying to enter the nest box so Momma Rosella won't leave even when Daddy Rosella has chased them away. I've even seen him fly back and forth from the box calling her and she won't budge.
We've put up another nest box (completely handmade this time) not that far from the current box in hopes that the other pair will move into it. I've seen the other male inspecting it, so hopefully...
Mum left very briefly and I managed to take a quick peek with my phone, only 1 egg has hatched so far.
Had another quick peek when Mum was away, unfortunately there is only 1 baby. There is one broken egg and one complete egg still in the box but the other 2 are nowhere to be seen. I assume the remaining complete egg is infertile as I'm sure it would have hatched by now otherwise. I don't even see any shell from the other eggs, would the Mum have eaten the shells or buried them?
Atleast the surviving baby looks really big and healthy.
My video isn't attaching for some reason so here's the link instead: http://youtube.com/shorts/shYRg7cI76w
and a screenshot for anyone who doesn't want to click a link:
Not sure what happened to the eggs but mum may have removed broken bits. I don't know if they eat the shell or not. Let us hope all goes well for the remaing bird.
We've named him/her "Big Kev"
At about 13 days old they appear to be doing well.
I still can't attach videos for some reason so here's a link: https://youtube.com/shorts/J5bMxPyT8Do?feature=share
and a screenshot
Through all this bad weather Big Kev is still doing well.
They are about 19 days old and there is an extra egg in the nest now!
Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/N_FuydjrEb4
And screenshot
Good news!
Big Kev is currently 28 days old and there are now 5 eggs in the nest.
(He/she is sitting in one of them in the video)
Link: https://youtu.be/vza4xIBSbws
Screnshot:
Big Kev is getting ready to fledge!
Link to a video compilation of him/her peeking out the nest box and Mum and Dad coming and going: https://youtu.be/_0PlWjnO5Ak
Wow, isn't that exciting? Wonderful to see the nesting box as such a success. You must enjoy keeping track of Big Kev and the new eggs.
It really is! I love watching birds they're just so fascinating.
Congratulations, you have done well in providing an obviously excellent nest box. I hope it continues to be productive for years to come.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Big Kev has fledged!
Eight eggs remain.
If I don't see any activity should I clean out the nesting box and remove the eggs (maybe candle them just in case?) Or should I give it a couple weeks?
Honestly, I don't know the answer but would hesitate to disturb them yet. Can you work out the time they were laid and compare to how long it took for Big Kev to hatch?
They take about 19 days to hatch so some of the eggs are way over that but others might still have a week or so to go. Mum is still diligently on the nest so I'll let them be. If they are not hatched by the end of the month I think then I will take action and remove the eggs even if Mum is still on them.
How is it going?
Last week I took out the eggs and candled them, some were very obviously rotten. I returned 4 that had signs of life and got rid of the infertile/rotten ones.
I just checked the box and we have 3 babies!
What great news! Hope these ones manage without any intruders taking them.
I've seen a couple Indian Mynah Birds pop into the nest box before even when Mum was there but now that they've hatched I think they will okay!
My heart went into my mouth when I read that Indian Mynahs were invading/infesting the nest. Do Indian Mynahs destroy Eastern Rosella (or any other) eggs? I do hope your local council/environment group has a Mynah eradication programme.
I'm not sure, I think they probably do invade other nests if they are looking for a place to nest themselves but quite a few birds do that, don't they? I was actually reading an article the other day that was saying that eradication programs/culling Indian Mynahs hasn't actually proven to do anything but temporarily reduce the numbers in those specific locations. I don't know how I feel about culling them if there's not a proven positive result, either way my local council doesn't have any such programs in place and I haven't seen them go inside the nest for atleast a week or so now so hopefully they've given up.
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Been busy but finally got around to checking on the Rosellas and they look fantastic!
Wow, looking good!