Fecal Sacs

From: Shane Marcotte marco50"at"bellsouth.net
To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Daddy Bluebird
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2003 21:40:50 -0400

Hello All,
Today I watched as a mother Bluebird sat on top of the nestbox and Daddy BB flew out with a fecal sack, went about 200 yards or so and dropped it!! I thought the little fellow has to take out the trash just as I do!! Ha!!! Is this common practice? I had never noticed this particular behavior. I did once have a young one produce a fecal sack in my hand!!
Happiest of Bluebirding,
Shane Marcotte
LBBS Watson Louisiana

From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"tds.net
To: marco50"at"bellsouth.net, bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: Daddy Bluebird
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 08:50:44 -0400

Shane,
In a word, "Yes." Removal of fecal sacs by adult birds is routine common practice.
Bruce Burdett, SW NH
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shane Marcotte" marco50"at"bellsouth.net
To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 9:40 PM
Subject: Daddy Bluebird

...

From: Shane Marcotte marco50"at"bellsouth.net
To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Dad BB& Fecal Sack Removal
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 18:18:49 -0400

Hello All,
I got alot of response to my question but I guess I asked it wrong. I know that the sack is removed I just wonder if the male has to do it every time.

That was the first time I saw the mom sit on the house as the male went inside to get it. I wonder if she somehow"tells" him to do it or does he instinctivly do it say every hour or two or something like that.

Always amazed by the BB behavior,
Shane in Watson Louisiana Member LBBS

Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 19:14:57 -0400
From: "Fawzi P. Emad femad <at> fpemad <dot> com
Subject: Re: Dad BB& Fecal Sack Removal
To: marco50"at"bellsouth.net, bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu

Here at home, I have to empty the garbage, and if I forget, I am told to do it! But in the case of the Bluebirds, either adult will do it as they come and go to and from the nest.

Fawzi Emad in Laytonsville, Maryland
New Email Address: femad"AT"comcast.net
Note: change "AT" to "at"

----- Original Message -----
From: "Shane Marcotte" marco50"at"bellsouth.net
To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 6:18 PM
Subject: Dad BB& Fecal Sack Removal

...

From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com
To: "BLUEBIRD-L" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: removing fecal sacks
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 07:48:53 -0500

Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant Texas
Remember the saying what goes in must come out!!!! If you have ever tried rehabbing any baby birds you will quickly learn that when you feed these birds and then stimulate them by moving them around with your finger (similar to adult birds walking on them) then this triggers them to go to the bathroom while the adult is there and they can feed them and remove a fecal sack on the same trip and keep the nest clean.

I had a lady call one day and she had orphaned starlings similar to what Doc Bob mentioned coming down with a dead tree limb. She called me about them and asked what to do? Our rehabber then or now did/does not take starlings and this lady was very interested in helping her children "save them"... The rehabber DOES use starlings to train those wanting to help other birds since they are so hardy and can eat almost anything....

Anyway excitement of sharing this experience with the kids quickly turning into disgust to horror as she found out how often the baby birds need to be fed and that she quickly went through a whole box of Kleenex tissues in a matter of days as what goes in seemed to immediately come OUT.....After a particularly bad Sunday her kids came home from school on Monday to learn the starlings had all "disappeared" by flying away about a week early.....

Both male and female bluebirds share in nestbox sanitation. They are just like humans in some cases where either the male or the female is more diligent in this duty....It would be interesting for someone to hand raise a brood of these birds and keep a tally/pile of these droppings to see the sheer numbers and volume produced. Harry Krueger trapped and banded the adults nesting in all 60 of his nestboxes and he found that the first three days after hatching were the best chances at trapping the male bluebird entering the nestbox to feed his young.....This leaves about 15 days when it was VERY likely the female was going to enter the box and be faced with removing a "dirty diaper". Remember that the adults often EAT the fecal sacks as the young are poor at removing all available nutrients from their diet early on. Maybe the female is eating more fecal sacks than the male....She needs more nutrients to replace those lost in egg laying to prepare for the next brood. KK

From: Sweetolive [mailto:sweetolive1"at"att.net]
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 5:50 PM
Subject: Bluebird Behavior/Fecal Sacs

I was looking over my notes from this past nesting season and recall the following observed neat behavior regarding fecal sac removal from the nest: I saw the nestlings transferring fecal sacs from the nest through the hole to the adult male on the outside of the box. This occurred numerous times between Day 12 and Day 17 of the nesting cycle. It only involved the male, probably because he had a habit of lingering on the hole after feeding. I believe this to be an example of an early display of instinct to remove the sacs from the nest. Olive Jones Louisiana

Yes, I've witnessed pop BB go all the way into the hole and get the sack. It seems like it's the pop's job to take out the trash (all wrapped up in a white trash bag) as it's the pop that I see. Mom BB is looking for dinner. I wonder how he keeps from mashing the tops of the babies heads and, especially, with those sharp claws. Mom also as she will go in and stay awhile sometimes. I can picture them walking around on top of the babies. Maybe someone has a cam video of this activity. Dottie, Hickory Hollow Brown County, Indiana

From: Burnham, Barbara [mailto:Barbara.Burnham"at"zzz.zzz]
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 7:53 AM
RE: BB's White Trash Bags

This is not an advertisement. I purchased an amateur video called "Bluebirds in the Suburbs" (for about $30 or so I think) by DGPearse 4497 Woodstream Drive Columbus, OH 43230-5128 (614) 478 5004 He videotaped the nestbox from inside his home, through one-way glass 24x7 for an entire summer (3 broods), plus some footage inside a mealworm feeder. He edited this down to several hours of the most fascinating video I have ever seen. Realize it is AMATEUR video, not National Geographic, but it really gives an up close and personal view of things we would never see otherwise. There is only printed narrative, so you have to read along as you watch the video. All sounds are from the actual nestbox. Some things I learned: The young actually "present" the fecal sacs after being fed. Both parents share many of the duties. Both parents will eat the egg shells. The female "grooms" the babies. The female sometimes seeks out and removes blowfly larvae from the bottom of the nest, doing a "tremble thrust" to shake them out. The female bluebird as she lays an egg, expells her breath so much it fogs the glass. See how the incubating female reacts to an evening thunderstorm, or a neighborhood party with loud music. See what happens when a male house sparrow pays a visit. Young from the earlier brood also visit the nest of a later brood. Watch the young fledge from the inside of the box, and the one who stayed behind for one more night alone. I could go on and on... It's quite a different view from the overhead nestbox cams, and extremely informative. Barbara Burnham Ellicott City, MD

From: Elizabeth Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 11:17 AM
RE: BB's White Trash Bags

I always wondered how bluebirds kept the nestbox so clean - how the parents could get all the fecal sacs from underneath the nestlings. Turns out they don't get deposited underneath the nestling. The "Bluebirds the Nestbox" video shows that as soon as each baby is fed, it wiggles around and sticks its rump up way in the air so the adult can grab the fecal sac. Bet ("Bluebirds Inside the Nestbox" by the North Carolina Bluebird Society. From actual nestbox cam footage. 15 minutes. Available for a $20 donation to Cornell Nestbox Cams http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/nestboxcam/helpsupport.html - this is the video where people expressed concern about the last segment where they show speedy installation of a nestbox sans predator guard.)

From: ReachRoses"at"aol.com [mailto:ReachRoses"at"aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 8:46 AM
Subject: White stuff extracted

Thanks to those of you who responded to my BB/TRES and paired boxes questions.

Observation leading to question: I have discovered a flourishing BB family at my main home about 15 feet from my house in a ornamental box, not one intended for BB, though I do have a real uninhabited box about 20' away (an unintended pairing!) There have been nesters in this box before (not BBs) but this year, I turned it to face south - and lo, they have come, which I just discovered yesterday ( I had been at the lake). Now for the Question:
I have noticed that the mother and the father both feed the babies, and then may times they each depart with something white in their mouths that looks like a white grub of some sort- about a half-inch size. I do not have field glasses here, so can't see real well. Any ideas? Thanks from Roses Taylor in Tennessee

It's a fecal sac. A birdie Pamper. Here's a picture of one clinging to the inside of a nestbox. Pretty, huh? LOL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/TMB/BluebirdNut/Fecalsac.jpg

Cher

From: Afinechef"at"aol.com [mailto:Afinechef"at"aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: White stuff extracted

Hi Roses,

The white substance you are observing in the adult bluebirds' mouths are fecal sacs. The nestlings excrete into a contained white sac and the parents fly away with it, to drop it away from the nest presumably to keep it clean and to foil any predators using scent to find the nestlings.

You might want to invest in a great book, The Bluebird Monitor's Guide, co-authored by one of our List members, Keith Kridler. It is a wonderfully written book, complete with many photographs, and would help you immensely in your journey to understand our bluebirds.

See the following link from amazon.com for information on the book (it is not only sold through Amazon--some bluebird societies sell it, as well as NABS). I thought anyone out there could use the Amazon site to check out the book, and then decide for yourselves where you would like to purchase it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062737430/qid=1115816637/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-2988435-2178563

Donna in Marlborough, CT

Kate Arnold
Paris, TX, 100 mi NE of Dallas

From: RBALTRUNAS"at"cs.com [mailto:RBALTRUNAS"at"cs.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 6:28 PM
Subject: Florida EABL, Fecal Sacks and Golf Course

Hi friends,

My 6 new boxes have attracted one new pair of EABL who have built a nest with 6 eggs so far! I placed these boxes by an open field, but it is so dry that the field is brown. There is a watered Golf Course about a quarter of a mile or so away. This teaches me a lesson of the value of Golf Courses and watered areas for box locations as they are not subject to drought.

My backyard pair have only hatched 2 of the 5 eggs, but they are next to the watered Golg Course. As I observe them carrying fecal sacks out, I wonder what they are made of. I know they are Chick excrements, but what is the sack? How is it made?

Ron
Brookesville, FL

From: rebel1956"at"comcast.net [mailto:rebel1956"at"comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 6:42 PM
Subject: Re: Florida EABL, Fecal Sacks and Golf Course

Hi Ron,

This isn't real scientific, but the fecal sac is just the "goop''that lubricates and lines the lower end of a bird's digestive tract before it exits their cloaca. It dries over the "poop" and appears to make a sack. When your bladder and stomach all empty out the same orafice strange things happen. ...

Rob Barron

....

PS I saw a female blue take a fecal sac out of a nest the other day, fly off onto a fallen broken branch and stick the sac on the end of the branch. Reminded me of a kid sticking some used gum on a bed post. At NABS 2006, Keith showed a neat photo of a fecal sac dumping area where they were all dropped in one spot. Some birds like tree swallows drop fecal sacs in bodies of water, perhaps to avoid attracting predators.

Fascinating and informative!

Our BBs carried those sacs well away from the area (out of our view, anyway)
until the last two days prior to the fledging - at that point we started
seeing them sticking them on nearby trees. They clearly wanted to be near if
any of the babies fledged, and hunted in our yard more. Also, in the last
few days they often carried two sacs away at a time.

Donna

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