My RobinCam 2022 is up and running. I noticed a robin flying away from my arbor when I came close. So I checked today and found 4 eggs in last year’s nest. 
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Yummy tasty dried meal worms
I will add live meal worms when the eggs hatch. The chicks can’t digest food so momma ‘pukes’ it down their throat for lack of a better way of explaining it.
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I was just thinking of putting out a feeder with meal worms. I’m going to see what the local bird food store has. But the robin eggs haven’t hatched yet.
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Mom is force feeding for a little Foie Gras 
Here is dad bluebird feeding mom bluebird live mealworms.
This is a WOC right above the birdhouse. It rained last night so the image is a little blurry.
View from inside the house
Last year was my first experience with bluebird nests so unless Mother Nature changed things up, we should have chicks soon.
Dad has three jobs :
- find a suitable place to make a nest
- feed mom bluebird when she is on the nest
- guard the nest
This is our buffet. Dried mealworms in the plastic container on the left and live mealworms in the ceramic container on the right. This is a WOC also.
He eats the dried mealworms and gives mom the live mealworms because she will be feeding her young soon and needs protein.
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Happy Mother’s Day!
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Awww! The timing worked out well.
I think one of my robins eggs pipped this morning too.
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What timing! Robin eggs are a bit larger. Be interesting to compare and see which bird fledges first. Don’t tell @peepeep or he will make a wager. 
One left to hatch! Should be today. The egg is shiny so that is a great sign. Eggs that don’t fertilize are dull.
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I see that 2 of the chicks hatched today. The other 2 can’t be far behind.
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Long odds on that. 
Go birds!
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To late for a mini omelette (Correct Frog spelling). By the way Grilled Sparrows are great in Japan. It is called Suzumeyaki, you need to order a plate full. 
With a side of haggis and calamari
And wash it down with an ‘anthrax ripple’
It looks like all 4 chicks are alive and well. Time to head over to the Wild Bird store for some meal worms.
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I buy live mealworms from Bassett’s Cricket Ranch on Amazon. $18.00 for 1100.
The local bait shop has live mealworms 20 for $3.99.
Dried mealworms are ok, but the live mealworms digest easier
All 5 chicks have hatched! There are 5 chicks in the pile.
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I have never put out live food for birds. So I have a couple of questions. What kind of dish do you use? Where do you place it, relative to the nest? Are the mealworms able to crawl out of the dish? Will I end up with a beetle infestation?
I use a small heavy ceramic bowl that has slick almost vertical sides. They still crawl out but are soon eaten.
The dish is about 4 feet from the nest sitting on a table. Other birds like mealworms also, so last year I added a feeder made just for bluebirds.
I see they are out of stock. Probably supply and demand.
The little wigglers are what they prefer. Read the side should be left off for a few days and once they find the feeder the side is put back. Last year the feeder was the only source of live mealworms. After a few days the side was put back and they found the entrance.
This year I saw them flying into the feeder with the side open, but when I put the side back on they were flying right into the side. Waited until the eggs hatched and put the bowl out so the live mealworms were accessible.
Mom has been busy feeding 5 chicks.
In about a week these chicks will have grown a lot and room in the nest will be crammed.
Right now mom gets in the birdhouse to feed the chicks but in a week she won’t be able to get in so she sticks her head in the entrance.
Not sure how she can tell that 1,2 4 have been fed but not 3 and 5.
Last year 5 of 6 eggs hatched. Most bluebirds lay 4 to 5 eggs.
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I went to the local Wild Birds Unlimited store yesterday and picked up a container of live mealworms. The salesperson there said that robins don’t usually use birdfeeders. She suggested putting them in a dish as you described and setting it on the ground close to the nest.
But, as you can see, something else found it first. It took that chippie about 3 minutes to clean out the bowl.
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The chicks can’t see yet. My 1000 count live mealworms are gone. They will have to settle for dried mealworms.
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Mom keeps busy. She is in and out of the house at least 20 times an hour
The waste from the chicks comes out in a convenient carrying bag. Mom goes to the bottom of the nest and removes these along with pieces of shell.
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I’ve noticed with baby robins, they will stick their butt up while mom is there and poop. She grabs it and flies off to drop it away from the nest. 