Hi everyone, I had my first brood of bluebirds this year. It seems to me it was a little early in the year (May), but I'm new to this. I didn't count
the eggs and fledglings, but they were there for about 3 weeks, then one day I looked out and saw a house sparrow go inside. I immediately went to view the
nest, found 1 dead baby bb, but the rest were gone. I later saw the parents feeding the fledglings in my yard, so at least 2 survived. I cleaned out the nest
& box, but a housesparrow kept going in, so I took passive measures, spooker and fishing line. The sparrow finally gave up and I had 3 bluebirds going in
and out of the box. 1 male, 2 females. A new nest was built about 3 weeks ago, the male is still guarding, but no eggs. Should I remove the nest so that they
start again? or just leave it be? The sparrow spooker is still up, but the BBs seem to love it as a perch and keep going in and out. Any advice will be
appreciated!
0 Kudo
First year Bluebirder with Questions
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 laurieb |
First year Bluebirder with Questions |
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Posts: 1 (06/21/08 8:31 AM) |
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tamsea |
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Moderator Posts: 2348 (06/21/08 8:43 AM) |
Laurie,
Welcome to our forum. Glad that some of your babies made it. The other one might have just died of natural causes. It's always good to monitor your bluebirds when they are nesting so then you know if there are problems. They don't mind your presence. A great site with lots of good information is Sialis.org I let someone else advise you on what to do. Usually at this time of the year an egg will be laid pretty quickly. And it is always best to take the sparrow spooker down until the first egg is laid because even though your bluebirds are used to it, you don't want the HOSP get used to it being up either. Please feel free to stick around here at this site. Everyone is so nice and will be glad to help in anyway. Tammy
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dogsandbirds |
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Moderator Posts: 1535 (06/21/08 9:39 AM) Middle Name
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Hi Laurie!
Welcome and thanks for coming by! Tammy has recommended a great site. We all use it because there is so much information there. Spookers should only be on boxes from first egg to fledging day. All other times, they should be off the boxes so that the HOSP don't become unafraid of them. You said the male is still guarding the box. Have you seen a female at all since the nest was built? Did both of the females disappear? It's strange to have two females during building. Sometimes they will take a while to lay eggs, even for the second and third nest attempts. I would leave the nest because we don't know what their plans are at this point. Keep us posted! We're here to help.  Gin
Atlanta, GA |
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laurieb |
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Posts: 2 (06/21/08 3:47 PM) |
Thanks for the responses, I believe that the 2 females that were hanging around the box were mother and daughter from the first fledging. I did see just one female with the male yesterday. Contrary to what some of the websites say, the bluebirds just love my birdfeeder that contains all sorts of hulled nuts. They've been hanging out in my backyard for the past 6 years, but this is the first time I got some to stay in a nestbox, it's the sort of slanted type that I put on a metal pole at the edge of the yard. I will take down the sparrow spooker (Uncle Blaine's) but can I leave up the fishing line? I got the instructions from the Sialis website. I really do have a cohort of HOSP around, as well as titmice, chickadees, grackles, wrens, woodpeckers, catbirds, hummingbirds and others unidentified, so I really don't want to get rid of the feeders. |
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BluebirdNut |
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Posts: 4564 (06/21/08 4:03 PM) Forum
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Hi Laurie, let me add my
Bluebirds are not big seed eaters, but they do like nuts. I make a homemade suet mix with chunky peanut butter and they love that, and I've heard about them eating peanut hearts. So I'm not surprised they like your mixed hulled nuts feeder. You don't have to stop feeding the other birds in order to enjoy Bluebirds. By following a program of selective feeding, and active HOSP control, you can have both your desirable native birds, plus Bluebirds. Grackles can be a bit bully-ish at the feeders, but I have them here and they don't cause a lot of trouble. Sialis doesn't specifically say whether the monofilament can be used before Bluebirds lay their eggs, but I've heard it should be used before the HOSP become interested in the box, so I'm assuming it would be OK to leave it up. Just be sure to monitor it very, very carefully. While it may be effective in some cases, it isn't always, and if the fishing line gets into the nestbox, it can kill a baby bird or trap it in the nestbox. I'm going to duplicate your questions and give them a thread of their own, where they'll get the most attention possible, and you may get more ideas.
Cher ~ Central NY
BluebirdNut.com - Bluebird Information, Education and Awareness Bluebird Nut Cafe - Bluebird Discussion Forum TMB Studios Bluebird Shop - Bluebird-Friendly and Bluebird Themed Merchandise TMB Studios' Cafepress Shop - Custom Designed Bluebird Themed Merchandise TMB Studios - Graphic design, Web design, Photography, and more |
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laurieb |
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Posts: 4 (06/22/08 10:20 AM) |
I took down the Uncle Blaine's spooker, and this morning I have an egg! I'm not sure it's actually cause and effect, since they have been going in
and out the whole time. I still have the fishing line spooker, (securely attached top and bottom). From what I understand, it's supposed to keep the HOSP
from entering since they leave their wings spread as they come in for a landing. Anyway, I wish I could take a few weeks off work to watch, but I'll have
to settle for late afternoona nd evening monitoring. Thanks,
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bigmattblue |
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Posts: 44 (06/22/08 11:03 AM) |
Laurie,
I use the fishing line,before the nest is even built,then after the first egg,I put up the spooker.since you have your first egg,I would reinstall the spooker right away.The spooker is much more effective then the fishing line,but neither is 100%.I would remove the fishing line before fledging,There is always the chance a fledging Blue could get tangled up in it.I kinda use the fishing line as stage 1,The spooker as stage 2
Matt
Baltimore MD |
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laurieb |
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Posts: 5 (06/24/08 6:47 PM) |
I just thought I'd let you know that since my post on the 21st, I now have 3 eggs in the box. I'm keeping an eye out, I haven't replaced the
spooker yet, but still have the fishing line attached. No sign of HOSP, and the male actually buzzed me when I walked through the yard. I haven't seen a
single female, but she must be coming while I'm at work, the male stays on guard duty, alternating between the birdfeeder and bug catching in flight.
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BluebirdNut |
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Posts: 4605 (06/24/08 9:36 PM) Forum
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Laurie, I'd definitely put the spooker back up now - you may not be seeing HOSP, but you're not seeing the female either and she's obviously around
because you're getting eggs. The spooker will be an added layer of protection for the Blues. If you're worried about not being able to monitor for
acceptance, then put the spooker up with just a couple of streamers, and watch for an egg the next day.
Cher ~ Central NY
BluebirdNut.com - Bluebird Information, Education and Awareness Bluebird Nut Cafe - Bluebird Discussion Forum TMB Studios Bluebird Shop - Bluebird-Friendly and Bluebird Themed Merchandise TMB Studios' Cafepress Shop - Custom Designed Bluebird Themed Merchandise TMB Studios - Graphic design, Web design, Photography, and more |
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Gary27 |
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Posts: 1 (06/25/08 9:50 AM) |
Sorry, I can not seem to find the forum that I should probably be asking my question. If I am at the wrong place please let me know.
My wife & I are new to bluebird nesting business. I put up a house of Sat, and Sunday had two or three blue birds in an out of the house quite a few times (two male & 1 female?). Could not believe our luck, we knew they were in out area, but one day. Since then things have quited down, we don't know if they have left or the house did not met her specs?. However, every morning (Mon, Tue, Wed) a male comes to the house goes in a couple of times and then seem to hang around the area. My wife says the female is nesting, I say a jilted boyfriend :-) Note: Blue jays have came into the garden. Should we open up the front and look in or just be patient? |
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tamsea |
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Moderator Posts: 2440 (06/25/08 9:54 AM) |
 Gary. Sounds like they are house hunting. Go ahead and open the
nestbox and check and see if there is any nesting material yet. Everyone here monitors their nestboxes regularly.
Tammy
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Gary27 |
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Posts: 2 (06/25/08 11:16 AM) |
Tammy, you are correct not a singlle stick.. I knew it was to good to be true. Maybe they will come back. Anything we can do to help?
Thank you |
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dogsandbirds |
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Moderator Posts: 1601 (06/25/08 12:20 PM) Middle Name
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Gary, if you see sticks that is not a good sign. For bluebirds, you would be looking for dried grass or pine straw. Sticks are the mark of a house wren--very
bad news for bluebirds.
And welcome! Glad you joined us! Gin
Atlanta, GA |
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Zenamom |
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Posts: 75 (06/25/08 12:35 PM) |
Welcome Laurie and Gary. Blues are incredible birds but then again so are the dees, tree swallows and titmice. You will learn so much here and gladly turn
over $$$ for binoculars, books, mealworms, feeders, feed, etc., because the results are so satisfying. .
If a national mealworm shortage is any indication, this bird thing is really catching on. Don't be late for work and lose your job because you glued yourself to those binoculars too long. Time flies when watching the birds before leaving for work. Several times I was late because I was watching the birds.
Linda
Central MD |
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Gary27 |
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Posts: 3 (06/25/08 3:23 PM) |
As you can tell I am new!! I meant no nest in box! I guess what I am trying to find out, is the male & female appeared to be going into the box on one day.
Now only the male is coming to the box several times a day. Goes into the box, then leaves. See previous post :-) Is this normal? Also is there anything we can
do to intice them into staying? Feed, etc Forgot, we have a pair of Blue Jays in the neighborhood, is that a big problem?
Thanks
Last Edited By: Gary27
06/25/08 3:34 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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tamsea |
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Moderator Posts: 2448 (06/25/08 3:37 PM) |
Gary, everyone just got a little nervous when you said sticks because they have had a lot of house wren problems lately. The male is just checking out
possibilities. There's a chance they still might nest in your box. You can offer them mealworms. If you have a Wild Birds Unlimited store in your area
or a similar store you can get mealworms from them. You can also get them in smaller quanities from a store like Petco etc. They seem to be healthier at the
wild bird stores though. If you decide to do that, you put them in a small smooth sided dish. I use a glass or ceramic corelle type dish. Then you put that
dish near where you see the bluebirds, maybe up on a stepstool or flower pot turned upside down and wait. If they don't take them, bring the mealworms in
and try it again the next day. It takes several days for them to "see" them. You can also offer suet..but mealworms is the biggest draw. Keep us
posted. Everyone here is very knowledgeable and glad to help.
Tammy
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dogsandbirds |
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Moderator Posts: 1605 (06/25/08 4:24 PM) Middle Name
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Tammy's right. Live food can sometimes be a huge factor in persuading them to nest in a particular place. Just don't feed them too many!
Blue jays aren't really a problem. They CAN be bullies sometimes, but they don't have any interest in the box. Meal worms, however, are another story! They'll eat them, just like the robins, wrens, titmice, chickadees and other insect eaters. One of those wooden block predator guards at the hole is a good idea to protect the eggs and chicks inside the box if you think your jays might be aggressive. I have them but they don't bother my cavity nesting birds. Gin
Atlanta, GA |
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BluebirdNut |
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Posts: 4622 (06/25/08 4:39 PM) Forum
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Another big draw for birds - any birds - is having a water source nearby. A birdbath will do the trick. If you can add a mister or dripper for the
"running water" effect, so much the better.
This is a little later in the season than we are used to seeing inquiries about luring techniques. But it certainly isn't too late for your couple to have a late summer nesting.
Cher ~ Central NY
BluebirdNut.com - Bluebird Information, Education and Awareness Bluebird Nut Cafe - Bluebird Discussion Forum TMB Studios Bluebird Shop - Bluebird-Friendly and Bluebird Themed Merchandise TMB Studios' Cafepress Shop - Custom Designed Bluebird Themed Merchandise TMB Studios - Graphic design, Web design, Photography, and more |
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Janie May |
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Moderator Posts: 3055 (06/25/08 5:36 PM) Middle name
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Gary, very normal! It's the male who finds the location (in most cases at least) and the female that gives final approval. The first year a couple found my
box that had sat empty of 4 years, I was ecstatic! They "fooled" around the box for a day or two and moved on....I was no longer ecstatic! BUT, the
next year Ma & Pa showed up and Ma liked the location and stayed with me until her death three years later. Pa found a new female and stayed with her using
that same box for one more year and after he was lost, that female found a new male and continued to use the same box. My point is, once a couple finds your
box and decides to nest there you'll probably have them returning to the same box over and over. If one of them dies or goes missing, the remaining bird
will find a new mate and likely continue to use your box.
It's great that you are seeing so much activity so soon after putting up your box. It's obviously in good spot to be seen by the bluebirds flying over. I have to add that I hope your nest box is POLE mounted and RACCOON BAFFLED and located far enough from a fence or tree that could be used by a predator (cat, squirrel, raccoon, etc.) to be able to jump from to get to the box. 10 feet out from trees or a fence is safe.
Janie
Atlanta, GA |
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Gary27 |
Thank you will will | ||
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Posts: 4 (06/25/08 6:38 PM) |
Thank you, we will give it a try and get back ...... I added a predator baffle today. We do have some squirrels ( no raccoons). We are sort of in the open at
the edge of the woods and fence. Box is about 30 feet fron fence line. I am not sure my baffle will stop the squirrels, but will change if it becomes a proble.
We are going to try something called "BlueBird Nuggets" a Wal-Mart" special :-) Next time I get to the big city, I will try to get some mealworms. Thanks to all of you for your help, Gary Delaware, Oh
Last Edited By: Gary27
06/25/08 7:41 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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Renee in Winslow |
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Posts: 199 (06/26/08 9:19 AM) |
You can also go to the link below. It has a just about everything you'd want or need to know about Bluebirds and other cavity nesters.
Advice for new Bluebirders: http://www.sialis.org/new.htm
Renee
Rural SW Indiana |
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