Problem of sorts to many bluebird box's

16 years ago

One common problem I often see and wish i could change. Public and

private parks,bird clubs there yards saturated with 15 to 20 nest box's A calling card for local predator's People there are no need for 20 bluebird homes in a

four acre yard. If you are lucky you might get two pairs and that is rare. People

just dont understand once you start to produce House wrens which i am sure

will take at least some box's those wrens will peck and kill little bluebirds.

And there numbers will double every year. I manage a public park myself

and manage all box's twelve tree swallows nest there yearly no problems

across the pond another person looks after 12 box's there HOSP , Wrens,

and bluebirds nest there. The person does nothing and i dont want those trash

birds to move across the pond. During the spring I take my traps and manage the HOSP the wrens are out of control and the site is just one major

mess had the person managed it right the site would be fine. I felt bad for

the bluebirds so i trapped the HOSP to protect the BB. I can only hope they

to cross the pond to the safety of my sanctuary with the swallows. And no HOSP! All of my sites Country club, Powerline, Conservation parks all box's

limited and for native birds only. All along a major highway here in MA nestbox's all along the highway fence waste of time easy for predator's to climb and in most years never see native birds in the box's. People need

to get a clue and learn the correct way to place these box's there not helping

the birds. Ray

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

griffin_MD
16 years ago
Here, here, Ray!!! You are expressing the sentiments of all who have accepted the responsibility of being a responsible bluebird landlord. People start off with good intentions by putting up a nestbox but don't understand that if you don't monitor it and allow only native birds to nest, you're not really helping at all. I do not allow house wrens to nest in any of my nestboxes even though they are native birds because of the very reason you noted. If you allow one pair to nest, they breed more house wrens which return the following year. I check all my boxes frequently during nesting season and stop a nesting as soon as I see twigs inside a box--they can be stubborn little birds but eventually will move on. It makes me sick to think of the number of bluebird eggs that have been lost because of them.
I know we all would like to approach each and every homeowner that has a nestbox improperly mounted, too many boxes in an area or that simply has all those "cute little birdhouses" and explain what damage they are actually causing to our native birds. I guess all we can do is try to educate others, gently, when the opportunity arises and continue to do things right in our own corner. Just know there are plenty of us out here who share your frustration!
Kathy
0
rayinri
Original Author
16 years ago
The largest number of bluebirds I look after nest in Smithfield this public park
nest box project was set up with no monitor by the town. I took over the job because I have a Martin colony in the same town and the HOSP were in all but
two nest box's out of twelve. Three years ago one by one I trapped the HOSP
in order to lower there population and protect the martins at the same time.
Why place box's if no one cares and wants to look after the birds some of the
box's have been stolen in a way I am glad less work for me. I am happy for the family's that go to this park and enjoy the swallows. They are well protected by me. My friend across the pond must wonder what happen to
his HOSP? If he only knew. Those dam raccoons. hahahah Ray
0
Related Discussions
Beware of wire grate at bottom of bluebird box
Q
Comments (3)
parrotmommie, so sorry about the one baby Blue. That is one reason to monitor nestboxes, you can discover problems sometimes before it is too late. Check out sialis.org for tons of info on Bluebirds and other cavity nesting birds. When I have Blues nesting in my yard I check the nest every day to every other day until day 13, that is the last day you can check, after that if you open the box you may cause premature fledging. Bluebirds are very tolerant of monitoring. Good luck, hope the second nesting is successful. Donna
...See More
comical bluebird behavior
Q
Comments (10)
Sounds like time well spent. Now let's hope that House Wren stays away. You haven't gone off the edge, just dedicated and doing the best you can. We have to make sure they accept the changes we make. Most of them learn pretty quickly. They do teach one another. I love to share this story from my backyard: An older female (with us for years) took a young male, probably his first adult year, as her new mate after her mate was lost. The nest was complete with eggs, and they both knew how to use the mealworm feeder. Evidently, he was ready to feed the youngsters already and kept taking beakfuls of mealworms to the nestbox, and dropping them on the eggs! Well, each time he did that, she would follow him, retrieve the mealworms from among the eggs, and return to the feeder to feed HIM! It was priceless. Eventually, he got the idea, and fed her. Many of us have seen their courting behavior, when the male feeds the female as she begs like a fledgling, wings all fluttering. But this was a first for me! BlueBars
...See More
Problem joining bluebird nut cafe
Q
Comments (10)
Hello Cindy, To sign up please go to this website http://bluebirdnutcafe.yuku.com/signup/me -Make up a username (can be cindyholiman2511 if you like) -Put in your email address -First Name -Last Name -Gender -Create a password to access the website -Type the password again in the box next to it to confirm -Enter your birthday for example 03/24/1987 Then the human test, you must type in the words in the box in order, then click "join yuku" button. -I don't remember if you will get an email from yuku sent to your inbox but if you do, please go to your inbox and check and there may be an activation link you need to click to activate your account. It should bring you back to the yuku site. -Go to this site http://bluebirdnutcafe.yuku.com/ Then to the bluebird chatter forum area. Then at the top on the right there is a picture of a bluebird that says new topic, click that and give your topic a title and type your message and submit it.
...See More
2nd nest: Not a bluebird
Q
Comments (24)
I think you did the best thing, Chris, but I must comment regarding your mentioning that bluebirds are portrayed as timid and lacking in skills to defend their territory. In the past, bluebird territory differed from that of house wrens. As someone who has been a bluebird enthusiast and monitor for many years, I must say that wrens are no longer reading the manual and are not following the rules on where they are supposed to nest! Bluebirds can and do defend themselves and their nests (Dave, you need to repost your bluebird/hosp battle photos), but house wrens are the sneakiest of birds. They are quick and can be in and out of a nestbox in a matter of seconds. BlueBars can tell you of the battle between a bluebird and a house wren inside a nestbox and I'll simply say that the wren left minus some feathers. Unfortunately, even an incubating female bluebird must leave the nestbox occasionally and that is when the wren seems to appear. House sparrows are another thing entirely. They are non-native and are extremely aggressive towards not only bluebirds but towards all other native cavity nesters. A bluebird, tree swallow, chickadee or titmouse is simply not equipped to battle a house sparrow inside a nestbox. I have witnessed the result of such attacks too many times and hope it is something you never experience. Since man, in his great wisdom, brought house sparrows to America to "help", house sparrows have wreaked havoc not only on crops they were supposed to protect (from insects), but on native bird species as well. House sparrows do not need cavities (nestboxes) to nest in but studies show that if a house sparrow is allowed to fledge from a nestbox, it will look for one when it is time for it to breed. That is why it is so important for people to monitor nestboxes when they put them up. In all my years of monitoring bluebird trails, I must say that the word timid is not a word I would associate with this beautiful, brave, determined bird. You will come to see this for yourself if you monitor your nestbox closely and let them teach you about their battle to survive. I promise that your heart will be broken now and then--Mother Nature will have her way--but you will also come to know just how precious their lives are and why we all work so hard to protect them. Kathy
...See More

Problem of sorts to many bluebird box's

Comments (2)

griffin_MD

rayinri
Original Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Problem of sorts to many bluebird box's

Comments (2)

griffin_MD

rayinriOriginal Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

rayinri
Original Author