I bet anyone on this list will say to let the wrens have the box. However, IMO, the bluebirds should have precidence. Their numbers are more limited AND if they move onto another place to nest, they may be in more danger without someone monitering them. I do this for the birds as well as for my own pleasure. I don't think the trap and realease idea is bad... unless you trap the bluebirds, that would just be bad luck. That's just my opinion and I would be glad to hear others opinions as well.

Hmmm, seems to me you would need a permit to intentionally trap and release a native bird such as the House Wren. After all, researchers using mist nets to catch native birds need permits. You could put up a second box in a more open area for the bluebirds that the wrens are less likely to use.

BN

I would never let House wrens nest in my yard or on the small trail I monitor. Any sticks I find in a nestbox I take out until the wrens give up. Wrens like to take over all nestboxes in their vicinity, throwing eggs and or babies of other cavity nesting birds out of the box so they can fill them with sticks. They only have one nest (a male can have more than one female though) but they fill all the other boxes up with sticks so no other birds can use them.

Most responsible Bluebirders do the same...no House wrens allowed!!

Donna

Rebecca, I assume you are saying HOUSE wrens? I'm in NW Ga and so far I have not seen any house wrens, thank goodness!

Things here in NW Georgia (Acworth, Rebecca, where are you?) have been slow. Just this week, a titmouse started bringing nesting material into the BB box. The blues showed no interest until yesterday when Mama started regularly going into the box, sometimes taking bits of material out, sometimes doing the 'wing thing' to make room for the nest cup. She also took some pine needles inside.

A little while ago, they trapped the titmouse in the box and would not let her out. If you've never seen a titmouse's 'hiss and lunge' it's amazing! I did record it and hope to upload it today or tomorrow.

The BB pair took turns going to the hole and looking in which sent the tuti into spasms! Then the BBs would sit on top of the box and look over waiting for the tuti to try to escape. The tuti was making so much noise, it attracted the squirrels who were eating not far away. Daddy Blue chased them away.

Finally, I had to go outside (had to take the dogs out) and and the blues went to nearby trees and eventually the tuti stuck her head out and then escaped!

Now there is no birds at or around the box. I suspect the tuti is somewhere shaking off the 'tension.'

Bluebird blessings, Linda...

Back to the original question about letting house wrens nest.

For the last few years, house wrens have tried to kill day old chicks (bluebird, titmouse, carolina wren) and ready-to-hatch eggs. I have video to show you how fast and awful they are...the videos are below.

They also will peck eggs of other birds and throw them out of the nest boxes and take over the box.

You do NOT want house wrens...you CAN discourage them even if you can't legally do more than that.

Check out these videos:

Bet posted this one for me:
House Wren throws chicks out of nest

The next day, the house wren threw a few of them out of the box again but I was able to get them and put them back in the box.

Here's Bet's video of a house wren destroying eggs:

House Wren destroys eggs

I don't have video of two other instances: one where I found 6 ready-to-hatch titmice eggs on the ground by the box in the short time it took me to get to the box. I put 2 eggs back in that hadn't been as badly harmed. Only one titmouse lived and when that chick was about 15 days old, a house wren came into the box and attacked the chick!!!

Last year, I found 6 just hatched chickadees at the foot of the box but I could only find 5 of the chicks. I put them back, put a wren guard on and they survived.

I know there are more instances of the damage that I've had and so have others.

Bluebird blessings, Linda...

What Linda said describes it pretty well. Last year I didn't realize the wrens were back yet and I had a nest box with 6 Black-capped Chickadee eggs in it. I heard the wren and ran outside to find every egg pecked and on the ground. You do not want to encourage House Wrens, or they'll be back in record numbers and destroy all the other bird's eggs and young. What I did last year was to put up extra boxes to keep them busy and remove the sticks on a daily basis. I bagged the sticks so they'd have to work a lot harder to find more sticks. I had hoped that would keep them away from my nesting Tree Swallows. But they still managed, despite the Tree Swallows diligence, to peck 4 out of the 6 eggs in that nest. While it is illegal to harm them in any way, it is not illegal to attempt to keep them too busy to bother the other nesting birds.

I would untape the opening,let them fight it out,The Bluebird will win the fight for the nestbox,You just need to make sure you keep the sticks out of the box,leaving it available for blue.Once the HOWR have lost they will have to move on.I have had a TRES in the past take box from a HOWR.Last season I also saw a Bluebird beat out a HOWR for a box,the HOWR did move on.