Good job!!! I am in the process of getting(another)one that is bothering my blues. The blues have a completed nest...no eggs yet, thank God.

The hosp. sits on top of the box and then the blues fly after him. Last year I didn't have any hosp. this year they are coming out of the woodwork.

Now you don't have to worry about that one killing your blues.

Karen

I'm getting a little nervous because I haven't had any blues setting up house yet.. They have been hanging out and going in and out of the nest box but have not started building their nest yet.. What part of the country are you in? I am in Elkton, MD. it's still been pretty cold here so i'm hoping that's why they haven't started building their nest... funny you say, i 've seen more here as well.. my neighbors have a hedgerow on the other side of their yard and I see a lot of them hanging out there.. I was thinking about asking my neighbor to set up my trap there... hmmmm.. wonder how crazy they'll think i am then... Are you doing anything to get rid of the house sparrows?

I am in Michigan. It is still very cold here. Thats why I said thank God no eggs yet. I was shocked to see a complete nest. They stayed here all winter and I think they wanted to get a jump on nesting :)

I use the VanErt in box trap. I set it and I watch with binocs to make sure I didn't trap a native bird.

I learned the hard way that hosp. kill. I had no idea until I came home from work and saw one sitting on my Tree Swallow box. I went out and scared it away and checked on momma tres. I was horrified by what I saw. That f#@^&*( hosp. killed the tres still sitting on her 4 eggs and proceeded to build his nest on top of her body. It has been awhile since that happened and I can't get it out of my mind. I will do everything in my power to make sure that never happens again.

Those birds are killers.

April, I live in Washington County, MD and also have trails in Frederick County. None of my blues have seriously started nestbuilding as of yet--we've got another week or two before that happens. Congrats on catching the hosp. I agree that Blaine's drst is a wonderful tool. You can't let your guard down, though, because once nesting begins house sparrows become increasingly aggressive. Fingers crossed that you have a productive nesting season.
Kathy

Hi April. I am glad you got your HOSP, I am in Michigan too, not too far from Karen. I would like to say one thing here. You have done nothing wrong, however the title of your post could be used to show how awful Blue Bird folks are. There are several people in "another " forum that like nothing more than to cut and paste then publish these things to other forums making us look bad..like cold hearted killers. None of us likes to take a life, we hate it. While we here know what you meant and suport what you did , please be careful to not make it soud like you enjoyed it. As I said, we know thats not what you meant but that will be what it is made to look like :I
I wish you a grate and healthy BB season! ;)

April, our bluebirds began nestbuilding on 3/27 this year. It was a nice warm day. Since then it has been cold or rainy. I just hope they get busy before the HOWRs get here.
BlueBars

I have a completed nest here at the house and one pair beginning to build at school. Will get a better look at the other trails over the weekend. Rain expected on and off for the next couple of days, so we'll see. So far I've trapped 3 male house sparrows. I hope the others are finally getting the hint.
Kathy

April,
I have a nest just about done in Howard County,One pair in Baltimore County still trying to decide which box,I have a friend in Carrol County,his pair has been on eggs about a week now,I expect my first egg the middle of next week,every year mine have been 1-2 weeks behind my friends pair.

Matt
Baltimore MD

Lisa11310, I understand what you are saying. It was really hard to do what I did and a few years ago I would have never done such a thing. Once I started birdwatching, I became more and more interested in every species .. Now I am in absolute love with my bluebirds, chickadees, swallows, and titmouses.. not mentioning several others. Nothing in this world gives me more joy to provide an environment for these beautiful birds. After seeing pictures and then seeing first hand what destruction this aggressive species has done to the birds that I love and adore, I promised I would do everything in my power to protect them. I'm not a bad person. I love animals and the thought of anyone doing cruel acts to them just makes me sick. If there wasn't people protecting this species, I'd hate to even imagine where the bluebirds would be..

Thanks to everyone else in letting me know your current nesting status... It makes me feel better to hear some haven't had any birds building their nests yet.. there are two pairs at a time in my backyard just looking around but nothing so far.. I still have my trap and am actively monitoring it.. Good news is I just got my mealworms! very excited to get them out there tomorrow!