Lisa is correct! I tried CD's on string and ladies hose over the tomatoes. Neither stopped the mocking birds, but plastic grocery bags did the trick. Just make sure you leave a large opening for it to breath or they will sweat. Not sure what that might do to the tomato. We have a net over my wifes tomatoes, but it is lot more aggrevation than the bags IMHO bernie

It is doubtful the fish swallowed the BB. I have seen too many fish mistake something inedible for food and they just spit it out. While it is possible a fish would get something stuck in it's mouth it isn't likely it would happen to more than one. However it is possible for fish to die from a fright. If he managed to hit them with a BB it might scare them sufficiently to cause them to die. The changes in the water as the weather gets warmer can cause fluctuations in the pond chemistry that could kill them. Parasites are particularly active as the water warms up and must be considered. Have you done any water testing? It is important to maintain certain chemical balances in the water and PH in particular can be a problem but it is easy to fix. How sad your son isn't able to enjoy the exciting things that happen in and around the pond. I would be making sure my kid was participating in pond maintenance. Sandy

I have heard of a Bluebird killing an adult Chickadee when the Dee looked in the Bluebirds active nestbox. However I doubt a Blue would harm the Dees just because they want the box. With the nesting material pulled out it sure sounds like a raccoon, although normally a raccoon would eat the babies, unless like Cathy said, it got interrupted. I know cats can jump to the top of boxes but I am not sure if they can reach in the box like a coon can and would pull stuff out, cats are notorious for killing and not eating their prey. How old were the baby Dees? I would think if they were around 16 days which would be fledging time (since you said they were ready to fledge) they would be too big for a wren to mess with. The HOSP could easily kill the babies but they wouldn't mess with the nest like that. Did you look at the babies at all for peck marks on the head or teeth marks on the bodies?? So sorry this happened!! Donna

I have the blue-domed feeder from Duncraft and it works great. My Blues were used to a little cup that I had nailed to a tree stake, but then a very FAT Robin found it. So I bought the dome version and left the top off of it for several days while the Blues got used to the new container. The I put the dome on in it's highest position (the Robin could still get in during this "training" period). After about three more days, I lowered it to its lowest setting and then only the Blues could fit. The great thing about this feeder is that it can be hung or mounted on a pole - it has a screw-in bottom that is just the same size as a standard broom handle. I purchased a broom handle from the hardware store, gorilla glued the feeder in place for good measure, and then simply pushed the handle about 5 inches into the ground. No fuss, no muss and now only my blues can get the mealies...