Lisa, as soon as you have seen a dead Blue or TRES from the nasty HOSP you will loose the guilty feeling in dealing with them. I haven't lost any Blues, thankfully but have lost several TRES to them. It isn't pretty what the Hosp does to the poor bird they trap in the nestbox. I hope you can deal with doing away with the HOSP so you never have to see the resluts of your Blues meeting up with one in the nestbox. I have been watching daily for HOSP, as soon as I see one I go put out the van ert and check it regularily. I have seen a couple Blues around but they seem to be only half interested in the houses, looking but not going into at the moment. Still too early for nesting here in WI however I have noticed the chickadees checking out nestbox, they could be nestbuilding soon. We have several nestboxes within site (with binocs) of the house in all directions so I have been watching them like a hawk.

Donna

Hi Lisa,

We try to stick with mostly passive HOSP deterrance here, and we've been successful so far by simply removing any nesting material they deposit... anywhere, nestbox or elsewhere. This takes perserverance plenty, but they will eventually realize that they cannot build enough of a nest in our yard in time to lay any eggs. Adjacent neighbors also practice this method. It's not a lot of work, and it mostly works. We don't see any at our feeders, and rarely do they even land here.
Still, we do have many HOSP nearby and they are sure a constant threat to our beloved Blues. When there is any encounter between them, we protect our birds with extreme prejudice.

Lots of Bluebirders use traps (which requires diligence and significant effort), and there is evidence that some who do have reduced the HOSP populations in their habitats. There are also potential hazards and responsibilities with traps that make using them a choice some find difficult. Of course the best and most complete information on the topic is at sialis.org... highly recommending reading.

My advice would be: DO NOT allow House Sparrows to nest on your property.

best luck with your Bluebirds,

Kenn

Here is a link that might be useful: Kenn & Temple's Bluebirds

Lisa, I just took out my first hosp of the year not 5 minutes ago. I am still shaking. The hosp was going after my pair of blues that was with me all winter. I would NEVER let the hosp kill my blues after what they went through all winter.(or even if they just arrived) They actually had the eating part easy :) lots of worms and suet. But they froze their butts off for 4 months and I am not going to let a #$#@@ hosp. kill them.

Not an easy thing to do as I said I am still shaking....but it needs to be done.

I didn't have any hosp. last year, I had wrens. I would have had a 3rd nesting but the wrens put sticks in their box. Hope i don't mistake a wren for a hosp. LOL

We are all here to support you. I cried and asked God to forgive me all the way up the hill. I heard the blues calling each other and I smiled through my tears.

Wishing you luck!!!
Karen

In less than a year, it went from live and let live to a desire to make HOSP extinct. Didn't have a clue years ago that my beautiful male BB had his head pecked open and not a clue of what happened inside the box. That has changed. It only takes a single HOSP that you have never seen before, to murder your nestlings and move on-box to box killing for the sake of establishing who knows what? It's not out of need for food or shelter, it's merely to kill.

Active and passive means to protect what we work so hard to attract and nuture. At first, I thought God would "get me" for killing his birds but when I see my beautiful blues I know it was worth it. The sialis.org site should be required reading for the value it contains-it will give you all the information you need.

Linda

I would wait until the male claims the house to do anything. Once the male claims it, I would use the Van Ert. If you see the male routinely on the top of the box or in the hole chirping for a female to join him, you can assume he claimed it. If you watch them, you'll notice they have different times in a day when they like to do house/nesting activity. Mine are really active about a half hour after sunrise and its a good time to trap them. I would set the trap before sunrise. They can become weary if they see you messing with the box. Then just watch and wait. Use a mesh bag over the box to remove them and confirm their identity.

good luck

Thanks guys, I have been preaching the Sialis site for 5 years and spend lots of time there for refresher courses each season. Kenn, I like the passive idea but I am finding more and more folks out here puting up BB boxes. A good thing since we have fledged 12 broods so far from this property. However, most of these people are not well educated and I am sure they would not go to the measures I will. It's best to take care of them here so they don't just move on to the next (rural) property down the road and kill what are likley my babies and grand babies. Took forever but I just found my trap. It's going on the box now as I know they were around last evening. I also have my repeater ground trap set up. God forgive me.

I know this is a really tough area for people who love nature and animals but want to help native cavity nesters survive and thrive. I'm really glad the sialis site is useful for folks, and always welcome input on how it can be improved.

I have another website where I post the weekly column I wrote for a newspaper on various environmental topics. I just did an article on whether we have a responsibility to restore balance to the ecosystem after introducing native species. I talk about HOSP control in it. See link below.

May all your blues be birds!

Bet

Bet

Here is a link that might be useful: Restoring the Balance

That's a great article Bet,

Thanks for all your efforts.

Kenn