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HELP!!!House Wren in Bluebird Box

14 years ago

Everything was going great until a House Wren decided to go into the Bluebird Box.It was sitting on the nest,which didn't have any eggs laid yet,but only for a few minutes.We have a Nanny Cam and We were watching so We immediately went to the nest box and chased the Wren out.Hubby said he had a good squeeze on it but it got away.My main question is...Will the Blues come back and use that same nest now that the Wren was in there sitting on the nest? Can the Blues smell,or some other way tell that the wren was there? What should I do? Thanks for your help!!!

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Comments (2)

dzyg
14 years ago
The Bluebirds will not be able to smell the wren, they won't know it was there unless they see it there. You are lucky there weren't any eggs or new hatchlings yet. As soon as your Momma Blue lays that first egg I would get a wren guard up as soon as possible, check out the other posts here about wrens and you will see some pics of what it looks like. Sialis.org has info on them too. A wren guard may not work now that the wren knows the hole is there but it is worth it to try. Good luck. I think I have heard a wren at the neighbors the past few days but not positive, so far haven't heard anything here though.

Donna
lisa11310
14 years ago
Donna is right the guard may not work since the Wren knows it's there. One other thought is (when the first egg is laid) to turn the box 1/4 turn, you will have to watch to be sure mom finds the hole and not the Wren. As soon as Mom finds it put the guard up making sure there are sides on the guard so the hole can not be seen from the top of the box. Again make sure Mom finds it. Last ditch effort would be to move the box entirley in plain view of the Blues. If none of this is successful the worst that will happen is you will lose the eggs and the Blues will nest again. Also get a high powered water gun and attack the Wren whenever you see it near the box. Good Luck!
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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
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WBNU is the abbreviation for the white breasted nuthatch, so I assume it'd be BHNU for brown-headed nuthatch. TUTIs are wonderful tenants and parents. Last year I had a pair in a bluebird box where the brood was almost wiped out by HOWR (house wrens). There were 6 eggs and the day before they would have hatched, I found all of the eggs on the ground below the nest box pecked to varying degrees. I put the least damaged egg back in and it hatched. I had a nest box camera and saw that the female nuthatch RARELY left the chick alone and stayed with it every night of its life. I don't know if that's normal or it was this female's reaction to having only one chick. In any case, they are a delight. Hope you have a nest of them someday. Bluebird blessings, Linda...
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House wrens are only a threat to Bluebird eggs and new hatchlings until they are about 6 days old, after that the wren can no longer pick them up and throw them from the nest which is what a wren will do to baby birds. If you had almost fully grown babies killed in the nest it was probably due to House Sparrows, the wren maybe came afterwards and filled the house with sticks. If you have wrens in the area once the Bluebird lays the first egg you can install a wren guard, but you would need to watch closely to make sure the Blues accept it, some don't. A wren guard is made of cardboard and comes down off the front of the nestbox and down to conceal the hole of the box from the frontal view, sides can be added to prevent a wren on the top of the nestbox looking down over and stills seeing the hole. Info on this is on the sialis.org site. Also to prevent House Sparrow attacks you can add a sparrow spooker to the nestbox once the first egg is laid, it is to be taken down right after fledging. This info is also on the sialis site. Good luck! Donna
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