Bluebirds in Blizzard? Need Help.

17 years ago

Here, just north of Toronto we have been blessed with several bluebird families making their home at our farm over the past several years. So far this year we've only had a few decently warm days but on March 20th we spotted a male BB 'house hunting' at his usual box. By April 2nd, the female had joined him. WELL, much to our horror we awakened this morning to 6 inches of SNOW, freezing sleet and high winds....DISGUSTING! But more importantly, there are no bugs/larvae around for the poor BBs! We presume the BBs are hiding someplace (haven't seen them) but are thinking of getting some mealworms, crickets or whatever from the pet store to provide nourishment in case they do reappear in the next short while. Is this a good idea or a crazy, unnecessary one? If so, where would we put them - inside the nesting boxes? On an open feeder once the blizzard is over? Will the BBs even eat the 'freeze-dried' mealworms that are sold at the pet stores? Not sure what to do but I'm quite sure that the poor BBs didn't bank on THIS weather!!! We'd appreciate any suggestions or advice.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

donnalovesblue
17 years ago
Hi...Your blues will probably return to begin nestbuilding when the weather permits. In the meantime, you can order live mealworms. Several on the forum use NY Mealworms. My blues are currently eating the dried mealworms, but they do prefer the live ones. DO NOT place them in the nestbox.

When I began feeding mealworms, I placed them in a dish close to where I would see them perch. Soon enough, other birds discovered them as well. I ordered a mealworm feeder which is a round jailhouse style. It still allows the smaller birds in, but keeps out the bullies. The cup is in the middle. Try using a shallow dish first and even if your blues are MIA for awhile, place it where you have seem them. Hope this helps and good luck!

Donna
debutante55
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks Donna,

I checked with NY Mealworms and they won't ship to Canada. :-( However, I am investigating some other sources of live ones and am willing to start my own colony.... although that won't help for immediate use.
Just out of interest, why is putting them in the nest box such a BAD idea? I'm not questioning your advice -- just trying to learn more about this whole BB business. :-) Thanks again for your help. I'll post again to let you know if they've returned safe and sound. I don't blame them for being MIA... I would be too if I had a choice!!!
Related Discussions
Need Bluebird Help
Q
Comments (5)
when we lived at the farm we had many generations of bluebirds nest in the eaves of the farm house. they rebuilt the nests every year by themselves. we would put little bits of string and yarn and straw and nest material out in early spring. The winters are harsh and extremely cold most any vermin would have not survived the below zero temps. the blue birds left out every summer after the young fledged and we did not see them again till spring. One spring we had to take my dad to the hospital in another town. I had hatched out some baby chicks and put them in a wash tub in the laundry room with food and water as we were going to be gone over a week. When i drove in late one evening after driving all day i could hear lots of chirping and went into the back room to see 3 baby bluebirds in the tub with the chicks.
...See More
New to bluebirding...need advice
Q
Comments (4)
You can move a nestbox with eggs but you have to be very very careful...it is much easier to move a nestbox before the eggs are laid. Conduit is the easiest thing to mount a nestbox on, 3/4" or 1" is the sturdiest. I usually just have a 10ft piece and pound 4 1/2 feet into the ground but 3 feet would be plenty to have in the ground too (some have only 2ft) so you could have it cut. Get a piece of 6 or 8" stovepipe (they come in 2ft lengths) and an end cap for the stovepipe. Drill a hole in the endcap the size of the conduit and place a emt clamp on the pole where the baffle will be (I have mine about 6" or so under the nestbox) set the endcap on the clamp to hold it in place and place the stovepipe around that, attaching it to the cap. Those are from instructions that make it pretty easy...I do mine just a bit differently as I am not up on power tools. ( I clip the top of the stovepipe and fold it over the top of the cap part and use a tin snips to cut the hole in the top/cap. Oh and it should be wobbly...that is what deters the coons the most is the wobble. I then use one hole straps to attach the nestbox to the conduit. Two hole straps aren't as sturdy and won't hold the box as tight as you need it to. Good luck..hopefully you can get things moved quickly before they start laying again. My first year with bluebirds I had them nesting in a nestbox on a wooden post. First nesting went fine..nestlings fledged. Second nesting the nestlings gotten eaten by raccoons when they were 12 days old. I was so sad! After that we put up a properly mounted nestbox and then added more and I also have a small trail at a park now too. Good luck..let us know if you need any more help, especially if you end up moving things when there are eggs. Oh and check out the sparrow spooker page on sialis.org in case you have House Sparrows in the area. Also wren gaurds in case of House wrens...they aren't always needed depending on where you box is located. At my place the boxes on the west side of the house normally need guards as they are closer to the woods, on the east side I never have a wren problem as a road and an open field are there. Donna
...See More
question about Bluebirds... help
Q
Comments (3)
Hi Dana. Bless your heart. Thank you so much for wanting to help the Bluebirds by buying a house for them. :o) Unfortunately, successfully hosting Bluebirds usually involves more than just erecting a house. I think that dzyg is trying to say that it would be best for the Bluebirds if everyone who erected a Bluebird house would take a little time to research them and their nesting preferences and to learn about how to offer the safest place that can be offered to them. The sialis website offers so much valuable information. It's a wonderful place to learn all about what you will absolutely need to know. The first thing you want to do is to learn about nest box placement to be sure that yours is properly placed and also has appropriate guards in place. Once you have accomplished that, you need to know about what can go wrong and what to do about it. House Sparrows (HOSP) are not native to this country and are not protected by federal laws. Thus, it is legal to remove their nests, eggs, chicks, and to trap and kill the adults. HOSPs cause so many problems for the Bluebirds that a Bluebird host really has to deal with them swiftly and diligently, never ever allowing them to nest inside any nest box. Even if the only thing you do is to plug up the hole to prevent the HOSPs from entering the box, that is doing something good for the Bluebirds. Once a male HOSP has laid claim to a box, it is really really hard to deter him. If you close it and wait patiently though, he will eventually move on. Of course, you may miss out on a chance to have the Bluebirds nest as a result. Still, that is better than allowing the HOSP to have the box. Bluebird pairs will raise 2-3 broods per year, so you still have plenty of time. If you can deter or eliminate the HOSP, and the Bluebirds build a nest in your box, you can place a "Sparrow Spooker" onto the box to deter the HOSPs. The sialis site tells you about those, and they can be purchased or made easily at home. I hope that helps you, and please feel free to e-mail me privately if you want to.~~Angie Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis/ Advice for New Bluebirders
...See More
I have a bluebird mystery I need help with
Q
Comments (2)
After reading some of the other posts on here, it sounds like this might not be a mystery and more like a young pair. Let's hope 3rd times the charm like I read on one of the other posts. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'll provide an update as I monitor the current nest.
...See More
chinamigarden
17 years ago
Don't sweat it too much. Those blues will be fine, they will eat fruit and berries on whatever tree or bush they can find them on. I live in Michigan and we had blue birds in our area all winter. There were certainly no bugs to eat, but they did just fine.
nhblues
17 years ago
I heave heard that people put mealworms in a dish on the nestbox, but this is just in an emergency and just to get them used to being provided mealworms... them you can move them to a deck railing or something else. I, too, bought the jailhouse style round feeder because I had issues with starlings... you can read up on mealworm feeding at www.sialis.org
fairychick
17 years ago
How did they come through the blizzard?

tara
debutante55
Original Author
17 years ago
Well, the blizzard ended by Wednesday but we have a LOT of snow on the ground. Yesterday I spotted the pair of BBs scouting around their usual box. I put a shallow pan of mealworms out, sprinkled some worms on the snow and it only took them about 10 minutes to find them and 'chow down'. (I located the mealworms at a reptile supply store....Ewwwww!) The BBs seem to be healthy and none the worse for wear despite the severe snowstorm. Their 'house hunting' is continuing normally. Thank you all for your suggestions and moral support. I'm SO glad this story has a happy ending!

Bluebirds in Blizzard? Need Help.

Comments (6)

donnalovesblue

debutante55
Original Author

Related Discussions

chinamigarden

nhblues

fairychick

debutante55
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Bluebirds in Blizzard? Need Help.

Comments (6)

donnalovesblue

debutante55Original Author

Related Discussions

chinamigarden

nhblues

fairychick

debutante55Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

debutante55
Original Author

debutante55
Original Author