Sad,,Sad,,Day!!!

14 years ago

I had 5 beautiful Bluebird eggs in the nest yesterday about to hatch and now today they are all gone. I saw a house sparrow flying inside the house. I went out to see what was going on and that was when I saw all the eggs gone. The male and female bluebird are nowhere to be found. I have never had problems with the sparrows like this. I am so upset and mad I just wanted to get my hands on this bird and kill it. I opened the house and took the nest out. I have left the side door open for now. Someone please tell me what I can do? Will the bluebirds come back any this year? That sparrow is just a chirping out there and i can't stand to hear it right now. My little granddaughter and I was looking forward to seeing the baby blues.

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Comments (10)

bluebirdbabe
14 years ago
"I just wanted to get my hands on this bird and kill it". This is your quote.

I am sorry, but that is what you are gonna have to do it you want bluebirds. As sad as it is to lose eggs...be thankful it wasn't the adult bluebirds. The house sparrows will kill them too if they get the chance. You can protect the eggs with a sparrow spooker and you have to rid your yard of the killer sparrows. Sorry this happend to you :(

Karen
dzyg
14 years ago
So sorry this happened. The pair of Bluebirds that was there will not return to where they had a failed nesting. Karen is right, if you want to have Blues you need to get rid of the House Sparrows. Also a sparrow spooker installed after the first egg was laid could have prevented the House Sparrow from entering the box. Check out sialis.org for loads of info on properly offering nestboxes to Bluebirds and other native cavity nesting birds.

Donna
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Wow, I'm really sorry that you had to deal with that. It sounds like you definitely need to move on to the "tough love" part of parenting with her. And I totally agree with Dana about what to say to her comment about the jewelry. If she had asked and not stolen it, it would be a completely different story (not that you would have said yes, but it would have shown respect for you.) I also agree with how to handle the younger ones....they do need to understand that this is unacceptable....and that it is about what she did, not what they did! This reinforces why I have taken a hard line with my 20 y/o SD -- who stole from me last summer (over and over!). I will not allow her in my house alone because she has shown that she cannot be trusted. Yours has too and you need to show her that these are the consequences for her behavior (don't know about yours, but my SD never had any consequences for her behavior.....her mother either accepted the obvious lies from her daughter, lied to us about it, or made it excuses for her. Like you, we have another younger child watching all of this and this is an important lesson for them too -- we cannot and will not tolerate disrespect, lying, stealing, etc.....and there will be consequences for breaking the rules (not just house rules, but the rules you need to live by in our society in order to be successful and have some integrity!). Good luck.....! (does she have a key....you may want to change the locks.....)
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craftylady6
14 years ago
How heartbreaking! Sooo sorry to hear this happen! I've had my male killed and now I owe a ground trap and the Van Ert trap(this one being successful for now) I've killed like 6 of those bast@ards! I also have a spooker installed for mine as well.. Last year I just use fishing line on the roof, kept babies safe but not the male. This year the fishing line didn't keep HOSP out at all, trapped that one! These items are a must if you want to keep bluebirding.

Will the bird renest if she cleans it out thoroughly and move it?
dzyg
14 years ago
***Will the bird renest if she cleans it out thoroughly and move it? ****

Highly unlikely, they will have moved on but another pair could show up and nest.

Donna
dzyg
14 years ago
Another thought, while Blues don't readily renest in the same box that they have had a failed nesting in. They might if the box is moved to another location. Worth a try anyway.

Donna
dave_in_mo
14 years ago
I am so sorry this happened to you. If you don't have a Van Ert sparrow trap, then you need to get one ASAP! I wish you the very best of luck in getting bluebirds to nest back in your yard again.
Dave
lisa11310
14 years ago
Mr Van Ert will send one out to you right away. I believe his number is in the www.sialis.org website. I would put up a second box if you can or at least move the one you have. The web site will be of great help. Good Luck.
dtbjsb
14 years ago
How do you kill the sparrows?
craftylady6
14 years ago
DON'T ASK how the Van Erp guy kills them... oiy!! Once they are trapped, use a large mesh laundry bag over the entire birdhouse, zip it TIGHT! Open the door and the bird will fly out... keep your hand around the bag TIGHT while you take the bag off. I try to rezip the bag with the zip line, just incase I let off with my other hand. I spin the bag around a few times backwards, then quickly spin forward into the concrete. It's fast and not messy.
bet_from_ct
14 years ago
So sorry this happened....

Sometimes blues will try again in a box where there was a failure - depends on their choices.

PLEASE use sparrow spookers as soon as a bluebird egg is laid - they are EXTREMELY effective (nothing is HOSP proof).

HOSP euthanasia options can be found here: http://www.sialis.org/hospdispatch.htm. It MUST be done in the most humane manner possible.

Van Ert's website is here: http://www.vanerttraps.com/. if you call him he will ship out a trap right away

Here is a link that might be useful: sparrow spooker

Sad,,Sad,,Day!!!

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bluebirdbabe

dzyg

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