Spooker did not Spook!

newblue_2007

17 years ago

We have a sparrow spooker, baffle for our nest box. There has never been a death or loss of eggs for the past 3 years..UNTIL today!

I could not believe what I saw this morning! A HOSP hanging out of the box! My heart sank and I ran out to see what happened! Praying that our female was safe!

We had 3 eggs. One little half of a egg was on the grass. There was a tiny remaining yolk in the nest.

I don't know what has happened to the remaining eggs.

I did remove the nest and wiped down the box.

Im curious........for our forum..........

Do you have a spooker up and have lost to a HOSP?

Thank Vanessa and Mad as hell bluebird's!

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Comments (11)

lisa11310
17 years ago
Was Mom ok? Eggs are sad to lose but not nearly as sad as an adult bird or a nestling. I can't help you with the spooker question.
bbcathy
17 years ago
Thank Goodness the female is OK. I lost a male and whole nest of eggs my first year to hosps (no spooker) Did you make it yourself or buy it? Do the strips brush the top of the roof? Maybe you could post a pic so we could see if it looks OK. I do know one person who had this happen and it was Dave Kineer. You know the guy with the great photos. He was lucky though and he did not lose any adults or eggs. (I think) He then dispatched the hosp. I think he caught him with the Van Ert.
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HOSP love white feathers. Perhaps you could put a few white craft feathers into the box that the HOSP seems interested in, then set the VanErt. Also, make sure to check it often in case one of the Blues does decide to enter that box. Since it is winter, the HOSP may be using that box as a night roost. What has worked for me is to set the VanErt trap before dark, and I've usually caught him by morning. I think I would move the mealworm feeder further away from the nest boxes so the Blues will get used to its new location by spring. My mealworm feeder is probably at least 300 feet from the nest boxes out back, and the Blues have no trouble accessing it when nesting time comes.
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kendra2003
17 years ago
So sorry for what has happened. I have not had a HOSP go into or near my box with the spooker up this year. But last year I had the monofilament up and the HOSP just ignored it. Maybe different things work on different birds?
griffin_MD
17 years ago
Last summer I did have one instance where a spooker failed. It was fledging day for a nest of 6 baby blues and I suppose the excitement surrounding the babies was stronger than the fear this particular male house sparrow had of the spooker. 5 of the babies fledged successfully but the 6th, a little female, was pecked and later died. The house sparrow did not live long after this and I was absolutely devastated by the loss of this little girl but was grateful that the other 5 survived--and no adults were lost. I use the spooker kits made by Uncle Blaine and find them to be extremely easy to install, plus they are very effective. In the 3 or so years I've been using them, this is the only instance where there has been failure. Since I monitor 35+ nestboxes, I add a kit or 2 to my stock each year though I don't routinely use them at the parks--I have enough instances of vandalism without drawing attention to the nestboxes! I use them faithfully on my school trail and here at the house.
Kathy
bigmatt
17 years ago
A friend of mine lost a nest of 5 eggs to a HOSP ,with a spooker up last season.He was so devastated that he removed his boxes all together.He gave that box to me ,it is now my HOSP trap box in my yard.It is rare for one to go by a spooker ,but it does happen.If it is a cloudy day ,I don't believe it is as effective as a sunny day.We try to protect our Blues as much as possible,but there is always that one HOSP out there willing to go the extra mile.I have had good luck with the fishing line in the past,but not this year.I put it on before the nesting begins,then add the spooker after the first egg.I have had lots of trouble with HOSP this year,I lost a adult Chickadee a few weeks ago from a HOSP,the very same day I was going to install the reducer,I was too late.

Matt
rxblue
17 years ago
I have never lost anything with a spooker up. But Matt, that is a great observation. The spooker may not be as intimidating on a cloudy day. No sunlight to reflect off of it. We have had a lot of cloudy days here lately, but so far everything is O.K. I will always keep that in mind on cloudy days.

Phil
dzyg
17 years ago
So sorry the spooker failed! What does your spooker look like? Could you post a pic like cathy suggested to make sure the spooker was properly installed and to prevent any other loss if others have the same setup. So far I haven't lost any Blues with a spooker up either, hopefully I never do.

Donna
newblue_2007
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for some of the responses. I really appreciate the input!

There is one thing that has to been done to spookers that we did not do! CHANGE the mylar tape! We never have and the tape was dull! Big Matt had me thinking about the cloudy days..and yes being that the tape was dull and not as shiny and the cloudy days we are having...both of these most likely contributed to the HOSP entering our box!

Our male is back on top of the box wing waving and the female is already peeking in! Good news!

Donna we have the famous Blaine spooker..you had asked me about what we were using. Our set-up is correct..but the mylar tape needed replacing. Thank you for your question and your help.

Thanks again for all your concern. The help on this forum is always great and useful!

Vanessa
dzyg
17 years ago
Interesting about the mylar tap becoming duller. I bought several bike streamers years ago in the $1 section at Target as they had the real thick shiney strands of mylar or whatever they are. I used them and even after three years they are still shiney. I just have to replace the duct tape attaching them to the dowels. Our spookers are homemade with wooden dowels but look just like the spookers you can buy now.

Hope your Blues can start a new nest and at least you know why the HOSP wasn't scared away. Praying you won't have that problem again!

Donna
newblue_2007
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you Donna for your response.
Today I put the new tape against the old....and one side is more dull than the other...but it's 3 years old...and we need to change it out. Good idea about the bike streamers!
dodgerblue
17 years ago
I use the coleman thermal blanket and cut my own strips. Have not had a problem. The stuff is light weight so I double and triple it up and staple it together and that adds weight. It stays shiny a long time...Real shiny. Sorry you had trouble.

Spooker did not Spook!

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Spooker did not Spook!

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