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Bluebird sadness

12 years ago

About 2 or so weeks ago I was thrilled to find a bluebird nest in one of my boxes. I have 2 boxes- the other one had Tufted Titmice in it that successfully fledged.

However, I had problems with this nest of Bluebirds. I counted about 5 babies when the eggs hatched.

We left to go away last weekend, and I thought that the babies were almost ready to fledge. When we came back and I checked the box on Monday- sure enough the babies had gone. All but 1. Dad was still hanging around feeding the baby (and dive-bombing me) so I didn't think much about it- the first day.

Yesterday the baby was still there. I started getting concerned. Dad was still feeding the baby- and it looked healthy enough. I considered taking the baby out of the nestbox and placing it in one of the bushes in the woods- but then was concerned that maybe the baby wasn't strong enough to fly and then I'd put dad in danger of being found by a predator- so I left baby alone.

This morning I went to check the box. Baby was still there. Baby wasn't moving. Got a bad feeling. Went for a 30 minute walk and came back. Sure enough- baby had died last night. As I was taking the nest out of the box- I found another dead nestling. This baby was younger than the fledgling- it didn't have the same feathers as the older one (I knew the older one was ready to go b/c it looked like babies I'd seen before who had fledged)

I did a little internet research to see why the babies had died. There were some funny-looking bugs in the bottom of the box, and from what I looked up on the internet they looked like blowfly larvae. There was this red spot on the baby- it kind of looked like a blowfly that was attached to it. But from what I read also it said that you needed a lot of blowflies to harm a nest, and I saw maybe 4 total in the bottom of the box. I didn't check the nest and now I can't find it- I threw it away in the woods.

Can blowflies do that kind of damage to a nest? And if so, why did I have a couple of successful fledglings? Maybe this one was the runt and was harmed by them the most.

It wasn't a predator that got the babies. I've got a metal baffle attached to the pole the nestbox is on. I know there are HOSP's around- but I've never seen any in my backyard.

If you got this far in my post- thank you. Any kind of advice would be helpful. I did clean out the box with a bleach solution and it's drying out now, I'll make sure it's up again to see if maybe I get another pair that nest there.

cheryl

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Comments (2)

lisa11310
12 years ago
If any babies fledged it will be considered a successful nesting! If I were you I would monitor more closely. Good notes can help you determine what may have happened. Blowfly feed at night and as the other babies left they would have had only the one chick left to feed on. I'm not saying that's what happened but it is a possibility. I know we are not supposed to interfere so much but I would have tried to at least pick the baby up to be sure it was not stuck on something and examine to see if there was something obvious that was keeping it from leaving. I did have 3 TRES babies that just were not strong enough to fledge (due to loss of a parent and bad weather). It is sad but sometimes there is not anything we could have done and it's just Natures way. Good luck on the next nesting!
bandjzmom
12 years ago
Awwww.. I am sorry that this happened to your Blue babies mom. We hate it when we lose them. I am betting that it was just anemia from the Blowflies since you know that you had them in the box. Here is what the sialis site has to say about the issue.~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis/Blowflies
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Wow ten pairs with eggs?! And I feel like I hit the lottery if I get one pair a year! Good job on your part, maybe you can help me to get more pairs to choose one of our nest boxes and have successful fledglings, which has been rather hard because of so many predators that threaten them and have killed newly hatched eggs or this years issue pulling out eggs and pecking them. Anyway, Im going to start a new thread asking for help once again from all the knowledgeable blue birders here like yourself to help me have more success in our nest boxes this year. Thank you for helping so many blues nest in your boxes, I would love to see that many blue birds in one area, accept in the winter when they are all flocked together in search of food. Good for you! Gina
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Well, bluebirds are funny. Even though we build them "perfect" boxes, they will nest in strange places, and I think we all wish we could get inside their heads sometimes! Some people will either put out mealworms, sprinkle nesting material around the base of the box (usually pine needles), or even put a blue ribbon on the top (take down when bluebirds come, as it reminds the male of the wing-wave of another bird). However, despite best-laid plans, nature has a way of forging its own path. I saw a similar situation with tree swallows last summer - they chose a cheap decorative birdhouse with holes on both sides, totally odd size and layout to the house, hanging unsteadily on a branch. They built a nest and I believe had eggs, but later abandoned it (too many children around). I can still peek in and see the nest/feathers because there's no way to open it! I can only imagine how discouraging it is that your blues aren't nesting in your box, but look on the bright side: you can still see them coming and going, and since bluebirds often come back to the same vicinity next year (or even for their next brood) perhaps you can entice them to your box with some yummy mealworms. :) Best of luck!
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Thanks for this post, Ray. We have a baffle, yet this spring's first clutch of bluebird eggs disappeared. It was during a very rainy spell, and I had not checked on them for a couple of days. When I did, gone! No pieces of eggs around the house on the ground, etc. However, in 2 day's time, other animals could have eaten the eggs, so it COULD have been a starling that I later saw reaching into the box. (We now have a guard on the front to help keep the startling from reaching the babies - I hope! We now have 2-day-old nestlings.) -PLEASE ** See my post if anyone can give input for me: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5334123/m=23/remove-dead-nestling I'll check out that youtube about the wire mesh. I can't imagine the big snakes I've seen here not climbing right on/over anything stiff enough. We've been lightly spraying the pole AND baffle each evening with oil. The netting sounds good to me, except I would be afraid finches or other "clinging" birds might get caught in it. ?
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