Gibby, house wrens and house sparrows are entirely different species. House sparrows are a non-native bird and are considered pests by many, thus are not protected by law. House wrens are native birds and it is illegal to tamper with their nests. I do not allow house wrens to nest in my boxes, however, because as you said they are can cause harm to the eggs and hatchlings of other cavity nesters. I remove any sticks I find in my nestboxes and, fortunately, have not come upon a completed house wren nest (or else I'd have to leave it alone). Since I monitor my nestboxes twice each week during nesting season I can usually catch early nesting attempts by wrens and stop them. You can find out more about both species at this link: www.sialis.org Kathy

I am still new at this whole protecting our bb houses, I have learned the hard way twice and now IM coming here for some great advice, which I am getting and you will also. I thought someone told me that if you clean the bb nest out after fledging to leave it open for awhile. Mama bb will be busy with her baby's. IM not really sure but I do think this was suggested to me? If not someone will set you straight soon. Congrats on the six fledglings, that is huge!! After watching video of wrens and sparrows raiding and killing bb's IM pissed and ready to rip their little heads off. (oh my) LOL good luck.

I guess the story is not over...as I said, little TUTI left at 1:55pm. At about 4:10pm, I heard a rustle in the birdless box (I left the nest there for now). The HOWR FRANTICALLY started to de-construct the nest. Grabbing nest material--fur, straw, grass, leaves--out of the hole! It was in a frenzy!!! It would grab something and almost throw itself at the hole to get the material out! If it went to grab a chunk of fur too big to take out, it pulled and pulled at it till it broke it down to a size that would go out the hole. Fast and furious. I did catch this frenzy on tape so I'll be putting that online in the next few days. I closed off the box for today. I need some rest. I can't imagine how such a little bird can do what I saw it do: peck eggs and throw them out, peck chicks and throw them out, attack almost-fledged chicks, and de-construct a HUGE TUTI nest! Blessings, Linda...

I think you did the best thing, Chris, but I must comment regarding your mentioning that bluebirds are portrayed as timid and lacking in skills to defend their territory. In the past, bluebird territory differed from that of house wrens. As someone who has been a bluebird enthusiast and monitor for many years, I must say that wrens are no longer reading the manual and are not following the rules on where they are supposed to nest! Bluebirds can and do defend themselves and their nests (Dave, you need to repost your bluebird/hosp battle photos), but house wrens are the sneakiest of birds. They are quick and can be in and out of a nestbox in a matter of seconds. BlueBars can tell you of the battle between a bluebird and a house wren inside a nestbox and I'll simply say that the wren left minus some feathers. Unfortunately, even an incubating female bluebird must leave the nestbox occasionally and that is when the wren seems to appear. House sparrows are another thing entirely. They are non-native and are extremely aggressive towards not only bluebirds but towards all other native cavity nesters. A bluebird, tree swallow, chickadee or titmouse is simply not equipped to battle a house sparrow inside a nestbox. I have witnessed the result of such attacks too many times and hope it is something you never experience. Since man, in his great wisdom, brought house sparrows to America to "help", house sparrows have wreaked havoc not only on crops they were supposed to protect (from insects), but on native bird species as well. House sparrows do not need cavities (nestboxes) to nest in but studies show that if a house sparrow is allowed to fledge from a nestbox, it will look for one when it is time for it to breed. That is why it is so important for people to monitor nestboxes when they put them up. In all my years of monitoring bluebird trails, I must say that the word timid is not a word I would associate with this beautiful, brave, determined bird. You will come to see this for yourself if you monitor your nestbox closely and let them teach you about their battle to survive. I promise that your heart will be broken now and then--Mother Nature will have her way--but you will also come to know just how precious their lives are and why we all work so hard to protect them. Kathy