New to bluebirding...need advice

14 years ago

Ok so I am very new to the details of bluebirding. I am really worried that I may have chased my bluebirds away! I am learning daily more of what I should and should not do. I just put up a mealworm feeding dish for my bluebirds (that have already had and fledged one brood so far). I placed it near the nest at a place on my fenceline where they like to perch. I have seen them eating them. Yesterday, I saw them rebuilding a nest in their birdhouse, as I had cleaned out the old one. I did check on their progress this morning around 9:30am to see if they had laid any eggs and then proceeded to put out a new batch of mealworms for them. I did not take long doing any of this. I did not see them at all today and it did not seem that (other than a Chameleon who ate one of the worms when I was watching) they ate any of these mealworms as they are still in the feeder. I feel badly as I know now I should not have checked the nest this morning and waited until the afternoon. Is it likely they are gone? Is is common at all to not see them for a day or so? I so hope they will be back as they were with us last year as well. I so appreciate any input as I am so concerned...I don't want them to be gone. ):

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Comments (4)

dzyg
14 years ago
Welcome!

Your checking the nestbox would not have scared them away at all. Sometimes with the second nesting it takes awhile before they complete the nest and start laying again. Sometimes it is quick though too, you just never know. If they had a successful nesting there already and they started a new nest too, I bet they will be back.

How close is the feeder to the nestbox? You really don't want it too close as it will draw other birds and critters in which isn't what you or the blues want. Since they know what it is you could move it further away if it is quite close.

Since you are new...have you been to sialis.org? It has loads of information on bluebirds and other cavity nesting birds. Make sure (if it isn't already) that you nestbox is mounted on a slick metal pole with a predator baffle and at least 15 feet away from tree/fences or anything a predator could jump from. Lots of us have had losses from improperly mounted nestboxes...we always want to make sure that nestboxes are mounted properly to protect those beautiful blues!

Good luck, hope you see the Blues soon and they finish the nest and start their second clutch!

Donna
ahbender
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you so much for your response and support. I will keep all of your helpful information in mind as I progress in this endeavor! I will also keep you posted as to what takes place with our sweet blues!!
Another question...if it is best to move my birdhouse for safety reasons can I do this without too much disruption or risk that they will "leave" and not come back? They have made a best only at this
point in time and if by the time I get what is necessary to put the house up safely and they have laid eggs can I still move them?! Thanks again for your help!!
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ahbender
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you so much for your response and support. I will keep all of your helpful information in mind as I progress in this endeavor! I will also keep you posted as to what takes place with our sweet blues!!
Another question...if it is best to move my birdhouse for safety reasons can I do this without too much disruption or risk that they will "leave" and not come back? They have made a second nest only at this
point in time and if by the time I get what is necessary to put the house up safely and they have laid eggs can I still move them?! Thanks again for your help!!
dzyg
14 years ago
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

New to bluebirding...need advice

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New to bluebirding...need advice

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dzyg

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dzyg

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