You removed a Chickadee nest?? Why on earth would you remove a Chickadee nest?? They are very low on the totem pole as far as successful nestings since they cannot fight off larger cavity nesters, plus they usually only have one brood per season so they need all the help they can get. I LOVE Dees! I have had them nesting here for the last three years and I would never never remove one of their nests!! I protect them as much as I could and if a Blue pair wanted the box that a Dee already had then I would put a hole reducer on the box so the Blues couldn't have it! I have tons of TRES that take all the boxes around here but I haven't removed any of their nests either, just keep hoping the Blues find an empty box and nest. The Blues around here are always the last to start nesting so they get what is left pretty much of the nestboxes. I have one pair of Blues, one pair of Dees and six pairs of TRES all nesting right now.

Blues love mealworms but as far as getting them to stay in your yard and nest, there is no guarantee. The male finds the nesting sites but the female needs to approve of it. She makes the final pic. If she likes the nestbox she will stay...if they found something better elsewhere they will go there. Alot depends on the availability of nestboxes around your area. If they have lots to choose from they could go anywhere but if there aren't alot of spots for them to choose from then maybe they will choose your yard. However if you aren't prepared to let other native cavity nesters use the nestboxes you put up then you shouldn't be offering nestboxes.

Oh and hopefully all your nestboxes are mounted on slick metal poles (conduit works best) with predator baffles and at least 15 feet away from trees or fences.

Donna

Hi Kim. There is a lot to learn about hosting nestboxes and as Donna says there are birds other than the Blues that use them too. It is our duty to protect whatever bird is nesting in our boxes. (the exceptions are of course HOSPs and I don't let House Wrens build). Here is a website that will help you learn about how to offer safe housing for cavity nesting birds. www.sialis.org

Hi there Kim! Thanks for providing housing for the Bluebirds and caring about their success. There is not any magical way to get them to come into or choose to nest in your yard. You are just blessed if they do. :o) Having said that, you are doing what you can by providing 3 boxes. Get them as far apart as you can. It's said that 2 pairs of nesting Blues need about 100 yards in between their boxes. I have seen them nest closer, but that is the exception rather than the rule I guess. Not sure where you live or which other cavity nesters visit your yard, but there are many native cavity nesters that are a delight to host, and they need our help too. You might get Chickadees, Nuthatches, Tree Swallows, or even Great Crested Flycatchers! They are all HUGE blessings. Just don't let the House Sparrows claim a box. You already knew that. House Wrens are native songbirds and destruction of an ACTIVE nest is illegal, but they do cause a lot of problems for other native cavity nesters, so we tend to discouage them by removing their sticks as soon as they put them into the boxes. They are able to successfully nest in places other than our boxes. Good luck, and do keep us posted. Like Lisa said, the sialis site is chock full of wonderful info if you have not already checked it out.~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: sialis

I too remove wren sticks, on a daily basis after work, from a new box that I bought to hopefully attract chickadees. I figure it keeps her busy and she does not go in my back yard to bother the nest of bluebird eggs, so I let her build until I can get home and remove the sticks.

I have had wrens in a birdhouse in my front yard for over 20 years (before I had bluebirds), and they are not there this year. So strange. Lo and behold a chickdee has been there for the past two weeks. I'm so excited; I have never had chickadees nest in my yard before! What a great year ... bluebirds and chickadees both.

My best years are when I have Blues, TRES and DEES. That makes me a happy camper!

Meeeeeee tooooo Lisa, except that I would adore adding Purple Martins to that list. :o)

Sounds marvelous to me. So far I have Blues and TRES nesting. You think that would be enough for me, but I'm a bit of a "bird hog", and would love to have BCCH and PUMA as well. I play the "Dawn Song" every day, and the only thing it seems to attract are the Chimney Swifts, which of course, don't stop to perch or nest in PUMA housing. I love those too, but building a chimney would be a tad pricey.

Hey Kendra, I get the Swifts in too with my PUMA music CD's. Have you seen those Chimney Swift towers that people build for them to nest in? Check out the link, and there are directions there for tower construction. :o) I have also gotten the TRES into my yard with the PUMA CD's. So, even though I don't yet have nesting PUMA's, the housing and the music has drawn in other birds.~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: Chimney Swifts