skip to main content

howr

18 years ago

What am I to do? HOWR killed all five of my eggs last month and it won't let my BB box alone. Momma and Poppa Blue are still around. Fly in and out of box, hang around the yard but are not re-building.

HOWR has two boxes of it's own.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

anita55
18 years ago
I would clean out all the boxes and close them up for the season. Sorry but I think it's better not to let them nest than to lose them to wrens.

Anita
bluebars
18 years ago
That would discourage me too. House wrens are not good neighbors. They will pierce eggs and/or remove them, and toss young from the nest to die, as well as filling all nearby cavities with dummy nests to prevent competition.
If the bluebirds are outnumbered, inexperienced, or just happen to be away at the moment, their nests and young are often doomed.
Are you intentionally hosting house wrens? If so, then don't endanger the others. Either take the extra boxes down, or use hole reducers so that bluebirds cannot enter and be tempted into nesting with a false sense of security, and wasting precious time and energy only to have their young killed. Then, you can at least hope that the bluebirds can find safe accommodations elsewhere. They DO have time for another nesting!
Or, perhaps you could find a more suitable location for bluebird nestboxes, well away from the HOWR territory. Bet describes HOWR territory on her website linked below.
Bluebars

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sialis.org/wrens.htm
Related Discussions
Your 'Discount Bulbs' Status Report- How're they doing?
Q
Comments (9)
They certainly weren't discounted but out of 12 "Woodstock" Hyacinth only ONE came out advertised Maroon color. Out of 6 "City of Haarlem" none were advertised pale Yellow color. Disappointed with "color combo" plans gone amiss but more than overcome with their fragrance. Those purple tulips are gorgeous. ****What is that red foliage among the pink tulips??? Looks beautiful together. Does it spread enough to cover dying tulip foliage or do you overplant with annuals? Your plantings are so orderly and well plannned. I love it. Rjinga...don't you have any deer or rabbits who get at your flowers? Most of my tulips went into containers. Ones I planted in ground got the heck sprayed out of them with critter repellants. None were eaten but most of tulips in ground haven't bloomed yet. My late season discount impulse purchases have been about half bloomers. Don't know if I should toss ones that didn't bloom or hope for next year. Don't think it's worth saving them since don't even know what color or form they are and won't leave in garden since I already have misplaced bulb plantings! Guess I could plant them in some out of the way place and take what comes. A surprise flower or two in an unexpected place out back would be a welcome sight next spring. Amazing what one doesn't know with first year attempts even after reading what I could. Procrastination is not a gardener's friend...planning is.
...See More
HOWR don't follow the rules
Q
Comments (4)
Nope, they haven't put any sticks into the box I put up for them. The only reason I'm reluctant to close off the Martin house is because as long as they're busy stuffing sticks into every compartment there, they seem to be leaving the birds nesting in single houses alone. I don't want them messing with the EABL or the TRES. The Blues are safe for now because the young began fledging today. But they will build another nest (they are already defending a second box), and the TRES have not even begun laying yet. This just surprises me because it is in the most open area which HOWR are not supposed to like. Oh well.
...See More
For those who hate HOWR
Q
Comments (39)
Matt, I can't tell you how surprised I am to hear that about the inoculation (in bluebirds) not being necessary. I've been told by two songbird rehabbers that it has to be done. A friend of mine was rehabbing in Florida a few years ago and someone brought her a female bluebird who had been attacked by a cat. She noticed a patch on the female and asked the people to go back to the nest box and look for eggs. Sure enough, there were two eggs and they brought them to my friend. I saw video of that poor momma blue sitting on those eggs up until the time she died of her injuries. My friend had an incubator and decided she would try incubating the eggs to see if they would hatch. They did! They lived about 12 hours. She spoke to several different rehabbers around the county (including the one in my area) during that 12 hour period and was told that there was no way she could save the babies because their gut had not been inoculated by a female bluebird. This woman had cared for several newly hatched baby bird that did survive, these two bluebirds being the only exception. I don't mean to infer that she didn't loose some of the birds she rehabbed (mostly due to injuries) but these were the only two newly hatched babies that she lost. As far as licensed rehabbing, my hat is off to anyone who does it. It is expensive beyond belief and totally time consuming, especially during nesting season. My rehabber is taking 3 to 5 years off to get a business started but she still attends classes and conventions and keeps her license current. She told me that when she was rehabbing full time that she couldn't even think of taking a vacation or long weekend from early March till the end of August. My friend in Florida quit after about a year and a half because she was emotionally drained and BROKE! Karen, I don't have TRES here but thought I'd read that a flock will pick up a stray and teach it how to survive.
...See More
howr takes out 1st egg...here we go again
Q
Comments (2)
Wow sorry Linda, I hear your pain. We have HOWR here every summer and we did lose 1 egg (of four) in July 2007. But I don't think our wren situation is as difficult as yours seems to be. We see them nearby occasionally, and often hear them not too far away. But we chase them off if/when any come on our property. And our parent Blues (Missy & Mr.B) both discourage them ferociously if they ever come near Missy's box. This pair has successfully fledged 41 baby blues in the past 3 seasons (8 completed nests with a 9th underway), without a single loss of either egg or chick to the wrens. We've made our decision not to use a wren guard for reasons we are comfortable with. And frankly we've heard just too many accounts of HOWR destroying nests in boxes that had wren guards installed. We know that many bird lovers willingly allow and even encourage House Wrens to nest and breed, and this can lead to their forcing many other songbirds out of a habitat completely. (The same could be said of the House Sparrows). So, I'm not sure how to offer you specific advice or comfort. I fear it will be up to you and your Bluebirds to overcome your local HOWR problem. Best luck to you and your birds, Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: Kenn & Temple's Bluebirds
...See More
kvirginia
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you for your replies.

So are you saying that I should NOT have houses up for the wrens if I want to keep my BB's. I thought if howrs had their own houses they would leave the BB alone. I will remove the howr houses immediately if so. I have had this pair of BB for 3 yrs and they lived along side the howrs with no problem in the past. Thanks again!
mulchmamma
18 years ago
I do not allow the HOWRS to nest in any of my boxes and all of those cute houses I used to have for the wrens have been taken down. You could leave them up if you plugged up the entry holes.

To me, they are worse than HOSPS.

In a wooded fringe, the HOWRS multiply fast-it's only a matter of time before they cause problems, so it's best not to encourage or tolerate their nesting.
bluebars
18 years ago
If the HOWR currently have active nests (eggs or young), it would be illegal to harm them or the adults. And I hope you don't think they will simply leave even if you do.
As the HOWR population increases, their predation increases as their offspring claim new territories.
Did you visit the link I provided above? There is a lot of valuable information there.
Bluebirds CAN learn to compete with HOWR, but often at great cost. Even so, they cannot be there every moment to protect their eggs and young; a HOWR can visit in silence and do their dirty deed in the blink of an eye, wiping out an entire brood of another cavity nester; bluebirds, even other wrens. In the case of chickadees, tree swallows, etc. they may only nest once a season, so they would have no offspring that year.
Some people absolutely love house wrens, but HOWR are not the best bird neighbors.
BlueBars
linda_1111
18 years ago
What about wren guards? I bought one a few years ago when someone here suggested it, but haven't ever had to use it. That could happen this year though, as they (howr) seem more plentiful than usual.
janie_may
18 years ago
I was successful with a wren guard, protecting 5 BHNU nestlings, but I think it was probably successful because the HOWR had not found that box before the wren guard was added. From what I've read, once they find the entrance hole it's hard to keep them from entering the box, even with a wren guard.

I agree, I think they are worse than HOSP. You can offer them as many boxes as you have room for and they'll fill every one with sticks and still want the boxes that bluebirds, chickadees or nuthatches have chosen. If I could not protect the species that I want to host, I would remove my boxes. No way I want to find eggs or babies tossed on the ground due to their dirty work.
crcst
18 years ago
I could not agree more.HOWR are way worse than HOSP.I would take my boxes down before letting them nest even once.Knock on wood,I have not had a problem yet this year.I have used a wren guard in the past,and put it up as soon as I hear that song.To me it's like fingernails on a chalk board.uggghh....on a better note,I have 4 new eggs in a second nesting and Mom and Dad are bringing the first babies to the mealworm feeder.They have to compete with the orioles.The blues are very polite,they sit on the branch and wait patiently for the oriole to leave.Very entertaining....Jane
imabirdnut
18 years ago
Where is info on a wren guard? Can you buy them or make them? I read the info on sialis.org but didn't understand the instructions. Does anyone have a picture of a guard? I have had both Carolina wrens & Bewick's wrens but so far no house wrens! It sounds like that is a fortunate thing!!! I enjoy the little Bewick's wrens & they seem to be very happy with the smaller gourds I hang in my trees.
renee_2006
18 years ago
I think it is ONLY the House Wrens that cause the problems. My understand is that Carolina and Bewick Wrens are no threat to any other bird's eggs or offspring.
janie_may
18 years ago
"Ima" both CAWR and BEWR are safe around other nesting birds.

Here are plans for making a wren guard. This one is a bit fancier than mine which I made from a Cheerio's box. :-)

If you haven't seen this website (Sialis) check out the other sections, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wren guard

Related Stories

MOST POPULAR Photo Flip: 50 Showers That Create a Splash

By Bryan Anthony

Find fresh inspiration in these bathrooms with mosaic and large-format tiles, pebble flooring and more

Sponsored