I have almost the same thing on one of my trails now,To give you some backround,Box"A" was up ,dees moved in and layed eggs,Then I saw a Tree swallow checking the box,so I put up Box "B" 10-15 feet away for the Tree Swallow knowing that they will nest in a paired box.Well the Tree Swallow does not show up again.The dees eggs hatch,5 nestlings.We get some wind a rain for a few days after.I monitor the dees box,only 3 nestlings,not sure what happened(bad weather or Wren) I let things be.2-3 days later only 2 chicks.About 1 week later I see a House Wren on Box "B" singing,adding sticks,I remove sticks every day for 4-5 days.The whole time the dees are defending Box "A" very good.Well today was fledge day for the dees.I go monitor the boxes from a distance,I see dees and House Wren hanging around,As I look closer I see a Tree Swallow peeking out of Box "B" and he is not budging.The Wrens are going nuts.A few hours later ,I again monitor from a distance,I do not see the dees ,today is day 16 (Fledged) for them.Now the the Wren have moved over to Box "A".The Tree Swallows remained in the entrance of Box"B" for the rest of the day,only leaving for very short times.So,Should I continue to deter the wrens,or should I expect these two to get along OK since the boxes are so close. Matt

Lisa, because the males get mates so quickly, I doubt your shooting will cause him to retaliate. Here's an interesting note about the Van Ert: If you catch the FEMALE in an active HOSP nest, try leaving her body in the box afterwards. May sound cruel, but I did this at my 2nd box site, and I caught the Male within 30 seconds of setting and leaving the trap! I walked away and a few seconds later..."SNAP!" ..."Did that seriously just happen??" The only way I caught HOSP in the ground trap (DRST) was by putting a couple live males in first that I caught with the Van Ert. It was sitting out for WEEKS not catching anything before this. I know how impatient it can make you! Keep up with the Sparrow Spookers! I have used them 2-3 seasons now and not had even ONE HOSP attack occur when used. Just remember the time frame to have it up in. With the 3 big control items: Van Ert, DRST, and Sparrow Spooker, I believe this is the best way to bring the population down. I wish they couldn't nest in evergreens! I tear out and destroy eggs and nestings from these year in and year out. It gets exhausting. ~Tim~

Not a problem and thanks Kendra and Donna. Kendra that's a good point and something that I didn't realize. I've noticed too that this Female is very friendly. I clapped from afar before checking on her eggs and she stood in the hole for a while then flew into a tree behind it. She sat there when I was at the box and watched. I got to see the fledglings again today! They are flying very well! They fledged on day 19 and they always seem to around here, regardless of whether it's early or late in the season. However their landings are the weaker side. they flutter then land. They are moving around more and showing themselves more. Also they're getting louder and easier to find. The 1st day is always a challenge to locate them...But I've witnessed them fledge AT LEAST 3 times! Got to see at least 2 - 4 take their 1st flight in these past 4-5 seasons. I still have to get 4 more conduit pipes for the boxes here at home! The main reason I am using PVC is because I started with it non-wobling and have plenty for 2 ft baffles. I just need more pipe and hose clamps. I already have the 4 PVC caps. BTW Kendra at site #2 2-3 neighbors have cats. One was at the bottom of the post one evening but I chased it off. I found 2 Robin Fledgings dead in the neighborhood. Thank goodness our blues are so good about keeping their young HIGH in the trees! What's wrong with these robins? They aren't so smart about the youngin like the blues. I've even had my blues outwit a hawk when it was in the same tree as the fledglings! Thanks for the input you two! Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods!

I enjoyed reading this tonight after a very busy weekend and want to thank you so much for sharing this. Your birding experiences are so interesting. I loved seeing the little bluebird finally make the leap in the movie and all of your photos are so incredible. Poor little mama bluebird with the hurt leg. I sure hope it heals correctly enough for her to get use from it. She is very unique in appearance and I wonder if any of her babies will look like her. Please keep us posted if you see any resemblance. The high winds have been so hard on our little birds this year.