Ok, Chicka, this is for you. About a year before we decided to get out of the Ostrich business, we decided to add to our herd with some new stock. Another bird farmer was selling some of his. We took a trailer over and bought and loaded up 2 birds. We brought them home and when hubby was unloading them into the pen, he let them escape. Usually when an ostrich gets out of a pen they won't leave the other birds, so you don't have to worry about chasing them down. Well these birds were in a strange place and around strange birds so they took off. One went one way and the other one went the other way. We chased one through a jungle of briars and bamboo thorns and then lost her in the brush. So we decided to go after the other one before she got on the highway. Well, we didn't make it. By the time we got there she was on the highway and it was at it's busiest everybody going home time. I was in the pick-up trying to head her off and keep her in the ditch so she wouldn't cause someone to get killed. People started stopping trying to help and it was getting quite a bit conjested, no one was really wanting to get anywhere near her because after all she is about 7 feet tall and fast and there's those long legs with that big ole toe nail on that big ole toe. And most of these people had only seen ostrich in zoos, pictures or on television before. But they were enjoying the show. So the highway patrol arrives. With lights a flashing. A couple of local men stop and one has a rope. He offers to lasso her if it is ok with me. I tell him to go ahead and try not to break her neck. But it that is what it takes, go ahead because we can't have her killing someone. One man gets in the back of their pickup while the other one is driving. Well here they go, he throws a couple times and misses. On the 3rd try he gets her, well the man driving stops the truck but the bird keeps going. The man on the other end of the lasso goes flying and gliding through the grass. The bird finally stops, and the guy stands up and say's "now what"?? When I said I needed something to blindfold her with so I could lead her to the house, the highway patrol officer takes off his sock for me to use. One of the bystanders asks the officer, "you are going to give her a ticket aren't you??" He said, "I would if I could figure out how to write it." Said he had been on the force for twenty years and had never seen anything like this before.. This was in Florida in July or August and the temperature was in the triple digits. The highway bird survived the exhaustion and dehydration. The one that went through the briars and stickers got her neck torn open. After we finally found her and got her back to the pen, she was too far gone. I sewed her neck up but she never got up before she died from the heat and exhaustion and we all thought we were to going to also. Glenda

Very interesting behavior for the Wren. I have several bluebird houses and for some reason, they always choose one that is not meant for bluebirds! this year the male is guarding 2 that are identical and never meant for nests in the first place -ornamental. My husband had to put a door on the back of both so we could clean them out when the birds are done. The Wrens, Titmice and Black capped Chicadees all checked them out before the blue birds laid claim. Now Mr Blue Bird has appointed himself as backyard garden patrol and no other birds are allowed near those houses. He is as aggressive as some Mockingbirds I have seen. Here is a link that might be useful: Garden tips, birding, plant and art articles

Hi Kathleen- I'll address you since the other posts are old. I am so very sorry that you have experienced this. Did you read what the responses were to the older post of one that lost a bluebird on the nest? I would just repeat everything that they said. If absolutely no sign of injury, I would suspect lawn pesticides, but considering what happened to the 1st person that posted & didn't see signs of injury on her bluebird, it did turn out to be house sparrows. I would highly suspect this. Do you think the female is dead too? If so, again I would be suspicious of HOSP. Answering your question, the male would not starve himself, nor is he able to brood eggs. If the female died too, the eggs wouldn't have hatched because the female is the one to incubate the eggs. She has a brooding patch on her lower abdomen that the male doesn't have. If she is alive, she may not be returning to nest because of the failed nest situation, especially if there was foul play. Make sure you know that she is not returning before removing the nest & eggs. If she is alive, she will probably try to find a new mate. Without repeating too much, make sure your birdhouse is on a pole with a baffle & put a sparrow spooker up after the 1st egg. If you know for sure that the nest has been abandoned & you don't get any activity, you may want to change the location of the box (birdhouse). If you immediately get a house sparrow setting up shop, then you'll know that was most likely the culprit. Again, if female is not returning, now would be the time to get a Van Ert trap for your house to trap the male & female HOSP. If you do, make sure you are monitoring every hour if possible so you don't trap a native bird. They can die in there if without food for too long. One of the previous posts left a website for the Van Ert trap. Again, the previous posts left great advice for your situation. This site is not as active as it used to be for bluebirders, so you may want to post to bluebirdnut.com. Lots of bluebird experts are on that site like this one used to have. That's where I go whenever I need advice. BTW, I lived in Atlanta for ten years (live in AL now). Very sorry to hear about your bluebird tragedy. Hope you'll have another pair come for a future nesting, but definitely get that sparrow spooker!

Sounds like you really have some challenges. You have my sympathies! A tiny poked hole is more likely a house wren's thin sharp beak, sometimes taking them some distance away, or simply tossing them out. The house sparrow will toss the eggs out, but their finch-like beak would not as likely make a tiny poke hole. And the HOSP is more likely to stick around, harass, or even take over the cavity. "Do BB's destroy their own eggs" ... No "the nest possibly could have been flooded?" ... are there leaks that could be fixed? "Are the HOSP really sneaky" ... yes, but HOWR are sneakier ... "and resistant to the Sparrow Spooker?" ... yes, and house wrens will not be deterred by a sparrow spooker. House Wrens are even sneakier, faster and silent, leaving no evidence behind, only destroying eggs or young. You might hear them singing, but might never, ever see them! There are some links to sound files of house wren song and chatter on Bet's web pages, so you can learn to hear the unwelcome sounds of house wrens. Visit Bet's web page for more info. And by the way, the Carolina Wren is a very different bird, welcome almost anywhere; not a threat to other birds. BlueBars Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sialis.org/index.html