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2 hosp pairs hanging around bb box

loisthegardener_nc7b

13 years ago

A pair of BBs just recently fledged their family and left the box empty, so I cleaned out the nest material. The minute I did that, it seemed, 2 pairs of HOSP started landing on and hanging around the box. So I installed an inbox trap and soon afterwards, saw it had been sprung - by a female bluebird, probably wanting to start the next family. I released her, but now I dont know what to do about the box. I would love to nab me some HOSP, but I don't want to catch the BB by mistake again and can't be around to monitor the box for the next few days. So for now, I just left the inhouse trap sprung so the HOSP can look in but not get into the box. How I hate those HOSP... They were peering in at the BB while she was trapped like they would have loved to kill her, as I suppose they would have if they could get in.

Should I just let the HOSP start a nest then nab them? I am just afraid to catch the BB again.

Another strange thing about this box was that when I cleaned it out, I found a wren had started a nest, then died there and the BB had built her nest right on top of the corpse. I never heard of BBs doing that, only HOSP. And I wonder what killed the wren? My best guess is that some HOSP killed the wren and then the BB were able to drive off the HOSP. I wonder if we are breeding Super BB that can hold their own against the HOSP? Wouldn't that be great?

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Comments (3)

mulchmamma
13 years ago
A 1 1/2" hole will allow BB entry into a trapped box, a 1 3/8" won't. So you have to put a reducer on your trap box to prevent trapping the blues.

The HOWR likely got in the way of the HOSP and lost out. Gee, that is just soooo sad. NOT.
craftylady6
13 years ago
I had a lady blue get trapped in a HOSP trap house too. They were already nesting with one egg in another house so I didn't think it was a problem. After I released her, I beleive she left my area. My male called and called for three days. I don't think your lady blue will go back there. I THINK another female showed up and did some building on their nest with one egg. That egg disappeared after a few days of her reworking the nest? Now she has four new eggs and is incubating.

I like the hole reducing idea.. will get one for my trap house so this doesn't happen again.
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If you leave the female she will draw in many male HOSP that will probably kill the bluebirds remove her! She may take off too. which would be in her best interest.
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Wonderwiskers, I have two nestbox pairs here at home and they've been paired for at least 3 years. For the first time, we also have TWO pairs! My guess is the distance is AT LEAST 100 yards, though it can seem smaller. They are aligned facing all the same way but they're offset a tiny bit and trees cut off some of the view. I heard singing between the two pairs, and one box has egg laying going and the other one the pair just finished their nest. Only 1 other season did I have two pairs, however it was at another trail I monitor. I also have Tree Swallows which nest in the nestbox pairs. The boxes are 20 ft from each other. We'll see how this plays out, but so far I haven't witnessed any fights. Just heard loud singing, likely calling their territories out to each other. Good luck! ~Tim NE OHIO
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About a month ago, Bluesman posted on the Bird watching forum about a type of entrance hole that allows Tree Swallows to enter, but not HOSP. He said - "There is a House Sparrow resistent entrance to keep them out of Tree Swallow houses but unfortunately Bluebirds cannot get in this. It works great for Tree Swallows though. I will see if I can post a picture of it. I first heard of it from a man in Canada named Bernie Nikolai. It is simply a 7\8 of an inch tall slot that is about two inches wide. It is in a thin plate around 1\8 inch thick. The House Sparrow cannot enter this but the Tree Swallows being more streamlined and slender bodied can flatten out and get right in. It works so good." The link below is the whole thread. Here is a link that might be useful: Male Purple Martin Using My Clinger Entrance Video!
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Comments (11)
I put up a Martin house a few years ago, and it is indeed a HOSP magnet. You can trap in the Martin box. I do it all the time. I don't know what kind of house you have, but there are multiple traps available for different units. I built a T-14, so could not use a trap that would just close off the entry, or the sparrows would escape when I opened the door. You can buy little wire traps which you insert into the compartment. When triggered, you can just remove the whole trap with the sparrow inside. I built one that fits my unit. I just used hardware cloth to make a box that would fit into the compartments. Then I put a plywood front on it (make the opening big enough for a sparrow, but too small for a Purple Martin)Then I used wire which holds up a small piece of metal that will fall over the hole when the sparrow step on the trigger. I got the idea from the Huber trap you can make for Bluebird boxes Huber trap directions I've never had a Martin (yet) but it works extremely well as a HOSP trap. If you wait until they start to nest, which doesn't take long at all, you can add some of their nesting material into the trap and they can't resist going in. Hope this helps.
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duckwatcher
13 years ago
Craftylady,
Sorry to hear the first female abandoned ship, but glad to hear another female came in soon after and took her place. Wishing you a successful nesting :)

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