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Leaving for 3 Weeks with an active nest

17 years ago

I recently had a pair of bluebirds build a nest, wait a week or two, and finally lay eggs. I was waiting for an egg to show up so I could put a sparrow spooker up. So far there are 2 eggs in the nest, the first one being laid a few days ago.

Our entire family is leaving for vacation for 3 weeks tomorrow and I'm not sure what all I should do with the box. I am going to put up a sparrow spooker before we leave, however I'm not sure if I should also put up a Wren guard. Will it be around 4 weeks before the eggs hatch and the nestlings fledge? I am unsure whether I should put up the wren guard since it can interfere with communication during fledging. Would it be safe to also put up the wren guard without worrying about the nestlings fledging before we return?

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Comments (6)

lisa11310
17 years ago
Ken, I would suggest putting up the Wren guard if this is a pair you know will accept it, most do, AND if the box is vented well. How hot might it get when you are gone? The Wren guard actually helps with lots of things, keeps heavy rains out,hot sun in the hole and keeps screach Owls out etc. You will be back before they are ready to fledge. Don't open the box when you get back, just remove the Wren guard. You can listen to the box for activity.
anita55
17 years ago
Ken, once all the eggs are laid it will be 14 days until they hatch. Then it will be another 18 days or so until they are ready to fledge. You should be fine putting the wren guard on and the spooker. Do you have time to make sure the mother bird will accept the guard? If you do not have time to make sure she goes into the box once the guard is up I would leave it off.
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ken3592
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for your replies! We live in Pennsylvania, so the highest temperatures are around 85 degrees. I have not seen the Blues out there very much even though there are eggs in the box. I saw the male once yesterday after I checked the box and he came to investigate. Is it normal for them to rarely be at the box during hot days until the eggs are ready for incubation?
anita55
17 years ago
Ken there is no reason for them to be at the box until all the eggs are laid and the mother is ready to sit on them and keep them warm. In hot weather she will sit on them less; sometimes she will rest on the edge of the nest and just stay with the eggs even though they don't need her warmth. I have a camera in the nestbox so I have observed this. My experience has been that once they start laying the mother lays one egg each day every day until she is finished. I have never known there to be gaps between laying. Do you know exactly when the eggs were laid? There should be one new egg every day.
ken3592
Original Author
17 years ago
Unfortunately I am unsure exactly when they were laid, because I had thought the blues abandoned their nest since I hadn't seen them there for about a week. I checked the box for eggs about a week ago and saw none, then I checked yesterday and there were two eggs. I have not checked for a third egg yet today.
ken3592
Original Author
17 years ago
I just checked the box and there are now 3 eggs, hurray! I just hung up the sparrow spooker.

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