That's pretty funny. Is the box a normal bluebird box? And by the side panel hanging open do you mean the entire side of the box is hanging open? I would atleast continue cleaning the box out after each nesting. Mealworms definitely should not scare away the blues, they love them! Just don't put the mealworms too close to the nestbox; you have to train them away from it to keep bully birds away from the nest. Once you get the Blues hooked to the mealworms, they should be encouraged to come back! Good luck!

Ken

Welcome to the forum! First of all, you need to go to Sialis.org for a wealth of info on bluebirding. Anyone wanting to host the blues and other cavity nesters should read up on how to be a responsible landlord.

Though the blues have nested in that box, obviously successfully, it is not a safe place for the box. Blues like open spaces with nearby shrubs and trees and the box should be placed on a metal pole with a predator baffle.

As soon as the babies fledge, I always remove the nest and clean out the box by hosing it out and scrubing the inside. I leave the door open for a day to allow it to dry. I am not an expert...it's just my 2nd year to have nesting blues, but this forum and Sialis are wonderful tools!

Ken is right about the mealworms...they love them! You can start by placing a dish where you see them perch. It won't hurt to place it close to a box, then once they find it, gradually begin to move it a little further away...they will follow those mealies! Too, you might want to consider purchasing a mealworm feeder. Mine is a round cage style with a blue dish in the middle and of course, a top. This will allow the smaller birds to enter but will keep out the larger birds. I ordered mine from the Bluebird Nut Cafe. Good luck!

Donna

You know, it is funny. Yes, they are nesting in a normal bb house, only the side panel is hanging wide open. They enter and leave through the side panel and don't use that little hole. This is how they have always done this. This tree is home to a ton of birds, specifically about 30 humming birds and a woodpecker as well as being a perch for the piles of yellow finches that come to eat. On top of that, the house is on a tree that is inside our fence. I have two small children who spend a lot of time outside running by, and two 50+ pound labrador dogs that run around in the yard. The pair of bb's seems very happy with the accomodations. They are busy nesting away. I doubt that they are in any real trouble from predators. It has never been a problem before. I am going to try a feeder if they stick around. Thanks for the advice about putting it where they seem to perch when they fly away from the nest. I'll put it near our fence.

Nancy

Because you said you were a novice at birding, are you sure these are Bluebirds and not Indigo Buntings? I know when people are new to this they may see any blue colored bird as a Bluebird.

**I doubt that they are in any real trouble from predators. It has never been a problem before.**

But they are, squirrels and raccoons can easily get into that nest and eat the eggs or babies. I would not be content leaving it as is even if it has been ok previously. You can listen or not to the advice given but I am sure you will regret not moving it to a proper baffled pole when something does get into the nest.

Donna

What? Squirrels eat the babies?? I did not know that.. I thought squirrels were vegetarians!

Well I just kinda lumped the squirrel and the raccoon together, the squirrel will eat the eggs, not sure about the babies but I know chipmunks eat mealworms and who knows what a squirrel would do if it reached in and grabbed a newly hatched baby.

Donna

What size is the hole? If it is smaller than 1&1/2 inches they would not be able to get in. There is nothing safe about what you are doing. Please consider taking the advise you have been given to protect your blues....it is just a matter of time before disaster strikes. You wont feel very good when you have dead birds or babies knowing you could have prevented it.

I am sure that they are not indigo buntings. I love that bird, as well. It is a beautiful one, but these are definitely blue birds. I will watch what happens this summer with the nesting and think about what you guys have said. But, the last time I tried touching the house, our birds did not return for two years. I will watch and think about what you guys have suggested.

A cardinal just flew into the tree, and the daddy blue flew past him and to the fence to coax him away. It is fun to watch the two bb's take care of each other. They are certainly a happy little pair. It is humorous that they are happy with all the other birds that hang out in that tree (30 or so humming birds, a woodpecker, lots of finches) but not with one cardinal who did not act the least bit interested in them. I know cardinals can be agressive, so I guess that they are not happy for that reason.

Nancy...as nicely as I can put it, you can think about it all you want....when they ared dead they are dead. Once there is an egg they will not abandon the nest..HOWEVER if the nest fails they may not return. Close the box, get a spooker and a Wren guard on. You should really remove it from the tree but you unwillingness to listen tells me you wont. We see it every year, someone comes in asking for help, ignors what we say then post later about "WHAT HAPPENED? They were fine yesterday and now they are gone" or worse yet "What killed my Moma Blue"? You so enjoy watching them....why do you put them at risk? Do you know..Blue Jays, Starlings, Cowbirds,Crows, Chipmunks,Racoons, Snakes,Ants, Wasps, Wrens, House Sparrows and even some Woodpeckers (just to name a few)are a threat to your eggs and babies. 90% of these fatalities can be avioded with a proper set up.

Yeah the first year I was told to move my houses off a wooden post I only thought about it too. First nesting was fine then they moved to another house on a post, the babies were eaten by raccoons 5 days from fledging. We then put up a properly mounted box (demolished the old post mounted ones) and the adults (thank God the mom wasn't killed) went on to renest.

Now another true story just this past weekend. My friend called me to ask me about where to get a good bluebird house as her mom had a pair of bluebirds nesting in a house and wanted to put up another one. My dh makes my houses but I had just seen a really nice one at the store so I told her about it. I also told her to make sure they mount it on a metal pole like conduit. She was like "Oh, why is that?" I asked where the one her mom had now as and she told me mounted on a tree. I explained to her how raccoons, squirrels or cats could all climb up and kill/eat the babies, eat the eggs and or adult female. So she said she would pass the info on to her mom. I asked her just this morning how her mom liked her birdhouse and she told me that a raccoon tore the current nestbox down and ate the babies. Her mom now knows NOT to mount a nestbox on a tree or post, only safe place is a slick metal pole with a predator baffle.

Please listen to the advice given and put up a safe nestbox for your Blues instead of endagering them where they are. Also like Lisa said, what size is the hole on the box, maybe it wasn't meant for a bluebird and is too small for them to get in which is why they didn't use it when you closed it. It needs to be 1 1/2 inches for them to enter.

Donna

"...but you unwillingness to listen tells me you wont."

I came to this sight to have fun conversation about blue birds, not to be bossed around. I appreciate the advice, but you are right. I am unwilling to drop everything, and run around buying a bunch of stuff that will ultimately disrupt a nest in progress. As I said before, I will watch and think, and maybe on the next round. Then again, maybe I won't. At this point, you have turned it into a power struggle. You obviously care about blue birds. There are ways of talking to people who are less invested (who think of it as a side hobby and not a major interest) that might keep us around to learn. This was not it. I am just having fun and watching birds. I am not interested in saving the bb world.

Take care with your BB's. I am off to find other sites and forums. Or maybe I will just watch my birds... and leave the internet out of it.

n.gwinn....I really don't think anyone was bossing you around. How can you/we have a "fun" conversation about Bluebirds if they are unsafe where they are and we are worried about thier lives?? Kinda like having a "fun" conversation about your/our kids when they are running around playing in the streets unsupervised, just isn't going to happen. You cannot go to a Bluebird forum and not expect other knowledgable bluebirders to not try to help you correct what is wrong with your setup. We want to help you have a safe setup to keep your bluebirds safe because we care about bluebirds and other native birds. Bluebirds are very tolerant of monitors and you can even move a nest "in progress" to a properly mounted nestbox without disrupting it, they will not give up on their eggs or babies. Seriously... if you "think about it" and decide you don't want to change anything once this nesting is done (and God willing the babies will fledge) then take the nestbox down so you won't endanger any other Bluebirds.

Sorry if you felt bossed around but most of us have learned the hard way how to do things the right way and we want to try to spare others the anguish of loosing the precious birds we care about.

Donna

Nancy, we are trying to 1. keep yor birds safe and 2. keep you from the heartache of finding dead birds. A sparrow spooker can be made from an old mylar baloon and a hot dog stick and a Wren guard from a cardboard box and duct tape. Protecing them from Wasps with a wipe of a bar of soap also cost nothing. Checking the size hole on the box and closing the door $0. There are no fun conversations about dead birds. We have plenty of them here. You came here for advise stating you are a "complete amature". We tried to educate you. Thats not bossing around, that's telling you what YEARS of Blubirding of has taught us. There is no power struggle here,most of us knew nothing when we came here, much like you, but we have all learned from the folks before us and thank God we have listened, ultimatly you have the power to decide if you are going to place your birds in danger. There is nothing more disrupting to a nest in progress than birds being killed by a preditor. I don't undersatnd why you refuse to do the best you can for the birds you claim to enjoy so much. I pray your blues survive, they have a lot going against them.

Nancy, I hope you read this...first of all, not only is this forum informative, it IS fun and if you stick around, you'll find that to be true. We all enjoy the funny, heartwarming, success stories and yes, there is comfort aplenty when tragedy strikes. Truthfully, everyone wants to help and offer guidance to those who seek it. It begins with learning how to be a responsible landlord.

I've been a birdwatcher for years and have had other nesters, but no blues. When we moved into a new home, part of my backyard was the perfect habitat for nesting blues....so I put up a box on a wooden pole in hopes of attracting them. Truth is, I didn't know a darn thing about bluebirds, had never heard of HOSPS, sparrow spookers, predator baffles, etc. Long before nesting season, I was thrilled to finally see some bbs checking out the nestbox! When I found this forum, among other things, I quickly learned the box should be mounted on a metal pole and made the change!

NO, I can't save the bb world, but what I can do is provide the safest possible environment when they choose to nest in my box. Unfortunately, sometimes even our best efforts are not enough and disaster strikes, but if we have a proper set up and do the right things, the blues have a much higher chance of survival.

Please know that those who responded to your post are just trying to help by offering really good advice. That being said, I, too hope your blues will be safe.

Donna

If the hole in the box is "tiny" that is why they left when you closed the door. The hole must be at least 1 1/2" for them to fit in. This is one rule they have to follow.
Cathy

Nancy,
My birds don't follow the rules either. I even left out several Stokes books for them to read so they would understand the rules. But frankly, I don't think they even opened them up.
The birds care less about the "rules" then we do. Nature has some funny ways of doing things. Some of them we love and some of them we hate. In the end it seems to work out. Enjoy your birds.

Nancy, you admitted to being new and immature. You asked for suggestions then resisted tried and true feedback. Fun?? Sure, but it's also a major responsibility. The people who commented did so from years of experience of failures and successes.

It is sad you chose not to heed advice and go elsewhere. Perhaps you will find more "agreeable" solutions to your issues. You may not have liked what you heard here, but it was valid and profitable-what I would have LOVED to hear just a few years ago.

Linda

Hey, I've got a Bluebird pair nesting in my backyard this year, and they aren't following the "rules" either.

One - My back yard could be described at best as an "open woodland" with numerous large canopy trees, plenty of evergreens, shrubbery, and tangled thickets, intermixed with some lawn, gardens, and a couple overgrown meadow/weedy areas. A very mixed habitat. While numerous Bluebirds visit daily during the winter to eat the home-made peanut butter suet, they usually disperse by Spring and I never in a million years expected any to nest here. On the plus side, the next door neighbor has a large lawn he mows and there is a meadow across the street, so they probably hunt there, but I often observe them perching and hunting in my yard too.

Two - Even though I rushed to put up a traditional Bluebird nestbox mounted on a pole w/baffle, the Bluebirds have chosen to nest in NATURAL CAVITIES in the dead pine snags in my back yard. They have had 2 broods and chose 2 different natural cavities for each brood, while ignoring the nest box. One cavity was about 20 feet up, one about 10 feet up. Guess they didn't read about safety rules, proper hole size, and predator guards. :)

I am very excited because their 2nd brood fledged about a week ago, they disappeared for awhile, and today Mr. and Mrs. Blue showed up to repeatedly retrieve some suet nuggets and fly off to the large Pin Oak in the front yard where I'm guessing the fledglings were hanging out! (Also heard some cries coming from the tree.)

Momma Blue peeking out from her first nesting cavity -
{{!gwi}}

Terrene, thats great to hear! Actually before man started messing things up that was the rule for the blues. There were many more blues and many more tree cavities. There were also many more deaths from preditors but their numbers were strong. There is a nice history about them on www.sialis.org

I've been a member on here awhile but haven't posted recently but had to today.
n.gwinn, good for you. I can't believe the way you were treated in this forum. You have obviously had success in the past letting nature take it's course with the bb's so don't let the remarks of some discourage you about other forums on this site. I too tried to follow the "rules" and almost killed my mother bb so now I just watch them and keep my hands away from the box. Some of us are just casual birders and "invest" what we can, but in the event that a predator did get my birds of course I would be upset and try to deter it from happening again, but life goes on. I don't know about the rest of you but there are things in life (family, jobs, health...)that sit a little higher on the priority scale, and this is coming from a woman who cried when her momma bb almost got smashed by the bb box door. Shame on those who scolded another birder for taking bb's more casually than you approve of.

terrene...your Blues are playing exactly by the rules, that is where they were meant to nest..in natural cavities. Very nice pic btw. Nestboxes were put up to help the Blues when most of their natural cavities were demolished by housing developments. Natural cavities are usually safe as they are old woodpecker cavities which are generally deeper so a raccoon cannot reach into them.

missriss...as far as your post..n.gwinn is not letting nature take its course since her blues are in a made made nestbox mounted improprely in her yard. Letting nature take its course would be taking the box down completely and letting them find nesting elsewhere. I really find it hard to believe that you or ngwinn think she was treated terribly here. All that was done was an attempt to educate.

Donna

Beating our heads against a wall once again. Keep up the good work all! There WILL be people come in that will take advise wether they become very involved or just passive and take the no money but a little effort to help the blues. Sad to know people cant take 1/2 hour out of one week to help the blues or any other cavity nester especially when ther is no $$$ involved. 1/2 hour to keep a whole nest of babies safe is nothing. Shame ,shame,shame on those that expect these birds to entertain them but wont take a moment to keep them safe.