HOSP= House Sparrow Dee = Chickadee TRES = Tree Swallow CAWR = Carolina Wren HOWR = House wren BCCH = Black Capped Chickadee EUST = European Starling There are more but these are probably the most commom. Welcome to the forum and the world of Blues! Donna

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

Congratulations Donna! It is very hard to believe they can even hold their heads up isn't it? So naked compared to Blues too. It is not uncommon to have an egg or two not hatch with Dees. Mine are about ready to fledge if the Blues will leave them alone. They have been harassing them relentlessly for two days. They can't get in the box but will not leave them alone. I wish they'd just take care of their own babies. They fledged a week ago. Oh well Continued success Cathy

That's ok Donna, it is hard not to worry when you don't see them. Because I feed the Blues they alway end up bringing the babies to the feeders until the leave in the Fall. I would worry about them too if they left after fledging. I really don't think the Dees are in the woods by our house. I went down to the park today where I monitor nestboxes. It is about 2-3 blocks from my house and the closest woods other than our small one. The park is 32 acres, 10-20 wooded, I would guess. I was rewarded with seeing two chickadee families in the trees showing the little ones how to hunt for bugs. I couldn't tell the difference between the adults and the little ones but I could see some feeding the others. I watched them for awhile and a great crested flycatcher flew into the tree by them. Then I turned around and noticed a huge tree further off the trail in the woods, got the binocs and could see a racoon head sticking out of a hole in the tree, it was sleeping. Later walking out I saw a doe and a fawn the exact same time they saw me and they were gone in a flash. Just had to share that. lol! Anyway I around here the Dees are not at the feeders in the summertime even though they are here year round, the summer is for bug eating so I am sure they just took their little ones in the bigger woods (maybe one of the families I saw) and are showing them how to hunt bugs. Come late summer they start showing up at the feeder, I sure won't know if they are the ones that nested here but I will be glad they are back. Do you know if the Dees like to renest where they had a successful nesting, I am wondering if this pair will nest here again next year. Donna