Thanks!! I am in South Alabama and I never, ever kill anything but that is one dead snake. I was hysterical. I saw the parents last night so thank goodness they are OK. Just haven't gone back in the box. Who could blame them? Grateful they weren't hatched yet.

i tried bluebird nut.com yesterday but had login troubles. Will try again!

Thank you!

Mom and dad are still here but not going in the box. Dad is taking mealworms to mom who is up about 100 feet in a pine tree. I'm wondering if I should take the nest out but my instinct is no. Will wait a few days. I am so sad!

I'm in Birmingham, AL, & my bluebird mom is incubating her 6 eggs now. I meant to ask you if you had a baffle up. You could also put up a noel guard to keep snakes out, but a lot of birds don"t respond well to that. Do you have a Wild Birds Unlimited store in your area, or any other kind of wild bird store? If you don"t have a baffle up, you should get one since you know there could be predators. The people that work at those stores are usually a wealth of information. Also, if you are having login problems at bluebird nut.com, email Cher at bluebirdnutcafe@bluebirdnut.com. Tell her what your login problems are & she'll get you straightened out.

It sounds like your bluebird pair are courting again & they may move to another location. You could put a blade(s) of grass securely in the entrance of your box & if it"s still there, then you know that there is no activity & you can clean it out to give them or another pair a chance. Have you had successful nestings at that box in the past? One other thing you could do is move the box if you don"t get any activity. So so sorry this happened to you, but glad that was the snake's last meal!

Nicole

Thank you! I am in Fairhope! When I bought the birdhouse I thought it was just a decoration so I hung it in a tree close to my front porch 3 years ago. Little did I know that it would be a favorite of blues. I've had successful nestlings every year! Usually three! I have a legitimate bluebird house in the back yard so maybe they will take up there. It seemed like something was off this year. They took forever to decide on the house and I just got an egg this week. There are still two eggs. Mr. Snake didn't get any. Dad keeps looking in the house. I haven't caught them going in yet. Thanks for the idea of the grass. Will do as soon as the storm passes. From what I'm reading there isn't a baffle big enough for a determined 4 foot snake :(.

I meant successful nestings! Sorry! Autocorrect Grrr.

So glad you got that nasty snake. What kind was it? I'll bet you were hysterical! I would be the same way for sure! Any update on what your pair has decided? So glad they're ok too. That's so great that you've had so many successful broods in the past. Wow. I will tell you that even though that seems to be a preferred location for your bluebirds, I would get the box out of/away from the tree & put it on a pole with a baffle. You could still put it near the tree so the location is still familiar to them. I got my pole & baffle from Wild Birds Unlimited. At least you would be setting them up for the best success possible. I also put up a sparrow spooker this year after the 1st egg was laid. I have house sparrows, but not house wrens. Hope it works out!

Great idea Nicole! I will order today!

it was a chicken snake, aka rat snake. I put grass across the opening twice yesterday and they moved it but aren't back nesting. They are still around coming for mealworms, so hopefully found a suitable new home. I've put snake repellent everywhere. I don't ever kill snakes but I was so horrified and doubted I could relocate him far enough to be able to sleep at night.

Well, just saw that a pair of chickadees have moved in. I guess that's why the grass was moved. I'm torn about taking out the two eggs? Decisions, decisions. They've been laid for a week now so not likely viable.

At least I can still admire the blues at my mealworm bowl. :(

That's great that you have chickadees! They are adorable & need our help too. Have they started building yet? If you can, remove the bluebird nest & eggs because the chickadees will likely build their own nest over it, which will raise the level of it & that puts them at greater risk for predators (if the bluebirds have absolutely moved on). Also, I completely understand you spraying snake repellant, but be careful spraying pesticides of any sort because the babies breathe it into their lungs & can die. It's so hard to weigh out the pros & cons of all this, but you may not want to spray anymore during nesting season. The adults can often handle it, but the babies can"t. I lost 2 baby bluebirds last year after they fledged & I highly suspect it was this citronella repellant spray I used around the box area. We'll never know for sure, but it was the only thing I could think of. Also, if you have chickadees, I would put a hole reducer on the box after the 1st egg so that bluebirds or others won"t cause them any harm. I think it's 1 and 1/8" for the chickadees. I just bought a hole reducer in case I get chickadees. Would love to experience them at some point. I'll bet your bluebirds will come back for another nesting. Would love to hear how it goes!

Also, you may want to hold onto the bluebird nest in case you ever need to replace a nest later due to blowfly larvae, mites, etc. Put in microwave for up to 1 minute & store away in a plastic bag.

Thanks Nicole! I ordered the pole and baffle and now I'm so torn. The dees were in and out of the box all day. Do i take down the box? Decisions. There is still a nest with just the two blue eggs and it's killing me to decide to take it out. At almost a week though, surely they would have moved back in. The male bluebird sometimes peers in there but flies away.

I thought since it was all herbal stuff it would be safe but I need to rethink that. it is powder that you put on the ground. Supposedly harmless but who knows.

Nicole, you are so lucky! I have had at least 6 successful fledgings and never once saw a baby after it left the nest. I am so jealous!

i have a 300 foot yard so I may just try a new box out on the golf course side which they should prefer anyways.

Meant to tell you that I love Fairhope- such a charming little town. I would think that if the female isn't going in to lay anymore eggs or to incubate them, that they're not going to move forward at that location for right now. Are you sure she's not going in there? It could be that the Chickadees are hesitant to move forward wondering if the bluebirds are going to come back. If you know that the bluebirds aren't entering the box, my sense would be to remove the eggs & nest.

If you don't have any continued activity or new activity, I would definitely get the box out of the tree & on that pole you purchased. I guess you could wait until your pole & baffle arrive- & if no changes, remove material & put the box on the pole with baffle at least 15 feet from tree, but close to it since it's a location they seem to like. I would put any houses that you have on a pole. You could actually move the baffle around according to where you have activity. The golf course side could be another desired location, since it sounds like it may be more open, which is what bluebirds seem to like. How awesome would that be if you had Chickadees in one location & bluebirds in another!

As far as the snake repellant, maybe it is ok if it's herbal (& powder at that). I thought that what I sprayed last year should be harmless, but 2 of the fledgelings couldn't yet fly, so they were hopping around in my courtyard for 2-3 days until they died. They were so adorable! I actually took the last one to a rehabber when I realized that it seemed stressed & wasn't accepting food from the parents. As soon as we pulled up to the location, the baby died. It took me about a month to get over losing them. One died in the box, too. Again, wondered if was due to the spray that I used. My neighbor saw the one that flew out into my front yard a few days after it fledged & it seemed fine. Just not going to chance using that spray again during nesting season. You're right though- it's so hard to know exactly what to do because all we want to do is help them, not harm them. If you get a chance, would love to hear what happens. Again, great experts on bluebird nut.com.

Nicole

Hey- not sure what the status is, but I wanted to tell you that I've read that you could leave the nest in the box since it is unused. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving bad advise. Have you checked out the Sialis site? It is really helpful in different scenarios we may face with bluebirding. Hoping that it all works out!

thanks so much for all of your help Nicole! The male kept coming by and looking in but the female never went back in.

A few days ago I discovered the two eggs were gone. So I'm pretty sure another snake came and got them so I took the house down before the poor dees laid eggs in it.

My pole and baffle came so I'm going to set it up away from the tree. The blues are still coming to feed so praying they found a cozy new home.

So sorry about all this! Hopefully, you'll get some successful activity with the box being on a pole with baffle. Surely hope you'll get them back for another nesting. So glad you're still enjoying the blues when they come to snack, though.

If you do have any other snake problems, you may have to use a Noel Guard, which is the best defense for snakes. However, some of the birds don't like them, which is probably why people don't use them to start with. Getting box away from the tree should help. You could get some hardware cloth & cut a hole in middle to put above the baffle on pole. Supposedly, snakes can't stand the rough edges, so won't proceed to the box (if get beyond the baffle). That way, the birds don't have to adjust to a Noel Guard (Google if want to learn more). Some people attach bag of moth balls to the pole to keep snakes away from what I've read.

Five babies hatched here today. Hoping the other will hatch by tomorrow. Haven't seen house sparrows in awhile, but had a pair hanging around today. Got the sparrow spooker up, so hope they don't try to invade. Worries, worries. These poor things have so much counting against them. Praying for you, your blues, & your dees. Good luck!

You have been so sweet and supportive! Thanks Nicole! I just couldn't stand it if something had happened to the dees if they had started a family. When I found the eggs missing I just knew another snake got them.

I love the pole and baffle.

My only worry now is if I set it up too close to the house because conceivably a squirrel could jump onto it. How much of a threat are squirrels? They never bothered any of my previous nests.

So now I have the old house, 15 feet away from the tree, and we shall see. If I'm super lucky I will get a second round of blues. Fingers crossed!

Thanks again!

Lisa

Hey Lisa-I don't have squirrels, but have heard that they've taken eggs before. I think they're a bigger problem at feeders. You are right, though, in terms of keeping the birdhouse far enough away from houses, fences, trees, bushes, etc. (at least 15 feet). Since lots of predators are climbers (snakes, cats, raccoons, possums, squirrels, chipmunks, etc.), they can climb these structures & get to the birdhouse from the top, too. The baffle is to keep them from getting to the house from the ground & keeping the house away from structures is to keep predators from getting to the house from above. You can also put a predator guard around the entrance, which makes the depth of the hole deeper (~ 2-2.5 "), so that raccoons & cats can't reach in & grab the eggs or young. I've already told you about hardware cloth/Noel guard, which is the very best way to combat snakes in addition to the baffle. The other most common predators are house sparrows or house wrens, where you can put up a sparrow spooker or wren guard after the blues have laid their 1st egg. Each yard/area has their own different clallenges, so you just have to do the best you can. These are wild animals, so there's only so much we can do to help them. It's a lot of information, I know, but your putting the house on pole with baffle is the best 1st step. I do hope you'll get the blues back soon.