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Bluebirds Conditioned?From: khussie"at"localnet.com Anyone have an opinion on whether or not bluebirds know that nestboxes on poles have become the preferred nesting locations for bluebirds. In other words, do you think bluebirds have been conditioned (for their own good) over the last few decades to search out man-made nest boxes first, instead of natural cavities? Do you think they can id a nest box without even seeing the hole? Kieran Glenside From: "judymellin" judymellin"at"netzero.net I can only say that I hope this never occurs! Given the choice between a natural cavity with excellent insulation and a pine box, I know what I'd choose! I would also hate to think that our well-intended "interference" with nature has changed many generations of instinctive behavior. In my opinion, we are providing only a stopgap to help a bad situation. I have always hoped that I will live long enough to take down all our nest boxes and to see the blues flying in their natural habitat. Judy Mellin ... To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu On Fri, 28 Feb 2003 19:28:25 -0800 "judymellin" judymellin"at"netzero.net ... If we keep cutting the tree you will not see it. Maynard Sumner http://mibluebirdsociety.tripod.com Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 From: khussie"at"localnet.com I choose the pine box if it means my chances are better that I don't get mine
and babies heads pecked to death by sparrows and starlings. ... Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 20:32:18 -0800 I do believe we should enjoy the Bluebirds and all other wild creatures all we can while we still can. I believe that conditions for wildlife worldwide will never get better than they are now. If all those pioneer bluebirders hadn't put all those nestboxes back in the seventies and eighties Bluebirds might be as long gone as the Ivory billed woodpecker. Tom Long judymellin wrote: I can only say that I hope this never occurs! Given the choice ... From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Tree Swallow Habitat: Tree swallows breed throughout North America from the northern half of the United States north to the limit of tree growth. They are migrants throughout the Central and Southern states and winter primarily in Central America. Nest: Tree swallows prefer to nest in natural cavities and old woodpecker holes - usually near water. The lack of natural cavities, competition for existing cavities, and the availability of nest boxes, have resulted in a shift in nesting preferences to nest boxes in the eastern United States (Bent 1942, Low 1933, Whittle 1926). Bluebird boxes and purple martin houses are frequently used. Tree Swallows are not colonial, but will nest within 7 feet of each other, if there are adequate meadows, marsh, or water area available for feeding (Whittle 1926). Woodpecker holes in aspen, spruce, and pine are the most common nest sites in the West (Bailey and Niedrach 1965). Food: This species is the first of the swallows to arrive in the north in the spring, and the last to depart in the fall. Because tree swallows can subsist on seeds and berries, they are not as dependant upon insects as are other swallows. They are partial to waxmyrtle and bayberry where these are available. Plant food proportions in the diet are 1 percent in spring, 21 percent in summer, 29 percent in fall, and 30 percent in winter (martin et al. 1951, Forbush and May 1939). (end of tree swallow section) Ok go back and notice that by 1926 research showed Tree Swallows would nest within 7 feet of each other and that "nestboxes" were already changing their nesting habits or "conditioning" their nesting habits..... One of the points I have always missed when reading this book is that "natural cavities" are listed DIFFERENT and separate from "woodpecker cavities". The 1942 Bent research is important because that is about the year when the last of the old growth forests in the eastern US were completely cut over. This is about the time when the Ivory billed woodpecker, cavity nesting Peregrine falcons, and tree trunk nesting Chimney Swifts became nearly extinct (quite a few more species were drastically reduced in population). For tree swallows the extermination of the beaver in the late 1800's would have removed millions of snags annually along waterways and then farmers began tilling the rich soil of river bottoms..... (USDA estimates for 2003 that over a billion acres will be farmed this year). OK, today the tree swallows are commonly nesting about 600 miles south of their 1977 "normal breeding limits"!!!! WHY? Because placing nestboxes has become a national pastime along with bird feeding....They are being reported nesting side by side in "bluebird nestboxes" and several pairs of Tree Swallows in the same Purple Martin House nesting together is also being reported.... The scary thing about this hobby though is we are all internet bird experts today but NO ONE on this list had observed Tree Swallows feeding on "seeds or berries" when research from 1939 & 1951 showed up to 30 percent of their winter/fall diet was vegetable matter....I believe we have shifted as a majority to becoming "bird listers" where we only glance at a bird long enou gh to ID it and write it down on a list, rather than being bird observers! As a country most of us now need to drive somewhere to actually watch birds other than imports or "common" bird feeder species....This small USDA booklet has 112 pages of information on 85 different cavity nesters. How many different species of cavity nesters have you observed carrying food or nesting material into a cavity? Name all seven species of "Ducks" that are considered a "cavity nesters"! KK Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 08:27:04 -0500 Haleya Priest, Amherst MA Anyway, once the mockingbird found a mate and had his own business to tend to, my blues made their following nesting attempt back in the nestbox and have chosen that over the natural cavity ever since. However, I am sure there are plenty of blues using natural cavities where there are no nestboxes readily available.... I can't imagine their success rate being as good as a nestbox if it is in starling territory. One could certainly experiment by placing nestboxes within 10-15' of a natural cavity and see which they choose. The online Bluebird Reference Guide:
http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirds/ |
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