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Miscellaneous Problems/Solutions for the Bluebirder (Part 9)In addition to Messages that have appeared in the Bluebird Mailing Lists on this topic, the following are on the Audubon Society of Omaha website: Predators and Problems On The Bluebird Trail Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 07:42:47 -0800 (PST) Hi everyone..I'm looking for some of the ways that some of the experienced Bluebirders know to sort of identify some of the return Bluebirds (parents & their fledlings) from last year nesting season. Here are a few things I've learned that I want to share, but I'm looking for any further thoughts or tricks. I've had 2-3 males & 1 female EABL around pretty well all winter. 1 male is slimmer than the other male who is quite fat. The slimmer male most of the time tries to chase the fatter male away from the bluebird feeder. Also, I've seen the slimmer male recently feed the ===== Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 12:11:43 -0500 Horace, One way to tell individual birds apart, other than by banding, would be to look for distinguishing marks. My neighbor had a male bluebird breeding You might look for a white or black spot somewhere on the bird where it doesn't belong, or a certain pattern in the coloring that's different. You As for slim and fat birds, be aware that birds can fluff up their feathers and look fatter or slimmer at different times. Last year's young can return to the same area from which they fledged, but it doesn't happen in every case. Two cases from my experience: 1. In 2000, I recaptured a banded male, checked the number on his band, and found he was banded as a chick by me in 1999 in the same location. The nestbox landlord had reported that the 1999 male had been taken by a hawk, and his son had claimed the terrritory in 2000. 2. In 1999, I recaptured a banded female, and found she had been banded as a chick by another bander in 1998 about 70 miles southwest of where she was raising her first brood. Without bands, it would be impossible to identify last year's fledglings because of the fall molt. Brenda The Nature Club of Central New York Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001 20:21:34 -0800 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Horace, I didn't see many answers to your question on how to identify returning birds. On my 40-box trail, I can't tell most of them apart visually (no deformities or leg bands), so I look for clues in their mannerisms and preferences. In 1998 and 1999 I had a pair that would hover-fly in front the hole after a checkup several times and peek in without touching the box. I'd guess it was the same pair both years. I usually bring "Hello" mealworms during weekly checkups. But last year, I didn't bring any mealworms at the start of the season. Some of my Look for a combination of clues. The female who runs to get the male the minute you approach her box versus the pair that flies to the tree waiting for the handouts. Are they vocal? Calm? High strung? Where's their favorite perch? Do they keep a clean box? Last year and this year, there is a female with an unusual voice . . . sounds just like a high-pitched squeak-toy. Without a DNA test or leg band, I can't say for certain whether the squeaky-voiced female who had a first clutch at Laguna last year, was the same squeaky-voiced female who had a second clutch at Eastlake last year, and is at Eastlake again this year . . . but I'd guess that she is. Western bluebirds build eclectic nests and I'll be paying more attention to nest construction in possible pair (female) identification this year. Those new to the List can view last year's nests/eggs on my trail at: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/NestPics.html Linda Horace Sher wrote: Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 08:48:24 -0800 (PST) Brenda, I noticed this last summer about her and she is back now checking out the very box she had last year. I'm new at Bluebirding but I have not seen this characteristic on the other birds, has anyone else seen this hook shaped beak on any of their bluebirds?? Kerry in NE corner of Okla. --- Brenda Best jabbest"at"americu.net wrote: Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 21:03:33 -0800 We have a number of bluebird boxes on our ranch in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The nestboxes are used by either oak titmice in early spring, I was cleaning out the nestboxes a few weeks ago in preparation for the nesting season, and was stunned when I found in one of the boxes 2 dead We were extrememly upset to find this, and are totally baffled as to what might have caused this. My best guess is that they died from excessive heat. The nest box is quite exposed in the afternoon and evening, and it gets pretty hot up here in June. The opening faces away from the sun, and there are ventilation holes in the bottom of the box. But why would the parents stay in the box and die from the heat, rather than abandoning the nest to try again some other time, under more suitable conditions? I'd appreciate any opinions, or comments from any one else who may have encountered something like this. Our biggest concern is that there is a Thanks in advance for your feedback... Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 20:04:20 -0800 Just a suggestion but are you near any area where pesticides were being used? Since the birds catch insects, they would be attracted to those that were flying more slowly as a result of being sprayed. This has become a more common reason for death among adult birds and recent hatchlings. Judy Mellin ... Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 18:28:50 -0800 I received a tremendous volume of response to my posting about the 2 dead bluebird parents and egss that we found in a nestbox on our central Every Message included the same suggestion: pesticide poisoning. Frankly, that had never ocurred to me. Is that documented to be a problem with bluebirds? We don't use pesticides, but there's no saying what our neighbors may have sprayed. I certainly couldn't rule out the possibility. Assuming it was a legal application, there's not much I could do about it. I guess I can only hope that we do the bluebird population more good than harm by putting out our nest boxes... On a related topic, I've seen some postings suggesting that it might be uncommon to see titmice in BB boxes? We've had the boxes up for 4 years, and have had oak titmice nesting in them every year. They also use them to sleep in on winter nights. When we went to clean the boxes a few weeks ago, it was near sunset - and we startled an oak titmouse in every single box that we opened to clean, including boxes with no nest material in them. The startling was mutual, I confess! We haven't been doing a full nestbox monitoring program, but I think this year we will start. Thanks for the many helpful suggestions we received. Cathy Cowan Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 10:07:11 -0400 Lake Ontario snowbelt north of Syracuse NY, where spring is finally arriving Because of the increasing shortage of natural areas, birds are being driven to accept manmade boxes even if they are closer together than normally preferred, or in not-quite-prime areas. You may be surprised at the cavity nesters who choose a box that the literature says is not acceptable. My 3/4 acre suburban yard now has 11 boxes of varying size, and all have been used at least once except for the newest one. All those boxes may look a bit overcrowded, but apparently the birds in my area need them. I have had bluebird, tree swallow, chickadee, wren, downy woodpecker, and red-breasted nuthatch, and I'm quite sure some of them would have chosen a natural cavity had any been available. Now I have redbellied woodpecker, flicker, and white-breasted nuthatch checking out my boxes, and last year had a great crested flycatcher exploring them. Betty in Maryland (?) even had song sparrows in a box. The birds are getting desperate for homes, so I think it pays to put up as many boxes as you can. I just wish I could provide a home for the beautiful wood thrushes, who sang here for many years before being displaced by new home construction. Dot From: "Fawzi P. Emad femad <at> fpemad <dot> com Hello all! This is a good time to check your boxes in case you have not done so already. It would be sad to have the nest wet, then a cold night may come, the chicks will need first aid in the morning, and may suffer from hypothermia. Here is a list of what I would look for (experienced bluebirders may want to skip reading the rest of this Message:) 1. Check that the roof and all sides are free of cracks, holes, or other unwanted openings. Fill these holes (only on the outside) with Silicone Seal (SS.) Linda Violett smears SS on top the roof using her bare hands/fingers. I never enjoyed finger painting, but for those who do, this may be an excellent way to water proof the roof. Wishing you all a happy bluebirding season... Fawzi in MD P.S. If one of your nests is found wet, please check right away and fix/repair the cause if one is found. Also, have on hand either pine needles or grass straws, similar to what your BBs use in their nest. Remove the eggs/babies into a cushioned, well lined basket. Remove the wet nest and replace it with a new one you shape using your hands. Put back the eggs/babies. You'll be surprised how happy the parents will be to find a nice dry nest, even though it is not as well shaped as the original! Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 11:57:49 -0500 Does anybody have suggestions on how to discourage black bears from pushing over nest box poles? Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 16:20:17 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Remove the posts. Hang your boxes. "L.Millis" wrote: Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 17:05:16 -0400 (EDT) I think Spring is going to spring, even in MinneSNOWta! This afternoon, check the 3 bluebird houses I've "adopted," and found a bunch of black-oil sunflower seed hulls. Any ideas as to what bird(s)/varmint(s) that have stored them there this Winter? Happy bluebirding! Stan Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 16:31:58 -0500 "Stan, From: "Wright, Merlin C." mcwrigh"at"nppd.com Bluejays are well known for filling their mouth at a feeder and then storing (dumping) them in a food cache. -----Original Message----- Hello EveryBIRDie: I think Spring is going to spring, even in MinneSNOWta! This afternoon, check the 3 bluebird houses I've "adopted," and found a bunch of black-oil sunflower seed hulls. Any ideas as to what bird(s)/varmint(s) that have stored them there this Winter? Happy bluebirding! Stan Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 06:43:57 -0500 (CDT) Hello i am new to the list . I have seen bluebirds pass through my area of southeast texas before but have not seen any this year yet. Does anyone know when they pass through this area and is their anyone else from texas on this list. I am in orange, texas that is about 100 miles east of houston texas right on the texas and La. border. Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 18:47:11 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Bluebird season has hit full tilt here in Western, MA. Our first babies hatched yesterday and we have several more nests "due" any day now.... and many to follow that. Several bluebirders have mentioned that if a box "has no action" (not due to wasps!) they move the box - sometimes just a short distance I had an instance of that today. I had a box on a golf course trail I just started this past fall and it has sat totally empty. I decided to move it today - maybe 50 ft from where it was. The second I planted it in the ground I heard an EABL sing! I went back to check it a mere 5 hours later - I opened the box to find 1/4 of a nest (looks like a TRES nest) inside!!! :-) H Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 13:17:21 -0700 Howdy Friends! Sorry about the length, but needless to say I've been busy, and I'm trying to catch up. I would like to take the time to thank all of you for your helpful suggestions and encouragement in dealing with the European Starlings in our area. The support has been overwhelming, most appreciated, and in particular I'd like to thank Keith Kridler for his helpful advice. As many of you know, I do have a Bio-Diversity program in place, and my company builds cavity nest boxes for beneficial birds, which includes American Kestrels (I build a fantastic American Kestrel nest box). Last year one of my friends at the Purple Martin Society sent me an e-mail for plans to a resetting trap (similar to the one Randy Jones recommended) which I've been developing. I've shared it with others in the Bio-Diversity community (Steve Simmons at Raptor Works for one) and if your interested in this trap just let me know and I'll be happy to send the plans to you electronically. The HUBER Trap is a proven and effective method for management, but I lean towards the re-setting trap. No real reason both re-setting and HUBER traps do the job at the right time of the year and now is not the right time of year for cavity nest traps in my opinion. The best time to employ cavity nest traps is before and during the nesting season which is past us right now. Here's a brief on what to look for when the European Starlings is about to nest or mutilate the fruit in your cherry orchards or (in our case) vineyards. During the nesting season the beak of the EUST is a light beige (or light tan) and this is the time to employ cavity nesting traps. When the beck turns dark and the EUST takes on a more rough appearance, they shift their attention from breeding to crop perdition and the cavity nesting traps will not impact them as much. I can honestly tell you that I have personally noticed this behavioral transition and expected it based on my research of the species. I'd like to thank my friends at the Purple Martin Society for their support and enlightenment on EUST behavior. I'm a total believer in Bio-Diversity (like Keith Kridler) and have been for sometime. Combining traps (resetting or otherwise) coupled with American Kestrel nest boxes will work on these pests. However and despite all of the above, the real issue is that the European Starlings are just overwhelming in numbers and nobody (except a few) is really doing anything about them particularly here in the Sonoma County California wine country. I'm doing my part by promoting Bio-Diversity to other vineyard owners and farmers in our area. Most see the benefits after they are explained and they get right on board with a program. In fact this past weekend I delivered 4 Barn Owl, 4 Bluebird and 2 American Kestrel nest boxes to a vineyard owner in Mendocino County this past weekend. However, I'm only one guy. Understandably and despite my efforts the task at hand seems daunting to say the least. Educating those (especially the kids) that have absolutely no idea about the HOSP and EUST impact on our environment and crops is very important. I'm doing what I can and I hope that you'll join in before people wake up one date and find that their favorite bottle of wine that once cost $15.00 now cost $150.00 or the cost of fruit goes though the roof do to bird or other perdition. Does this sound like science fiction to you? If you turn back the pages of history you'll find that pestilence and other natural disasters have plagued mankind throughout man's history. If left unchecked, the above science fiction of today could in fact be the plague of the future. I like what Keith Kridler said and here's his quote again; "Humans are better at creating problems for wildlife than they are a repairing or removing the problem!" Keith Kridler Here is one of my personnel favorites. "We cannot hope to repair problems we have created for ourselves in the same state of mind we were in when we created them." Albert Einstein On a more fun note, there has been much talk on Bluebird L about American Kestrels. I have loads of information on American Kestrels and I believe in their employ 100% (saw a beautiful female this past Sunday working the vineyards). I have listed some of my favorite web sites for all to review. If you have any questions about American Kestrels, please send me an e-mail and I will be happy to answer them for you. I'll beat most of you have figured this out, but you may have noticed how I always end my posts with "Happy Bluebird Trails To You". When you read it, just think of Dale Evan's song "Happy Trails To You" (yes, she wrote the song and earned all the royalties, but without her husband Roy Rogers singing the song...), then you can sing right along with me. "Happy Bluebird Trails To You" Sincerely, Web Sites for American Kestrels United States Government Wild Life Site. Really cool site with just about everything you would like to know about wild life. American Kestrels Nesting box for American Kestrel, Northern Screech owl, Gray Squirrel, Red Squirrel, and Fox Squirrel Nestbox Tom Hoffman at Bio-Diversity Products, is a good buddy of mine who lives in Lodi, California, is a grape grower and has his own Bio-Diversity program. Tom's web site is full of useful information and like me he sells his own line of nest boxes too. Photos Hawk Mountain courtesy of Michael E. Powers American Kestrel and nest box info. The Birdhouse Network courtesy of Haleya Priest Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 15:13:38 -0700 Dear Friends, Just opened up my e-mail and here was this Message. Looks like this fellow has hit most of us on Bluebird L. I noticed a JPEG was sent, but I will not open it for obvious reasons. Here is a brief update on the vineyards and the EUST challenge. I may not have ever mentioned this, but Nina is a fashion designer. Nina wanted to put up some scarecrows to add to all the other EUST deterrents that we are using in the vineyards (electronic, foil tape, both live and dummy predators). Well she flooded the vineyards with some of the most elaborate looking scarecrows I have every seen. Our vineyard manager took one look at the vineyards and at first wondered where all these people came from. I'll tell you it's a real riot and best of all (with everything else in place) our EUST problem seems to have abated for the moment. The flocks of EUSTs are now next door in Gallo's vineyards. Here is something else that's cool. Our electronic bird in distress generator keeps the EUSTs out, but it also attracts raptors to our vineyard. We have a female American Kestrel who likes to perch on top of a telephone pole and she keeps looking down at the electronic bird in distress generator below wondering where lunch is located. Her presence (as expected) really keeps the EUSTs out and Nina watched her chase a EUST through our vineyards, out and beyond. I wish I was there to root her on. Some years back, I had an experience at Lake Pillsbury, CA where a friend and I played a predator call one evening. After a short time a Great Horn Owl landed above us in a digger pine looking for the distress prey. This owl was so big you would have though that Count Dracular had landed. Another great moment in my life. I'm going to see how things go over the next couple of weeks, but I believe using one of these electronic bird in distress generators could be a great way to get beneficial raptors (like American Kestrels) to take up residents in your area. If you play one at night it could possibly pull in owls as well (just like my Lake Pillsbury experience). It has a selection of birds to pick from, is programmable and will play your setting in random play so the birds do not get wise to what is going on. As far a the BBs go, it doesn't seem to bother them. Just a thought and if you would like the name of the manufacture of this electronic bird in distress generator just let me know and I'll be happy to supply the information to you. One last thing Nina had to drive down to LA today (we both make that drive every month or so) and on her way down she told me she saw new nest boxes along highway 5 near Bakersfield, CA. She told me that they looked allot like my American Kestrel nest box, but they have perches and are spaced about a hundred yards apart. I told Nina with the perches and the spacing that these nest boxes are probably EUST traps. I'll be driving down to LA myself on August, 30 so I'll give it a look see for myself. As always.... Happy Bluebird Trails To You, From: "Dan McCranie" loanmaker"at"konnekted.com The Natureline Bluebird House was designed through careful observation, research, and consultation with respected Ornithologist. This house was molded in earth-tone colors to complement the natural outdoor settings. The removable front door makes this house easy to clean and to monitor nestlings. The door has a 1 1/2" diameter hole which is perfect for Bluebirds. A floor grate is provided in the nesting area to allow parasites, including Blowfly larvae, to fall away from the nest for healthier birds. Vents are located in the front, back, top, and bottom as well as an insulated attic space help to reduce heat. The bottom vents in the front door also serve as drain holes. The roof has a shingle pattern and mounting holes with standoffs are molded into the back panel. This birdhouse is low maintainence with UV inhibitors added to resist the effects of the sun. We have also found that Tree Swallows like this house too, so we have added bosses to the inside of the front door for a optional "bird ladder" to be added. You won't find a better house for the price. It will give you years of enjoyment and our satisfied customers will tell you that "Bluebirds nest and fledge young from this house again and again throughout the season!" Isn't it time you gave you feathered friends a healthier place to live? $13.00 plus shipping - Contact me at loanmaker"at"konnekted.com if you are interested. Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 08:30:29 -0400 Our outdoor cookery is done on a grill fueled by wood....and a major source of the wood is....you guessed it...bluebird nestboxes. Mind you, all of these boxes have been retrofitted/restored at least twice and have spent ten or more years on the trail. But there comes a time where nail holes are enlarged, places to pivot the access door are broken/cracked, the backs are split and complete degradation has set in. It is then that the boxes are retired to the wood bin and bluebirding, once again, becomes the "light" of our life. We give each of the boxes a "Viking's Funeral" and, as the embers glow, gourmet fare is prepared on the grill surface. What a way to go!! Sure beats the trash pile or the waste can. RECYCLING at it's finest!! Dean Sheldon, Huron County, Ohio (just south of Lake Erie) From: "Judy Schaumberg" jimnjud"at"usmo.com I am interested in any thoughts or experience that someone may have with eastern bluebirds and guineas. I live in central Missouri, on 28 acres, have 8 nestboxes and have had very much success with bluebirds over the past several years. I am considering getting guineas (only 2) this spring to help with insect control. This will be my first time with the guineas. I know that they are loud but do an excellent job with the insects. Does anyone know if the guineas will compete with the bluebirds for food? Will the bluebirds stay around with guineas in the area? Since I do not use chemical pesticides, I certainly have more insects than the bluebirds can eat!! But I definitely do not want my beautiful blues to leave! Thanks for any information! From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas It is starting to feel like spring in Texas with highs in the upper 60's or low 70's all this next week. Many birds are checking out nestboxes and I found a female house sparrow roosting in a nestbox as I was cleaning some out late on New Years day. We have only had one night that got to 26*F so far this winter for a winter low:-))) KK From: "Phil Berry" phil4643"at"msn.com In looking over Roger Tory Peterson's FIELD GUIDE FOR THE BIRDS (1947) he cites a separate species (Sialia Grata Bangs) for southern Florida ONLY. A web search produced the following: http://www.wildflorida.org/bba/eabl.htm perhaps the work being done now in Sarasota and environs by Christy and her recruits will give us a new (to us) bird????? Phil Berry Gulf Breeze Florida From: klubea"at"comcast.net I used my boxes and sealed them up well for winter for birds to roost. There is blackish mold in a couple of the pine ones. Is that bad for the bird?? Did get some new ones of cedar and had a couple older ones of cedar that i can use instead to put up now .What would you all do out there. Safety is my top priority for my blues and TRES. Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 21:27:22 -0500 Haleya Priest Amherst MA The online Bluebird Reference Guide: http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirds/ How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. From: Linda Violett, lviolett"at"earthlink.net The quicker we can adapt more species to man-made environments, the better their chance of survival. If the city yards will clean out their seed feeders, limit pets and offer native vegetation, then native species will have a good chance of moving in. For example, my present home is in a tightly-packed neighborhood with 5 or 6 homes per acre with tiny yards. Since wild bird seed isn't offered in my yard, there are no House Sparrows. Instead, I offer water, thistle seed, hummer nectar and there are plantings of weedy-looking native sages. Vines have also been added to attract leaf-eating insects, no insecticides are used and there are no exotic yard animals (no pets). There are many native birds visiting the yard. Last year in this tiny space, some native bird (probably Bewicks Wren) built a nest and laid small white eggs in an extra trail box which was temporarily being stored on a side patio (hanging from the patio cover). Unfortunately, I was not aware of the nest and the box was jiggled around to untangle the hanger from the arbor vine. A small (unidentified) bird darted out and the (warm) eggs were abandoned. Since the box was left in place, there is a good chance that tiny bird (or its offspring) will attempt to nest there again next year. But here's the urban problem: Our home will be put on the market soon and most likely the new owners will have cats and/or dogs, etc. If they are bird lovers, they will put out HOSP seed. There are too few homeowners aware of the native bird declines and fewer still who would change their yards to accommodate them so I'm trying to locate an alternate neighboring yard to place the "Bewick's Wren" box. The neighbor on one side used his entire tiny yard for a pool and deck and has an outdoor cat. The neighbors to the back used their tiny back yard for a large patio with ornamental plants at the edges (no native plants), has a huge dog, and puts out bird traps "for fun." Both neighbors to the side back corners each have two large dogs in their small yards. There is only one neighbor within the radius of my yard that might afford a safe haven for the Bewicks Wren box and I will be asking for permission to hang to hang an extra box in their yard. Linda Violett - Yorba Linda & Big Bear, Calif. From: Bet Zimmerman, ezdz"at"charter.net Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2003 1:05 PM Subject: Draft list of a dozen common bluebirding myths Thanks for all your input on bluebirding myths! I finally boiled it down to 12 of the most common. Before I post them on my website, I would appreciate any input/corrections. Thanks! Bet Zimmerman [Note from webmaster: The final version is posted at www.sialis.org/myths.htm] A DOZEN COMMON BLUEBIRDING MYTHS MYTH: I can put up a nestbox and forget about it. MYTH: If I open the bluebird box, or touch the nest or babies, the parents will abandon the nest. MYTH: House sparrows won't bother bluebirds or their nests. MYTH: If you don't have problems with predators on the trail the first year, you never will. MYTH: If you don't get bluebirds in your nestbox/trail the first year, you never will. MYTH: "Bluebirds prefer to nest in boxes mounted at "eye-level." MYTH: Bluebirds eat earthworms. MYTH: Blowflies will not lay their eggs in Bluebird nests made of pine needles (also referred to as pine straw), as the pine needles act as a natural repellent. MYTH: NEVER open a nest box after the young are 12-13 days old as this can cause premature fledging. MYTH: Plexiglas roofs/holes in the roof/ extra light in boxes keeps house sparrows out of boxes. MYTH: Thick wood boxes retain more heat on a cold windy night than thin boxes. MYTH: Bluebirds behave the same way all the time, everywhere. From: Haleya Priest, mablue"at"gis.net Haleya Priest Amherst MA Following are my comments: Myth #1: If this is geared JUST for New Englanders and Northerners - FEB would be a good date, but if folks read it from far south or south west or Calif. I believe their season has started or is starting by then. Myth #2: I believe there are bluebirders out there who swear leaving an old nest in the box won't stop a bluebird from nesting in it. Yes, they will build a new nest. And yes, your argument for cleaning out the nest is perfect - -but you might not say exactly that "they like a clean box". I've seen bluebirds take out old nesting material - but I've never seen them take out an ENTIRE nest. Maybe others have? In which case - in most instances - they'll just build a new nest on top of the old one. Myth #6: I think it is still important to say that it is perfectly fine to mount a box at eye level. It won't deter your bluebirds. After all, convenience of monitoring may be more important than how high the box is placed if someone doesn't monitor it due to difficulty of getting into the box! From: The Doctor, sytyf"at"yahoo.com From: Maynard R Sumner, m-r-sumner"at"juno.com I would say it is a guideline, but all loc. are not the same. Try things out and when you find what works for you do it till it is not working any more. The birds do not do things the same way all the time. Maynard Sumner From: Haleya Priest, mablue"at"gis.net Haleya Priest Amherst MA
I think one of the biggest "myths" people have about bluebirds is similar to what Bet's myth about putting up a box and walking away and never having to monitor. I find that people are always shocked when they ask me about my bluebirds. I forget that most people just want to keep with the "myth" that bluebirds are just these cute birds that bring us happiness - and of course that is true, but they are shocked to find out what a day is like on the trail - - - dead babies, cold weather, HOSP attacks, you name it - it is not all a bed of roses. I burst their fantasy bubble - of course I don't mean to - but it happens.
These 2 "myths" aren't necessarily usable in Bet's list - but ones that I think are worth thinking about for us die hard bluebirders. :-) H From: Gary Springer, springer"at"alltel.net One of the "Myths" exposed does not tell the whole story and, as a result, a wrong conclusion has been drawn. There is no doubt that the thicker nestboxes actually offer much more warmth than thinner boxes, especially for winter roosting birds. It was written: MYTH: Thick wood boxes retain more heat on a cold windy night than thin boxes. Here is the error that has been made: The temperature loggers measured the temperature of the AIR inside the nestbox. Therefore, the amount of ventilation is indeed more of a factor in the temperature of the AIR inside the nestbox than the thickness of the nest box material. But, here is the factor that is ignored. These birds huddle inside a nestbox when roosting and press their bodies against the bottom and sides of the nest box. The transfer of heat away from the bird to the outside of the box is many times higher when the nestbox is made from PVC than it is when made from wood, and, the thicker the wood, the less transfer of heat away from the bird's body and the warmer the bird will be. The wood against the body of the bird acts as a store of heat to keep the bird warm. If this were not true, we would make winter clothes from single layers of plastic. But we all know that thick cotton and wool are far better than thin plastic for keeping warm.. Also, in the spring on freezing cold nights with the female bird brooding on top of the baby birds, the body heat lost from the babies will be through the nest material and out through the bottom and lower sides of the nestbox. The nest material is a good insulating material and helps reduce this heat loss. But, having thick wood below and surrounding the nest material instead of thin plastic will cause less heat transfer from the nest material to the outside of the box. The reason wet nests are dangerous to young birds is that the heat transfer away from the baby birds is magnified by wet nests. Dry nests offer insulation and a heat storage surrounding while wet nests act as a heat transfer away from the birds. The same difference exists between thin plastic and thick wood. Temperature loggers inside boxes with wet nests would give the same results as temperature loggers inside dry nests but the birds are warmer inside a dry nest. The same for wood versus plastic. Dry nests have insulating qualities that keep the heat inside the baby birds. Using thin plastic causes more heat to be drawn from the birds and nest material to the outside of the box in the same way that wet nest material pulls heat away from baby birds.. In summary, the AIR inside the PVC nest box may be the same temperature as the air inside the wooden box, but, the transfer of heat away from the birds to the outside of the box will be greater in a thin wall plastic box than a thick wall wood box.. The type and thickness of nest box material IS very important with regards to keeping the birds warm, and, that is NO MYTH. Gary Springer From: Paula [mailto:PaulaZ"at"columbus.rr.com] Bet, Great work. I especially liked the line: "It is better to have no box at all than to allow house sparrows to reproduce in one." I think this is the major problem most well meaning homeowners promulgate. ...Bet, when you finalize this, could I have your permission to use it at a program I plan to put on for residents in our area next year? I don't know if you would consider this a myth or even worthy of the list, but I have heard it stated that bluebirds prefer a feeding station away from other birds. I have bluebird feeder mounted in same area as oiler, thistle, suet and hummingbird feeders and they all coexist. I have a Jennabird bluebird feeder (looks like little dowel rod jailhouse with holes on both ends) at this station and it is currently frequented by bluebirds, white breasted nuthatches, tufted titmice, red bellied woodpecker, flicker, carolina wrens, and of course the inimitable house sparrow. The bluebirds tolerate other birds on or in their feeder except for the house sparrows whom they display a threat toward and chase off. The white breasted nuthatch does a similar thing with the titmice. I have another bluebird feeder in front yard off by itself (plexiglass fly through type) that is not used nearly as often by the birds. They definitely prefer the jailhouse. In both feeders, I feed Bluebird Banquet. Thanks, From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] In regards to the paragraph about Bluebirds preferring a feeding station to themselves: The first four years (of my six year bluebirding) the other birds definitely intimidated the Bluebirds at the feeder and if I put anything on the ground for other birds anywhere close. Just yesterday, I had to smile as I looked out and the Goldfinches were on their feeder pigging out on the Black Oil Sunflower seed, the numerous species of Sparrows, Cardinals, Ringed Neck Doves and other birds eating seeds not to far on the ground and the Bluebirds were coming to their feeder that is about 20 ft. from all this. This was the way it was last year too. I can see all this from my den door and windows and what a joy it is! Evelyn Cooper From: Keith & Sandy Kridler, txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net Myths circulate from time to time and this list gives the novice a pretty good idea that not everything you read is true. Different areas will have different myths that are more important. One that I see that is missing is: "It is too late in the year to install a nestbox because bluebirds have already started laying eggs." Of course it is never too late to install a nestbox. I never really thought about anyone buying earthworms and feeding these to bluebirds like some do mealworms.....Bluebirds are NOT endangered but they are very closely related to the robin. The robin often feeds earthworms exclusively to their young and it does not seem to kill them. We all hear that earthworms in the diet kill young bluebirds......Has ANY rehabilitator actually taken an orphaned family of bluebirds and scientifically fed part of the birds from this family a perfectly balanced diet, part of the birds a diet with 40% earthworms, part of the family 80% earthworms and then compared growth rates and fledge dates? This would be a really simple experiment to perform except that there are MANY species of earthworms that feed on many different types of food and in the wild there are many different types of pollution that the "wild" earthworms would be exposed to. I guess a rehabilitator could always just harvest the earthworms from their own back yard. Anyone in Ohio or Pennsylvania want to watch young robins next spring to see if THEY have diarrhea when fed earthworms or if a rehabilitator would be willing to experiment with young bluebirds? Come to think of it MOST of the bird droppings I find on our car could be classified as diarrhea:-)))) Anyway I think the "myth" list is really a good idea and done VERY nicely! Kudos' to all who helped with suggestions and critique of the list....I do think different regions could tweak it a bit or add a local myth to customize it to fit different areas. KK From: Dusty Bleher, dusty"at"fsinc.com" Since the BB nesting season is nearly upon us (in N. Calif), we did our post-roosting season inspection yesterday as we get ready for the influx of BB's and other assorted and sundry tenants. What a surprise it was when the first two _hanging_ boxes both yielded a tree rat (Dusky-footed Wood Rat, perhaps?) in residence! Surprisingly docile, we held and observed them at some length, until they decided to di-di-mau in a real hurry. Both had stuffed the box with soft grasses at the bottom, and larger leaves and twigs at the top... Dusty San Jose, Ca. From: A. Lara Lewis [mailto:andrealaralewis"at"comcast.net] Hi, I'm new to the group. I'm in Atlanta, GA and Bluebirds have nested in our shower fan vent box on the exterior, third floor of the house. Unfortunately, this is too high for me to be able to climb up on a ladder and see what's going on. I've heard activity in the vent for at least a month to 2 months. I thought that the eggs had been laid and hatched by now. ...So my question is that if my assumption is correct and the eggs are just now being laid, approximately how long will it take for the nestlings to hatch and leave the nest? We are in the process of having the exterior of the house painted, so the painters are temporarily on hold until the nest is vacated. My husband seems to think that the majority of all bird nestlings have left the nest by now (mid-May), but from what I've read on the website about Bluebirds I don't think he's correct. Any advice/information is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lara From: Burnham, Barbara [mailto:Barbara.Burnham"at"zzz.zzz] ... Here in Maryland we usually have 3 broods. Our first brood of this year fledged last Thursday. Perhaps the painter could get up on the ladder and check the status of the nest. As soon as the nest is inactive, I would have the vent cleaned out and screened over to prevent birds nesting there. While nesting in your vent, the bluebirds are vulnerable to starlings and house sparrows (not to mention clogging your vent). If starlings or house sparrows take over the vent, they will likely kill the adult bluebirds, their babies, and break or toss out their eggs. Starlings and house sparrows will then create a terrible mess (and noise) in the vent and nearby areas. Being able to watch the bluebirds' activities, monitoring their nestbox, and watching them raise their family can be extremely rewarding. Why not set up nearby a NABS-approved bluebird nestbox in an open area of your yard (on a metal pole with raccoon baffle) for the bluebirds? It could be ready for them to move right into. Barbara Burnham Ellicott City, MD From: RJFandal"at"aol.com [mailto:RJFandal"at"aol.com] The female just completed her second nest in the same nestbox they used for the first brood. Early this morning a 100 ft loblolly pine fell and the top of the tree knocked down the nestbox. The house cracked apart and the pole was bent. I busily tried to get up a replacement box as quickly as I could. Meanwhile, the female flew back and forth in the area where the box should have been, hovering right at the spot where the box had stood, and landing briefly in small crepe myrtles that were about 20 ft on either side of where the box had been. Her nest was pretty intact, although the house was not salvageable, so I put her nest in the new box (identical to the broken one) and placed the new pole as near to the site of the original box as I could. It's about 15 ft away from that spot since I was working around the top of a huge pine tree. At first the female only flew to the hole then back to the crepe myrtle, then after about an hour, she would go inside the box briefly then back to the crepe myrtle. Later in the day I saw her sitting on top of the box. This evening, as I was trying to clear away some of the tree, I happened to spot a tiny white egg on the ground. I knew then she had dropped her first egg when she was in the crepe myrtle tree. (Thank goodness Keith had recently explained all this!) The egg was not broken, but it had been exposed to the heat all day (high 80s - 90), but it may not have been in the direct sun all day. Still, I put it in the nest of the new nest box. • Should I have put the egg in the new box? • What are the odds of her using the new nestbox, especially since it is not in the same location of the original box? • Is there anything else I can or should do? As always, thanks so much for your advice! Tammi Pearl River , LA From: Keith & Sandy Kridler Replacing the nestbox and pole close to the original nest site is always very good. In a case like this I would also have put the newly completed nest in the new box just in case she was about to lay an egg and did not have time to build a complete nest. I probably would have saved the egg and kept it in a safe place in my house until the female had laid her second egg and then added it to her newly laid clutch. This pair of birds is confused because her house was moved and there is a huge tree down in their territory. Now there is an egg in a new box that she did not put there! Now I would leave this nest just like it is and see what happens. Even if they abandon this nest attempt they will probably re-nest within a couple of weeks somewhere close. Bluebirds are so trusting to people that are routinely around their nest site that I would be surprised in a backyard situation that this bird does not accept all of these changes and the newly added egg and she probably already laid another egg in the nest this morning. I came to this conclusion very scientifically I flipped a coin and went with "heads" she accepts the nest:-))) If it is not too much bother I would also make sure that there is one or two other empty nestboxes by Wednesday either in your yard or a close neighbor that these birds could move to if they do not begin laying eggs by Monday. KK From: RJFandal"at"aol.com [mailto:RJFandal"at"aol.com] From: RJFandal"at"aol.com [mailto:RJFandal"at"aol.com]
From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] I called Steve Gilbertson about ordering some Gilwood boxes (he doesn't have a website - they can be ordered by mail - (218)927-1953 and his address is 35900 Dove St., Aitkin, MN 56431, $15 each? assembled plus $5.00 shipping for whole order) and I learned so much! I'm going to violate a BBL rule of one topic per e-mail (multiple topics make it MUCH MUCH harder for me to categorize postings for the archives at http://www.bestofbbml.audubon-omaha.org/) to share some tidbits on his opinions and research results (esp. since he won't be at the NABS convention): From: Nahanna2"at"aol.com [mailto:Nahanna2"at"aol.com] Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2004 4:31 PM Subject: large Spiders in red flower nest? Hello all: For those who remember this is the Bluebird nest with the red fabric flower. I have pictures of the flower for those interested... Perhaps I will take a few spider pic's? I have a question/obervation about 3 large, desiccated spiders w/ 1 inch bodies in a nest w/ one dead nestling of four. V ery near fledged with longish tail feathers. I believe they are Wolf Spiders from my research, which I read are ground spider's here in Northern Ca. no info about what they eat other than being ground hunters. There were four nestlings, 3 fledged this one died. :( Can't say why, no parasites that I can tell, a seeming large, healthy and fully feathered nestling. These are the first big spiders for me and my boxes. I have seen them on the trail before, they are pretty spiders. They were not in the box a few weeks ago. I do check in, under and around the nests. Questions? Mother or father bird bring them in and where they turned down as a snack? The three had all their body parts, just dried up big spiders. Born in box? Any harm to birds? I feel guilty due to an injury to my person that kept from my boxes for a few weeks. I kept the nest, nestling, and the desiccated spiders until I have more information. It seems logical to me that one should remove the spiders, I am just fretting that they might of harmed the nestling/fedgling if not simply scary to have three big spiders living in such close quarters, I hope they arrived dead. :) Thanks! Happy birding.... From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" ... This is the second [black widow] in two weeks inside of a nestbox. Notice that is my finger in the shot and the yellow ball is one of her egg sacks..Probably contains about 130 young. Notice that the spider is as large as the entrance hole on the nestbox. Can you imagine reaching into this nestbox with your bare hand. The female protects her egg and they are really quite fast in the web. Their bite causes nerve damage. Keith Kridler From: Dottie, Hickory Hollow, Brown County, Indiana [mailto:yumyumkatts"at"voyager.net] In Virginia, where I'm from originally, we have Black Widow spiders. So I know about them and how a bite from one of them can put a person in the hospital. Black Widows were a favorite food for our chickens. We don't have Black Widows in this part of Indiana, thank goodness. Dottie, Hickory Hollow Brown County, Indiana From: SCooke [mailto:ncw001"at"nc.rr.com] Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 1:28 PM Subject: Chipping sparrow a threat to EABL? Since I joined this list about a month ago, I have learned a lot about the dangers that HOSP's pose to EABL's. Today I saw a 2 chipping sparrows at my window feeder for the first time. Do they pose a threat to EABL's? Thanks for the help, Sharon in NC From: Cher [mailto:bluebirdnut"at"a-znet.com] Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 1:42 PM Subject: Re: Chipping sparrow a threat to EABL? Sharon, Chipping Sparrows are not a threat to EABL's. I have some frequenting my feeder area, and they get along with the Bluebirds just fine. They aren't cavity nesters like the Bluebirds are - they build their nests in trees. Cher From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"tds.net] Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 6:45 PM Subject: Re: Chipping sparrow a threat to EABL? Sharon, Chipping Sparrows are not a threat to anything. They are very good-natured birds, and they have no interest in nestboxes. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: Paula [mailto:PaulaZ"at"columbus.rr.com] Sharon et al, Chipping sparrows are absolutely no threat whatsoever. They are great little birds as are all of our native true "sparrows". This is when a misnomer causes problems. The name "House Sparrow" is a misnomer in my opinion as the bird is actually not a sparrow, but a weaver finch. A true sparrow beak could not wreak the havoc that this weaver finch's beak can. And in case the question now pops into your head, goldfinches and house finches are harmless as well.... Paula Z Powell (Central) Ohio From: Loretta M. Hill [mailto:lmhill"at"ntws.net] Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 10:39 AM Subject: Losing my bluebirds-help A retired bird lover built bluebird houses and put five up on my land. The first year (three ago) every house had eggs. The second year only three did. This year I had two houses with eggs. Looking in to see if all was well on one of them, I found a dead bluebird on the nest. At the other house a week or two later there was a dead bluebird on the ground. I live in north central Texas and frankly can't tell one bird from another except for scissortail, cardinals and bluebirds. This is a long shot but can anyone out there give me some idea of what's wrong? Loretta From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"tds.net] Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 4:54 PM Subject: Re: Losing my bluebirds-help Loretta, Sitting here in NH , it's very hard to know exactly what's going on down there in Texas. What you describe, however, would make me wonder about several factors if you lived up here in northern New England. Are your houses well out in the open, 100 feet (not yds) or more from puckerbrush, tree lines, bushes, copses, etc? Our Bluebirds like large lawns, fields, meadows, golf courses, pastures, etc. Do you have predators in your area, - raccoons, cats, snakes, hawks, owls? Do you have competition from English Sparrows, Starlings, House Wrens? Might there be some human vandals around? I hope someone from your part of Texas can answer your questions with more authority than I can. Maybe the answers would be different if you have Western Bluebirds, for example Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: Paula Z This is very sad and I'm glad you are trying to figure out what is happening. My guess, from what you have written, is that House Sparrows (HOSP) are killing your bluebirds. When I first became interested in bluebirds years ago, I did not know I could open the box safely to look at the birds. I did not even know what a HOSP was. After losing two nests to them, I contacted a woman who became my bluebird mentor. One of the first things she told me is the most important thing I learned. "If you have House Sparrows, you won't have Bluebirds." I quickly learned what HOSP were and how to control them. HOSP are not native birds and cause absolute havoc and destruction with our native birds. They can, and very often do, destroy eggs, nestlings and adult native birds in the nestbox. Check out Bet's website: http://www.sialis.org/hosp.htm to learn more. Learn to identify cavity nesting birds, their eggs and their nests. They all look different. It is fascinating, a lot of fun, and a great way to help native birds. Once you get to know their nest construction habits and identify that little brown bird (HOSP) it is easy to tell when you have one trying to take a box. I use active HOSP control on all my boxes. If you are not willing to control HOSP in some manner, you really need to take the boxes down. Otherwise, you are luring the Bluebirds to an area to be killed IMHO. Don't be afraid to open your nestboxes and monitor what is going on. I check on my nesting birds at least once or twice a week. Another possibility regarding the loss of the birds is pesticides. If you or your neighbors are heavy pesticide users, you can easily poison the birds you are trying to help. I had a friend this year who really wanted to put up bluebird nestboxes, but has a neighbor who sprays their yard and house heavily for every kind of insect you can imagine. She found a dead adult bluebird in her backyard and we think pesticides are most likely the culprit here. We decided no nestboxes for her because of her dangerous habitat. A final possibility is climbing predators (raccoons, snakes, cats, etc.). All nestboxes should be mounted on a pole with a predator baffle to keep the birds as safe as possible. Good luck. Paula Z Powell (Central) Ohio From: Behalf of "Gail" <thorntog"at"ci.hamilton.oh.us> Hello fellow bluebird lovers from Gail in SW Ohio - Being new to bluebirding, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many others share my enthusiasm. After seeing bluebirds in my backyard in February of 2002 and 2003, I installed a bluebird box on an 8-foot 4x4 wooden post (with baffle) behind my deck in early March 2004. Amazingly, within 2 weeks I had a bluebird nest; by the end of March I began to feed them mealworms. I spent many hours watching the male display to the female, and got some great photos. My bluebird pair was very diligent in fending off the tree swallows that tried to take over their nest box during May & June. Sparrows are not abundant in my neighborhood (subdivision next to fields, woods & pond). House wrens occasionally perched on the box, but didn't seem really interested probably because it's too far from shrubs & cover. Also had flocks of robins which sometimes gave the bluebirds grief, as well as brown headed cowbirds. The only bird that sends the bluebirds running is a local Cooper's Hawk. Now, after 3 successful nestings (7-9 fledglings) and the final brood being still being fed in the nearby woods, I have a few questions for all of you experts. In all of the listserv emails, I have not read where anyone has had a problem with house finches - my male bluebird is constantly being followed by 2-4 house finches (females). They don't harass him, just stay really close. Anyone know what this behavior is all about? Second, what happens to the eggs that don't hatch in the box - does the female remove them? The first nest contained 6 eggs, but only 3 hatched. After fledging, I removed the nest, and it was completely empty, as was the second and third nest. Third, should I expect the bluebirds to stay in SW Ohio over the winter, or will they migrate? I do have a large patch of wild honeysuckle, but the robins have pretty much cleaned off those berries by January. If the bluebirds do stick around, will they be upset if I remove the birdhouse over the winter (until March 1st)? I use the same post for running a bird feeder wire to the deck. Should I continue with the mealworm feeding as long as I see them around? (Fortunately, I have a nearby worm production company.) I will be adding a second nest box on the other side of my house next spring. Thanks for all the bluebird info in the emails - it's interesting to read and increased my general birding knowledge quite a bit! Gail From: Dottie Roseboom [mailto:rosedot"at"mtco.com] Gail, Great to hear about your success. I'm glad to see that you plan on adding an additional nestbox - two would be nice, especially with the tree swallows :-) As far as the robins & house finches, I've never experienced much trouble between them and the bluebirds. They usually are able to work everything out, without anyone getting harmed. Birds are quite capable of removing eggs from a nestbox. Hopefully, you'll never experience this being done by the house wren or house sparrow. Sometimes parents will remove infertile eggs. Generations of nestlings have fledged without our help. As far as wintering bluebirds, some should hang around SW Ohio, especially since you have nearby woods. They will frequent HEATED birdbaths. For years, I never provided mealworms for wintering bluebirds. They did fine. Now, I spoil myself, by feeding them a few mealies. However, I do plant entirely for wildlife, so there's lots of natural "stuff" for all wintering birds. Bet's great website has many plants for bluebirds. If you've never visited her site, I would suggest to do so. www.sialis.org/plants.htm Thank you for adding to our wonderful bluebird population. Dottie Roseboom Peoria IL (central - zone 5) From: Paula [mailto:PaulaZ"at"columbus.rr.com] Gail, Congratulations on your bluebirds this season. It looks like they have you hooked like the rest of us. :) I live in a subdivision in central Ohio and have had bluebirds here for many years. I have successfully helped them out for the past 3 years. If I were you, I would consider "pairing" another box about 15 to 20 feet from your existing one. That way the tree swallows (TRES) can have a box next spring. If you have the land, you may want to put up another box or "pair" 300 feet from the existing one. Since you live in a subdivision, I doubt you have the land for this. I do have a box in the front yard and one in the back and once had bluebirds nest simultaneously in both boxes because my house blocked their view of each other. This is a little unusual as they like their space (territory). I have taken the bluebirds to the neighbors on my street and have two neighbors a couple doors down from me (boxes placed so out of my EABL territory). I help these neighbors with HOSP control and encourage them to monitor their boxes. Both these neighbors have had EABL the last couple of years. You say you have few house sparrows (HOSP) which is good, but it only takes one to decide he wants a box. It also only takes one neighbor feeding them bird seed they like, or one neighbor allowing them to breed to turn a few into a flock. HOSP love to be near buildings and a subdivision is HOSP heaven. My first two experiences with bluebirds involved a HOSP killing two nests of babies. This happened when I only had one box and did not know how to control them. I always try to have an empty nestbox in my yard to help intercept any HOSP that wants a box. If you are willing to actively control HOSP, I would recommend buying a good inbox trap such as Van Ert's Universal Sparrow Trap: http://www.vanerttraps.com/universal.htm I find that the HOSP eventually persuade most bluebirders into active control, but many use passive measures of piercing their eggs or tossing out their nests. I have experimented with both passive measures and have had bad experience with the nest tossing business - I lost several nests of eggs from adjacent native cavity nesters doing this. The egg piercing works pretty well, but you still have the HOSP in the area and they may continue to harass (or worse) your EABL. I good egg piercer is the little lances they use to draw blood from a person's finger - I think you can get these at drug store. This HOSP warning is just that - be prepared because I think you were lucky this year. We have finches at our feeding station and they do tend to follow the EABL around. I don't know why. The EABL seem to ignore them and are not at all concerned. If a HOSP gets near their feeder or in their area, they aggressively chase him/her though - they know which bird is a threat. Eggs that aren't hatched by the female can be removed by her, but not always. I have found that they usually stay in the nest and sometimes she shoves them down into the nesting material. Some of us remove the eggs about a week after the other eggs have hatched because the remaining egg(s) are almost certainly nonviable after this date. You don't want to remove too soon because they can hatch within a day or two of each other. The reason to remove the nonviable eggs is to guard against possible bacterial infection of nestlings if the rotten, nonviable egg were to rupture. Some monitors just leave the nonviable eggs in the nest. I remove mine after a week or so. I would expect your EABL to overwinter in SW Ohio. Mine do in central Ohio. I feed them lots of Bluebird Banquet (1 to 2 cups per day) in winter months. It seems to be their main foodstay in the winter and I could not afford to feed that many mealworms. Recipe is at: http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/ljrecipe.htm Gail, since you are hooked now, you may want to hook a couple neighbors strategically on your street. You may want to approach a local park, cemetery, school yard, golf course and see if you can put up a trail. You have to be willing to control HOSP though, because they will come. Paula Z Powell (Central) Ohio From: Gail [mailto:thorntog"at"ci.hamilton.oh.us] Thanks, Paula. You are a wealth of information - I will certainly try the bluebird banquet recipe. If they don't eat it I'm sure other birds will. And I will put up a second box since my yard is nearly an acre and a half. I will also spread the word to all my bird feeding friends not to put out mixed seed containing millet. The doves and other seed eating birds will just have to eat the sunflower seeds. What do you do with the sparrows you trap? From: Edward Steiner [mailto:esteiner3043"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 6:00 PM Subject: Sparrows/Wrens nesting in Bluebird houses Hi Everyone: I have been reading your email responses dealing mostly with Sparrows but I encluded Problems with Wrens. In 2003 we tried a new approach. We took a kitty can filled with water and placed it in the emty birdhouse. The sparrows did not like getting their feet wet and would not build a nest over the water. They never came back.The wrens were another problem, they built their nest over the water bath. I'm not getting my hopes up until next season when We try this method again. Ed, Wilton, CT From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 7:23 PM Subject: Re: Water/Sparrows/Wrens Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Tubs of water in Bluebird boxes have also been tried on our experimental passive trails. Here's the link to the online logs of La Mirada's trail: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/testmirada.html Scroll down to the second nestbox site called "Manzanares - Frisbee #5" and you will see 2003 log notes where HOSP added nesting material as the water evaporated in between weekly checks. Taking off the nestbox door accomplishes the same thing . . . neither HOSP or Bluebirds will use the box. From: Elizabeth Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Some good guesses came in on the top topics on the Bluebird_L listserv over time. Today will be Digest #1000, so here are the top topics collected in the archives at http://www.bestofbbml.audubon-omaha.org/ , in terms of VOLUME: 1. Philosophy of House Sparrow Control (the Miscellaneous groupings are also large) Linda V. had provided some great input on splitting up the HOSP pages into specific topics (traps, feeding, etc.), and I hope to get to work on that sometime soon. Hope you are still enjoying some bluebird weather! Bet from CT "The Eastern Bluebird was very conspicuous during the calm, warm 'Indian summer' days of late October--such weather was called 'bluebird weather' by local sportsmen." From: M Mac [mailto:mbmacvic"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 3:36 PM Subject: Bluebirds in Mazzzchusetts in the cold Hello So my questions are- do you think I should put a nesting box up or will the sparrows be too much of a problem?? Does anyone know if there are bluebirds on the islands? Do you think he was just lost or do bluebirds stay or come back once they establish a territory? Any advice would be appreciated. We have a bird house for swallows but the sparrows always take it over no matter how hard we try to keep cleaning it out. I guess I could try to keep cleaning it out everyday. Thanks From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"tds.net] Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 4:12 PM Subject: Re: Bluebirds in Mazzzchusetts in the cold Melizzz, I would definitely put up at least a pair of houses and see how things work out. Coping with House Sparrows is a whole science in itself, as you may have gathered, Pairing your houses is one technique for handling Tree Swallow competition, but remember that Tree Swallows are not only very desireable, they are also protected by law. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2005 8:59 AM Subject: Making your local area bird safe Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Make sure that there are no five gallon buckets or sprinkling cans sitting around your property half filled with water. Birds, especially just fledged babies can fall in them and drown. Around wood duck (and other cavity nesting ducks) nestboxes make sure that right under the boxes that the landing area for the babies is fairly short grass and has no long thorns or dense area of blackberries for them to get caught in. If these birds nest far from water is there a path mowed through tall weeds so that the female can easily lead them to water? Near your bluebird trail watch for open topped steel corner posts, gate posts and stretcher posts as these are often filled with water and become a trap. Colored roof metal can be cut and fit to match nearly every fence color and seal the tops of these posts. Some ranchers use old coffee cans to drop over the open tops of these posts to seal out the birds or rain water. The new PVC rail fences often have the square posts with one or more rails missing. Cavity nesters can enter these 1&1/2" wide slots made for the plastic rails and fall to the bottom of these slick walled square pipe. They make some heavy duty white plastic tape in 2" widths that can cover these slots for several years before needing to be replaced. You can cut a patch out of flat PVC and using self drilling TEK screws "semi-permanently" cover this open slot. Check your nestbox fronts! Fronts that are split down through the entrance hole can catch the legs of the adult or young birds as they leave the box breaking leg bones. Use a latex caulk for outdoor use and caulk the cracks or replace the front of the nestbox. Are there steel or plastic livestock watering tanks in your area? Owners of these tanks need to provide a floating board in these tanks so that when birds fall in they can climb up on the board and dry off a little and escape. Dead birds in a water tank will "foul" the drinking water for the livestock. A 12"x12" board or piece of closed cell Styrofoam will last a whole year in the water tank. At fishing areas have them post on bulletin boards the dangers of monofilament fishing line. Many species of wildlife get caught up in this line that fishermen strip off of their reels! Can stray cats or dogs be trapped and carried to a Humane Society in your area? Make sure your vet has a handout on the numbers of birds killed by cats. Encourage neuter or spayed pets. Tobacco barn wood burning heaters were found to contain 300>500 cavity nesters that had died in a single season in the past. Most of these old heaters were replaced with gas or electric heaters in the 1970's. Plumbers, roofing companies, seamless gutter companies, chimney sweeps, carpenters, insurance adjusters and a whole host of do-it-yourselfers will be climbing up on roofs all across your area this week. IF you copy parts of the posts on this subject you could spread the word throughout the construction community. Posting these warnings at feedmills, lumber stores, Wild Bird type stores and fax or e-mail them to your local contractors and county extension office. Encourage them to copy and give these to their customers. Encourage those who often are on rooftops to cover unsafe vents or steel chimney flue pipe. Make it a point to contractors that while they are "already" up there on that roof that they could help the birds and make another $40 everytime they climb up on a new roof! Make it a point that covering those vents might save the homeowners a $175 roto-rooter job from their local plumber! Don't forget landscape companies that install trees and the plastic "tree tubes" to protect young tree trunks from animals chewing the trunks and sun scald. Cavity nesters often die when they hop down in these slick "plastic tubes". All Wal-Marts have bulletin boards, nearly all lumber centers have "do-it-yourself" workshops. Anywhere people sit and wait they could use something interesting to read! Even Oil change shops would be a good place to warn people about the dangers of wildlife killed by pouring out old anti-freeze containing ethylene glycol which is a deadly poison to wildlife that a quart of used motor oil can cover thousands of square feet of water. You might also want to include a couple of instruction sheets for building and maintaining nestboxes and promoting your state bluebird society, NABS and Cornell University. You could target each different location by say putting the "cats killing birds" as the number one issue in a pet supply or vet office. In the Chimney sweeps and insurance adjuster handout installing the "spark arrestor" on the metal flue pipe and the numbers of house fires caused by chimney fires would top the list ETC for the rest of the contractors. For example include for gutter installers that the "plastic rolled up" water diverter on the bottoms of rain gutters does not allow trapped birds to escape when they fall down rain gutters without leaf guard screens installed at the roof edge. You don't have to put up thousands of nestboxes to save thousands of birds. From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 9:06 AM Subject: Re: Thank you and opps w/ micromanagement .... I'm watching a beautiful Bluebird pair on last year's house right this minute. I think they have claimed it, since I have see them on it at least a couple times a day for about a month now. However, no nest construction yet. I think they are the pair from last year. I didn't know about monitoring last year, but I believe they had two broods, and I believe most of their offspring still hang out in a tree in the neighbor's pasture behind our house. Been here all winter, in a little family flock. I cut some hay baling twine into 3 inch sections, separated it into individual strings and put it in a wire suet feeder in case any of the birds want to use it in their nests. I have a horse, and when I groom her (she is really shedding right now), I leave the hair out for the birds on that property, where I have put three houses (more than 300 feet apart). I also have three indoor cats, and when I comb them, I throw the accumulated hair outside for the birds (Chickadees and Titmice might use it, don't know if the Blues will). I emailed Cornell about the raw hamburger this morning, and will let you know their response when I get it. Shawn in Sevierville, TN From: Nina Everett [mailto:NINAUT"at"CHARTER.NET] I have seen some bluebirds around my box but no real activity. Would it be helpful to put out food for them now? Does this help attract them to nest here? I have absolutely no experience with this. Will appreciate your help. My daughter has a pair of nuthatches building a nest in her bluebird box. Should she install another box for the blues? If so, how far away? From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 8:02 PM Subject: Re: Feeding bluebirds I have no experience with feeding mealworms. I would put out a birdbath, though. Doesn't need to be fancy or expensive (I found the "plans" for mine on the "Better Homes & Gardens" website bhg.com), it is just a couple of terra cotta pots and a terra cotta saucer. [Note from webmaster: remainder of thread is posted under feeding] From: Laura McGuffey [mailto:GALALEEMC"at"direcway.com] ...I want to let people know that I am new to this. I inherited 10 boxes on property I just bought and want to help them any way I can. From: EHDerry"at"aol.com [mailto:EHDerry"at"aol.com] Laura: Welcome to the List. I am glad that all the craziness of the last week did not scare you off. From: Laura McGuffey [mailto:GALALEEMC"at"direcway.com] ...I had a bluebird orgy in my yard about two weeks ago when I put up a brand new nest box. I had two pairs going at it at the same time, with many other birds all about, within 20 feet of the new box. It was hysterical and exciting. From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"verizon.net] Laura, From: Laura McGuffey [mailto:GALALEEMC"at"direcway.com] Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 11:05 AM Subject: Re: pred guards Bruce From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"verizon.net] Laura, LnL, et al, I always remove and discard old nests after *every* fledging, not just in the fall. They're usually squashed flat, and they're often filthy and even infested with bad organisms (loathsome creatures) of various kinds. I remove the old nests and clean the interior thoroughly with my hive tool and a stiff brush. If they were mine, I'd make the changes between fledgings, and work fast. Have everything ready in advance, - tools, materials, fasteners, etc. - so that you can I'd be very leery about what they tell you concerning past "successes." Very leery. Unopenable boxes, left up without monitoring, are usually not "successful." All sorts of bad things can happen, the least of which is that the boxes will produce whole generations of House Sparrows (Rat Finches), mice, squirrels, Starlings, or Lord knows what-all. Usually they start out filthy and keep getting filthier. Finally, after time, they can simply rot away from the inside. If these people would put up unopenable boxes in the first place, chances are they don't really have a clue about what's been going on. From: Lawrence Herbert [mailto:lherbert"at"4state.com] Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 7:34 PM Subject: boxes that don't open Laura in GA and bluebirdsters: First thing I'd do before asking any questions is get those unoccupied boxes that don't open OPEN in order to monitor them properly. If you can't see in to determine if it active then you might try a flashlight and a small piece of mirror, small enough to get in and look around at the contents - maybe a mirror like a dentist would use. There was a young man selling bluebird houses and wren houses along the highway the other day. His prices were ok, but they were all nailed totally shut! I showed him one of my side opening ones. He didn't seem interested! Good birding, Larry H. Joplin MO. From: Tyler Mann [mailto:t_mann05"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2005 12:25 PM Subject: TRES Here in OH its 35 degrees and snowing. The TRES are even defending their box today against a pair of HOSP. One TRES is sitting in the hole and the other is on top of the box. I have never seen a TRES have to Fluff up its feathers to stay warm. Looks kind of funny. I hope the TRES dont go away from the area. On another note, i have another box (both are Gilbertson) with 4 EABL eggs. I sure hope she is incubating those without leaving the box much. Food is probably scarce because of the inch of snow on the ground. Tyler in West Central OH From: David Middleton Edelen II [mailto:k98"at"bellsouth.net] Hello all, From: Tree Greenwood [mailto:doctree"at"crosslink.net] Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 10:30 PM Subject: Re: a question about BBs? Few of us are experts, just folks interested in hosting native birds in our nestboxes. > ...So I have a few questions again. I hope I am not being a bother. Never! Reading questions from inexperienced folks gives older folks a trip down memory lane, remembering when we first noticed some of the same things or had the same questions. Dave, you have a bachelor male trying his best to attract a mate. You've described the 'Nest Display.' From ALL ABOUT BIRDS: | The male Eastern Bluebird does a "Nest Demonstration Display" at the Read the whole bird bio at: > ... will they still have another brood? ... Who knows? Three broods a year isn't unheard of in the southern states. > .. If he is checking the houses out, looking in them so much, then why See above... > ... And for that matter, where has the female been since around the 23 Your male is a young bachelor who has yet to find a compatible female. Perhaps there's a shortage of females in your area (common). If he does hook up with a female, watch her play hard-to-get and insist on checking out all of the other available cavities in the area. The male DOES select the general site and begins defending it. He'll attack any other male bluebird that ventures into the territory he claimed! He'll also do his best to defend his chosen box and site from other birds. But it's the lady who actually gets to choose the house and furnish it. It's pretty common for male birds to choose the site or area. Tree Swallow males put on quite an aerial display to attract a mate while they defend a nest box (or boxes). The despised English House Sparrow will sit on top of a box and chirp incezzzntly to get the attention of any females in the area. House Wren males build dummy nests in every cavity in the territory that they claim to try to entice a female to join them. And so on Fascinating and entertaining and rewarding and so much more. Yes, it's all part of the fun. Thanks, Dave, and take care, R J 'Tree' Greenwood From: David Middleton Edelen II [mailto:k98"at"bellsouth.net] Hello all,
From: LMHMDH"at"aol.com [mailto:LMHMDH"at"aol.com] Checked the box this morning and there were at least three that looked like they had just hatched. I expected to see more going in and out by mom and dad than I did today. I put out mealworms but the titmice came and snatched them up. We are pretty excited, even if they do look a bit like hairy shrimp right now.
From: agriffee [mailto:agriffee"at"adelphia.net] I just joined NABS and signed up for this forum yesterday. Had a lot of questions and couldn't get answers. I built about a dozen Bluebird Houses for my Country Club last year. Placed one on my property bordering the Golf Course. Didn't have any Bluebirds last year, had some small Bird, don't know what it was. Now have four babies hatched on June 4th. I look in the nest a couple times per day. Birds fly away immediately if in the house when I open it. |
