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We returned from vacation yesterday hoping to find 3 baby Bluebirds. (They were due to hatch Friday or Saturday.) I saw Daddy Blue at the entrance hole a few times and assumed he was feeding them. When I checked the box though I found they had all disappeared. It is just heartbreaking.
We have a cone baffle on the pole but apparently it didn’t stop whatever got them. I think it was a snake but my husband thinks raccoon. Wouldn’t a raccoon tear the nest up getting at the nestlings? The nest itself is undisturbed.
We are going to put a new baffle up but not sure what kind. Recommendations?-Martha
I feel sure snake. Look at Kruger guards on Sialis if you are in snake country. Learned the hard way. Easy to make and I have never caught a snake since putting it up. Maybe they are wise to it.
Could also be house wrens. Lost my first nest to them this year. A cut off end of a shoebox cured that.
It seems like I am constantly learning but always through tragedies like yours. I know it’s heartbreaking. Been there.Sorry!
Cone baffle won’t stop a snake or house wren. I finally had to get really serious and now my BB house looks like the city dump. But it works.P.S I don’t have raccoons so not sure but I would imagine the nest would be torn up.
Thank you Lisa. We don’t have house wrens here thank goodness. I still feel like it was a snake. We DO have a lot of snakes in this area. We also have raccoons though.
-Martha
Martha, you need a wobbling stove pipe baffle sized for a raccoon or a Krueger snake trap. Either one would protect the box better than a cone.
Gin
Atlanta, GAThanks Gin, we put a wobbling stovepipe baffle on today and also moved the nest box into a more open area. I am not familiar with the snake trap but I will look into it.
Should I leave the nest in the box? If the same pair try again maybe they will use it?? I’ve heard that they will but I’m not sure…-Martha
Very smart to move the box. I would remove the nest. The snake that got mine last year was about 5 feet long so a cone would have been useless. mine were 2 days from fledge. I was devastated. Parents did the same thing, looking in and out for a few days. They renested successfully after that awful loss.Snake actually had the nerve to come back the very next day and was all wrapped around the birdhouse….
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