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?
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.
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.
Thanks 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…
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….