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It is SO very hot here in NC and stays well into the mid and high 90s all day and into the evening for days at a time. I thought the bluebird couple would be done for the season, but now I see they are building a nest in my odd shaped camera nest box. There is only one tree in my yard and it gives a little shade relief to the box in the morning but that is it. There is no ideal place in my yard for this nest box which is mounted on a pole. The last 3 fledglings left only 2 1/2 weeks ago. It was hot then. I would lay a partially wet frozen dishtowel over the roof of the odd shaped house, but now it is hotter yet. I would welcome any suggestions. Thank you.
Try some Reflectix® Reflective Insulation. You’ve probably seen it before. It’s bubble wrap with a reflective surface. I’ve had a piece on a “Gilwood” nest box roof on my garden fence for several years. It is easy to install on the roof and can cover the sides as well. Just cut a piece to wrap from the bottom of each side and over the roof. Attach with push pins or staples.
I don’t think they will mind it being installed, especially once they have an egg in there.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Jackie
I believe the blues are perfectly suited to deal with natures fluctuations. I believe its normal for us to worry about this yet I have never actually witnessed blues suffer from heat in 15 years of raising them.
All we can (and probably should) do is give them shelter, have food and water available and keep hosp away. The rest is up to them!Chris
Rochester, NYN
Or clamp an umbrella over the nest box… That’ll get your neighbors talking!
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
I had a camera in my bluebird house a few years ago and in the triple temps I could see the baby bluebirds laying on their backs with their beaks open but when it cooled off in the evenings they didn’t do that nor in the mornings. That was a good idea you had with the cold cloth. I actually made provision with a layer of vinyl on my bb house with a small screen about one inch from the top a few years back. I don’t have the camera in the bb house now but I do have eggs in the box but usually in these temps, I only have one egg to hatch.
I appreciate the feedback. The heat has been relentless for about 2 weeks with heat indexes of over 105 degrees. Certainly it is even hotter inside the nest box. I am not necessarily one that likes to interfere, but I feel compelled to take some stress off these poor bluebirds if I can. I am going to try something and will see how it goes. There are actually things called “plant umbrellas” and I just ordered a pair online. They are much like the umbrella suggestion Tim posted, only they are smaller at 23 inches wide and have an underside of UV protection. The set I ordered is also angle adjustable. I am going to install one onto a tall thin garden pole that has a point that sticks directly into the ground. I may attach some mylar strips so it can double as a sparrow spooker. I will also consider the Refectix Insulation in mind, but do not want to cover over the solar panel of the nest box. But could use for the sides. I will not make any moves until after eggs are laid. Thank you all once again.
You can put some kind of corrugated board on a nestbox roof with a spacer in between and that helps a lot. Martin landlords put shade over their gourds by using corrugated boards and other things. Here in the north, it gets hot in there but they will be fine. It’s good to have ventilation holes or slots in the sides of your box too. Or a big opening like the Gilwood box has. Any shade helps!!
Tammy
The latest issue of the Florida Bluebird Society newsletter has an article on this topic. Some notes from the article:
* Strapping ice packs to the outside of the box is a bad idea that could make it harder for the female to incubate the eggs – female must keep eggs at 100 F or higher
* A normal bluebird body temperature is 104 F and they tolerate higher ambient temperatures than we do – too high temperature for them is 107 F
* If concerned about temperature, measure the temperature inside the box
* Nest box material, thickness, color, and ventilation are important – with respect to temperature, wood is better – thicker walls provide better insulation – light colors reflect more solar energy – poor airflow traps more heat
* Provide fresh, clean water nearby
- Ira / Coastal NW Florida
I left out the key sentence in the article I refer to above: That is that the bluebirds handle or tolerate hot days better than we do.
All in all, I think the bluebirds know what they are doing. Aside from a suitable box with effective prdator protections, the next best thing we can do as I see it is provide water.
- Ira / Coastal NW Florida
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