Moving bluebirds

[Maybelle]

Our forecast for the coming week is beyond horrible. The forecasts are not all identical, but all are awful. One had two days at 109 and the third day with 106. For Oregon this is unreal. Our nestlings are 9 days old and we are considering moving their box to a shaded location.

So I’m wondering if anyone has done this and whether the birds accepted the new location. They still will be mighty lucky to survive, but I figured it would be one more thing we could do.

Cari
Willamette Valley, Oregon

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Cari, I have no experience with moving a box (only done nest changes)- have thought seriously about it but could never find a better spot to move it to without increasing chances of predators. Those temps are indeed frightening. IF you have no heat shield on the box (do you?) I would be inclined to move the box – do you have another box mounted in a more shady area that you could just move the box and not have to move the pole too? It would need to be fairly close to where it is now so the parents will find it, or else they would need to see you move it – lot to think about here. Others need to chime in quickly, as you really need to get this done soon if at all. Good luck.

[dlibby]

I know a year ago I had a robin build a nest in our hanging basket with flowers in it. She built the nest right on top of them and this basket was in direct sunlight all day and I realized it was to much when she was sitting on them with her mouth wide open trying to just keep cool herself. I had to act quickly so I took my grandchildrens basket ball hoop one of those on wheels and lowered the hoop part down to just the right height and placed it right it front of the basket. It worked like a charm and shaded it completely most of the day. Mama robin was relieved and started leaving and getting food instead of worrying about the little ones. If you have anything big enough and have anybody around who is good at improvising, Maybe someone could come up with the shade you need. I think it’s the blazing sun on the box is the worst and they could probably tolerate the heat if you get rid of the sun.

[verachuckdave]

That sounds like a good idea. It seems it would be better to take the shade to the house instead of the house to the shade (if at all possible).

Susan
Pennsylvania

[dogsandbirds]

Cari, did you move the box? It can be done but the degree of difficulty depends on how the box is mounted.

No matter how the box is mounted, it’s way safer to move 9 day old nestlings than it is eggs or older chicks.

Gin
Atlanta, GA

[Maybelle]

If you can’t move the box to a tree, move a tree to the box! Well, something like that. Here’s my pink foam insulation “tree” that I placed on top of our wooden sunshield. The bluebirds have accepted it and it makes a big difference. This afternoon I want to check if the sun still strikes the wooden shield, and maybe add a layer of foam on the side.

Well, I’m having trouble with photobucket; we’ll see if this works

http://s1043.photobucket.com/user/Caro15lyn/media/IMG_8650%203_zps5x35ewsn.jpg.html?o=0″ alt

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Maybelle.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Maybelle.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Maybelle.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Maybelle.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Maybelle.

Cari
Willamette Valley, Oregon

[verachuckdave]

The problem with Photobucket is that they changed it, and now you have to pay a big fee to view images. Imgur.com is a free site that allows you to upload and post photos online. You might want to try that. :-) I’d like to see your “tree!”

Susan
Pennsylvania

[Maybelle]

Susan, you can see the photo on photobucket by clicking the link I shared. They didn’t let me put the photo directly on the Bluebird Nut Café, but they did let me put the link. So the photo is just a click away.

http://s1043.photobucket.com/user/Caro15lyn/media/IMG_8650%203_zps5x35ewsn.jpg.html

Cari
Willamette Valley, Oregon

[dogsandbirds]

PB is being very uncooperative here. I wish I could see your invention.

So sorry about your chicks. Sometimes whatever we do, things just don’t work out.

Gin
Atlanta, GA

[Maybelle]

Gin, when you click the link I posted, doesn’t the photo come up? It does when I click it.

And sorry for the confusion. If you read the first entry in the post about the ones that died, you will read that they were located at my neighbor’s place. I am just the guardian. ;)

The nestlings I am trying to save at my place are 11 days old. They were banded this morning and I hope they are still okay. mama has been busy tending them But today was just a warm up on the heat that is expected tomorrow and Thursday.

The nestbox is beginning to look like a giant pink hat or perhaps an alien spacecraft. But after a bit of initial hesitation, the pair has accepted it. And I’ll be they might even enjoy the cool interior.

Cari
Willamette Valley, Oregon

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Cari, I cannot pull up your picture either – get that same error message “need to update for 3rd party posting” or something like that. I am sure you can see it because this is your PB site. I’m glad you explained about your two different nests & locations. Sure would like to see your setup, like Gin says.

[Maybelle]

Where’s there’s poop, there’s life. So when the parent bluebird emerged from the box with a white wad of healthy nestling poop, I figured all was well.

It was hot today, but at our house more like 102, which is not as bad as some places in the region. We had smokey smog and I wonder if the dense air helped keep temperatures down a tad. But 102 is no joke for the bluebirds.

This year for the first time we have had an extra “uncle” bluebird that helped with the first nest of babies and now is here again helping. I would think having three adults feeding two babies should surely lighten the task. And an older fledgling sibling may also attempt to deliver a worm on occasion. It was reassuring to see them band together and tend the nestlings.

So one day down and a forecast for hotter yet tomorrow. So one day at a time.

Cari
Willamette Valley, Oregon

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