NEED INFO ASAP- excessive heat question re: wren guard

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Well, our temp is to be 98 actual degrees with heat index around 110 degrees today and most of the rest of the week. QUESTION is – I do have heat shield on as well as spooker AND wren guard. The wren guard dopes block some air flow I believe. I have not heard or seen (but doesn’t mean they are not around) a wren lately – the front of my wren guard has a little hinge on it and I was wondering if I could raise that front guard during the heat of the day. and then lower it again later. The box does have good vents at the top of sides of box BUT it does not have any shade whatsoever. NEED OPINIONS on this – or maybe this would confuse mama too much since she is incubating.

[dogsandbirds]

I would leave the guard as it is. No sense inviting a wren to visit. I know you are concerned about the heat but you have good side vents, right? Cross ventilation is key.

Gin
Atlanta, GA

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Thanks Gin – yes the side vents are on both sides at the top and do create cross ventilation. No, I really do not want to invite wrens – I have only had about 3 instances of attack in all these years and they were all due to wrens dropping eggs out of nest! I will leave alone for now unless someone else has convincing evidence to the contrary about heat destroying eggs even with heat shield on a box.

[tamsea]

You could always strap some ice packs to it. ?? I’m thinking that only a couple of days of heat won’t hurt. Think of the bluebirds in TX….it’s hot there.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by tamsea.

Tammy

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Thanks, Tammy – right now at almost 8:00 p.m. it is 94 actual tamp with heat index at 110 – horrible humidity/hot. Same way tomorrow & Saturday, with Sunday high of 84 degrees. Maybe with that little break in the heat the eggs can survive. I might try that ice pack – maybe attach it to the north side of the box, which has no insulation on it, somehow. That might keep it a little cooler. Yes, it is hot in Texas where my son & extended family live, but doesn’t feel that bad because of lower humidity.

[David in Stafford,VA]

Have you put anything over the top of the nestbox as a shield from the sun? I put a thin piece of plywood over my nestbox and the birds do not mind it at all and it has kept the box a little cooler although I have not done a study on the temperatures. Anything that keeps the direct rays of the sun off the box will help. I intend to use a bigger piece of wood for the next brood if they start one in late July.
Good luck with your blues.

David
Stafford, VA

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Hi, David. Yes, I do have heat shield (styrofoam with dead-air space between box & foam as required) on this box and will try to post picture here. This is an older picture & the last 2 years I have added a much larger piece to the top of the box with 3 or 4 inches overlapping on all sides. Our midwest weather has turned into a monster this week and a heat shield is definitely needed. The foam is on the top, south & west sides of box where sun is prevalent.

[David in Stafford,VA]

Hi Carol. That set-up is almost like mine. I like your foam idea and might do a “Sandwich” of wood and foam for my next shield. Since this is now going to be a permanent set-up, I am thinking about drilling vent holes in the roof of the nestbox also since there will be space between the roof and the “sandwich”
From the looks of your pole location, your only other option might be a large “Market Umbrella” for heat relief. :)

David
Stafford, VA

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Yes, that would be ideal except it wouldn’t last one day in the wind which we have here almost constantly. That dead-air space is critical for any kind of heat shield so the air can flow between the box & shield and not make it that much hotter, which is what it would do with styrofoam. That tree in the background of the picture is actually my neighbor’s and is probably 150 feet away so provides no shade. Our backyard is very large and all of the trees there are quite a distance from any of my boxes so predators cannot drop down onto the box.

[BZ–W Ctrl MO]

Carol, I’m concerned about the same thing. I Have BB in two boxes, with 5 hatched on June 20, and 4 eggs in the other (last egg Jun 25). This is the first year I’ve had two nests going at the same time, and I am excited about that, of course. I Have heat shields up, but am really worried about this excessive heat in west central Missouri. Looks like next week is going to be the same. Let’s hope those little guys can pull through this. Good luck to you!

BZ
W Ctrl MO

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Good to hear from you BZ – wow to have two BB nests going at the same time is really exciting and has only happened to me about 2 times in 10 years. With all the stress I prefer to have just one nest going at a time – two years I had TRES and blues nesting at the same time and that was exciting but also stressful, as one batch of TRESS all just died in the box, I believe from mites. Good luck on your nests, keep us informed.

[tamsea]

I’m glad it doesn’t get that hot up here, although tomorrow it’s suppose to be 100. But it never stays like that.

Tammy

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

UPDATE: Well, we only had 1 day of heat relief on Sunday and then back in the 90’s with heat index over 100 degrees the past 4 days, but MY BABIES HATCHED TODAY, JULY 4 – what a great way to celebrate this Independence Day/4th of July. Now, all they have to do is make it through the next 17 days. If I remember somewhere it was said that baby birds can make it better through the heat than can the eggs. Is that correct?

[dogsandbirds]

Yep! Chicks do way better than eggs in extreme heat. Best of luck with these little ones!

Gin
Atlanta, GA

[David in Stafford,VA]

Great news Carol.

David
Stafford, VA

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