Home › Forums › Bluebird Chatter › Neighborhood Blues!
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dogsandbirds.
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June 13, 2017 at 2:15 pm #4758
Well, this year I didn’t get any Bluey’s in my boxes. My one box had a family of DEES (7 egg, 7 fledglings!). My other slotted box was a constant war with the HOSP’s. I went away for 5 days and when I returned there was a HOSP nest with 5 eggs that I pulled. They have not been back since. HOWEVER – I encouraged my two neighbors to put up boxes and low and behold the one neighbor is on brood #2 (after fledging 2 chicks from 4 eggs – 2 eggs never hatched). His current nest has 4 eggs that should hatch in the next 7 days. The neighbor across the street FINALLY has a nest (after MANY HOSP nests being expelled) with 4 eggs! Both have Spookers on and I am monitoring. The neighbors call me “The Bird Man”. Although they are not in my yard I see both sets of parents daily coming to my feeders for dried cranberries (they LOVE them!) as well as to the pond for a drink. So my two boxes will likely stay empty this year – but I feel rewarded that one family has been launched and 2 more are in the process! Keeping fingers crossed for successful broods!
June 13, 2017 at 2:34 pm #4759I’m sorry you didn’t have your own blues yet this year, but it’s nice that you can help out the neighbors! I never fed dried cranberries to my bluebirds. Are you just buying those in the grocery store or at a wild bird store?
Susan
PennsylvaniaJune 13, 2017 at 3:24 pm #4760Susan:
TBH I found out completely by accident on the dried cranberries. I bought a bird seed at the local hardware store that has peanuts, black oil, sunflower chips and dried cranberries. I started to notice the Blues coming to the feeder and the only thing I could figure out they were eating was the cranberries! I know they are not seed eaters!June 13, 2017 at 9:04 pm #4761I’m going to look for those! I pray HOWR hate them! I love the neighborhood bluebird involvement. I got a neighbor excited about it yesterday since my babies moved to his yard!
June 13, 2017 at 9:06 pm #4762I had no idea they would eat dried cranberries but I guess it makes sense because sometimes they will eat raisins. I have seen them eat sunflower chips, especially if I put them in suet mix.
Way to go on those boxes and HOSP evictions!
Gin
Atlanta, GAJune 14, 2017 at 2:56 pm #4781I am definitely going to look for dried cranberries for my blues. I am expecting 5 babies to fledge soon. :)
Susan
PennsylvaniaJuly 24, 2017 at 2:04 pm #5790UPDATE:
Well the neighbor to the left of us has an amazing pair of very determined Blues. They are on their 4th nesting. They started a 3rd brood in the lower box but it did not have a baffle and I believe either squirrels or raccoons got into it as the nest was totally disturbed and the eggs were at the bottom. So the pair left this box and went back to their original box and now have 3 eggs close to hatching. The neighbors across the street had 3 of 4 fledge (one died in the box perhaps from blow fly or rain – I was away unfortunately and didn’t get to monitor as closely). So the neighborhood has had 3 successful nestings with 10 out of 12 babies fledging and hopefully another 3 in 2 more weeks. So although I got skunked in my boxes this year (except for 7 DEES) – we will have added 13 new Blueys to the world’s population this summer!! I will count that as a big success!!!
July 24, 2017 at 2:10 pm #5792Very big success if you ask me!
Gin
Atlanta, GA -
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