Uptick in sparrows/ still no blues in yard

[Chris]

It looks like you have some open space in the backyard. Maybe try adding one there, or try just moving the one box that is already out there?

My yard isn’t ideally open for them either, but i think they nest in my yard and then do some of their foraging in the neighbors yards. i read somewhere that a bluebird pair uses a couple of acres, but i don’t think that is just a circle around the box, i think maybe they are going to thread their way around to the best spots.

I like the Peterson box – but the birds seem to use either one equally. The Peterson has more space,its angled and as the brood grows there is more volume higher up. The only drawback i find to them is they take alot of work to build. I had a friend help me build a bunch of them one time with a Shopsmith.

Chris

[phillyblues]

Thanks for the suggestion Chris. Yeah I always figured since I am able to attract swallows out front it would be a matter of time for bluebirds. The swallows would just leave and hunt on the golf course and come back to the box periodocally so I always figured blues would do the same. It sure is a puzzle for me. So now I just left the peterson out front and put the old NABS style one in the back in a differnt spot closer to the open yard behind me. Hoping I didn’t miss my chance just yet. Thankfully I splurged and bought a peterson box over the winter. There was no way I was makimg one…as you said they are very complex.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by phillyblues.

[Chris]

I think you still have a chance this year, there have been folks posting about new nests here, not sure how far south they are.

If the house is out in the open, maybe the birds will find it quicker. The weathered peterson i moved and had success with, i think was too close to the neighbor’s outbuildings (sparrow dormitories).

I think as many sparrows as you’ve trapped, the bluebirds have a fighting chance.

Chris

[phillyblues]

Thanks Chris. How many years did it take for you to get blues? I am optimistic. We’ll see. I am gettting really good at sparrow elimination for sure. I made a big dent but it will take some more years as this neighborhood is overrun. It’s a shame because with the golf courses surrounding it…it should be a bluebird neighborhood. Hope I can pull it off.

[blue diamonds]

Phillyblues….I have paired boxes in my front yard. They are 15’ apart and face in the same direction (south). They are placed one behind the other. Bluebirds claimed the box in the back and the tree swallows took the one in the front. The tree swallows fledged today and the bluebirds have about another week to go. This is the second nesting for the blues. My backyard blues fledged Saturday. I cleaned the box and put it back up…..looks like another pair of tree swallows are trying to claim it.

If you decide to remove a box I would leave the box they were looking at in 2019. My front yard birds are not bothered by road noise, traffic or walkers. Good luck.

Judy – Michigan

[Chris]

Phillyblues, it took about 3 years to get my first bluebirds at the house i am living at now. The years they tried to nest, they often lost the battle to sparrows, or a hawk would take one of the adults.

Last year was a really good year, i worked at home because of covid, aggressively trapped the sparrows, and shooed away a hawk multiple times that perched on the bird house.

I’ve been feeding BBs mealworms over the winter, so when they nest here I’m not sure if its because they’ve been in the area for the feeder, or if they have nested here before.

The nest last year was 25 feet from our front door, they were very used to people being around.

Chris

[Chris]

Sparrows, wrens and tree swallows ARE the nemesis of Bluebirds. If any of these birds are present near your yard the bluebirds will likely leave (and for good reason).
What I am going to say next will make others here uncomfortable, but is an undeniable fact.
Most know SOME of what Hosp can do. They must be eliminated at all cost. Wrens are just about as bad, destroying and removing eggs, but easier to deal with. A simple small wren box with a Van Ert makes “relocating” easier without the worry of accidentally snagging a bb. I know everyone loves swallows… they are a beautiful bird and marvelous flying acrobats.
BUT make no mistake- I have witnessed countless times swallows ganging up on bb, during every phase of nesting, harassing to the point of exhaustion. If the bb dosent have eggs in the box, they may just leave. AND if there are young or eggs the swallow’s harassment opens the door for Hosp and wrens to attack and devastate.
I keep putting up boxes so there are always at least 2 empty ones for the predators to occupy. That is my narrow window to catch or “relocate” predators before they begin to dominate and destroy the blues.
This not an estimated opinion… I have 6-10 boxes spread over 9 acres around my home, for more than 10 years. I watch them all with binoculars. I keep my blues (in western NY) all year long!
If you doubt my conclusion- look at the ratio of swallows to blues on your trail!
I do not allow tree swallows on my property.
For me you are all in for Blues OR you are enabling their death and suffering at the hands of these 3 predators.
Now will come replies from nasyers from those who have not personally witnessed this behavior !

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by Chris. Reason: Spelling!

Chris
Rochester, NY

N

[phillyblues]

Thanks, Chris. Hard to disagree. My trail is not large enough to support more than one bluebird nest. There are 6 boxes spaced about 20 yards apart. The tree swallows take all but one. But they really made it stressful for the bluebirds ….dive bombing the box like kamakazis….and I do wonder if the couple years I didn’t get bluebirds they just gave up the hassle. I still love tres. I really cannot stand house wrens tbough. I used to like them a little bit but they are annoying in too many ways. My yard boxes have had tree swallows and chickadees and I always clean the wrens sticks out before they get too far in (plus half the time it is just them fillimg the boxes up for no reason)…and obviously take care of sparrows. Still waiting for my first yard bluebirds. They have inspectes beforw but no takers. Oh well. Not sure what else I can do.

[Author]

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