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Thanks – yes, I believe they love me as much as I LOVE them! I will have winter birds show up soon, I believe – they are the mean sparrows, small juncos, and other small winter birds, along with the cardinals and other winter birds.
Yes, Tim, I leave my boxes up for the bluebirds to be able to use them in the winter for shelter, as they do stay around here. I have 4 boxes up so I can remove one for maintenance if needed and then put it back up. We are still having mild weather but I believe they will stick around for the winter – I will get busy and make some peanut butter suet today which they love usually. But this might be different this winter, as the pair of blues are a different pair than usual.
Thank you Bluebird Lover for the reply. I have been watching my bluebirds and hummingbirds a lot – really lots of fun during this off season.
Yes, heavily wooded areas are not the right locale for bluebirds – they like open fields and areas with not much of anything except grass.
Sorry about that hawk which was harming your birds. I have seen some hawks at various times, but they have not harmed my bluebirds yet.. . . . . They like to hang out on a highwire at the very back fence of my property which is quite a distance from my bird boxes.Thanks everyone – yes, I hope my pair do not try for another nesting this late, however I did see papa blue on his favorite box again this morning – only time will tell.
David, sorry your nest did not pan out – next season will be here before we know it!Sorry, Dana and Tammy – I have only had 2 nestings this year – got confused. I did not believe I was going to have any at all, and then a new pair showed up – and all their eggs have been white, which was a thrill and a first for me. This last nesting is due to fledge around August 4, which only has two babies in it as three eggs did not hatch. I don’t imagine they will have any more broods this season – which is okay with me, as we have had temps over 100 degrees the past few days – I have a heat shield on this box and believe it is helping out, as this box is in full sun. Parents are feeding them from the hole now, which means they are getting larger. Hope the fledge is successful.
Congrats Dana – glad you had a good season. My 3rd nest of blues is due to fledge in a few days – only have two left as there were 3 eggs that did not hatch. Sure have enjoyed watching the parents feed them – no mealworms this year as they did not seem to be interested, telling me this is a new pair of parents this year.
Welcome Tim to our Blueford forum – glad you found us!
Yes, I believe having a water source available is a good idea if at all possible. I have a birdbath right in my back yard, fairly close to my nestboxes. Even the squirrels like it (and also deer). It sure is fun to watch the squirrels jump into the birdbath and splash like the birds do. In the wintertime I have an extension cord that comes out of hubby’s workshop in the backyard with a heat element on it and that keeps the water from freezing – really great for the birds in the winter. What we won’t do for our bluebirds & others!!Well, even after all these years there is always something to learn – LEAVE NATURE ALONE!!
Hubby and I just went outside to check this box and babies &/or eggs. The two hatched babies were there and moved – there was NO sign at all of the other eggs which did not hatch meaning the parents disposed of them. The nest was just as neat & clean as it was to begin with.
I guess it is possible they buried the eggs but it was just too clean & neat for that.
This has really been a good lesson/issue for me – although this year I have been very more “hands off” than I used to be in the past (age will do that!!) – probably one reason is that this pair of parents had no interest at all in meal worms (I had gotten some very early and a lot of them had died) but they would not even come to the worm bowl at all. This means that nature is working well and the parents really do know what they are doing by getting the babies’ food from nature & all the bugs around !!!!
What a lesson . . . .
Sure wish I had had all this information when I was doing Bluebird Presentations at different places & towns – but you learn new things every day.David, most spookers will get tangled to some extent if you get any wind at all. If mine get wet and stick together I will sometimes go out and separate them which works for a while, but they will get tangled. I don’t believe this hurts their purpose as long as they are moving somehow. Hope yours works – I still am not seeing many HOSP – in fact I have had none for quite a while now – don’t know what is going on but I LOVE it! My 5 bluebirds in 2nd nest are due to hatch any day now – could have today but I did not get a chance to check the box – parents are still around and going in & out so I am not going to bother them for a day or so.
P.S. If you want to try it I suppose some light weights on the streamers might help some.Yes, bluebirds are strong and a resilient batch of birds – it is of course easier for both parents to tend to the babies, but one can do it when necessary. I have also had this happen. Good luck with the fledging process.
Thanks, Tim & Tammy- my usual fight against wrens after they have started is to keep taking out their twigs and they will continue to keep trying to build a nest. BUT you need to keep making them bring in more sticks and NOT let them lay an egg!!! They can do a lot of damage just like HOSP can – difference is of course they are a protected species which you cannot harm.
P.S. I actually have fun keeping those wrens busy finding & depositing their sticks – just need to be vigilant about not letting them build nest & then lay an egg!David, somewhere here (probably on the main bluebird site (Sialis.org) tells that this fishing line is not recommended because other birds (including Blues) can get caught in it and get hurt. The Van-Earp trap is the way to stop those HOSP. But you could give it a try until you get something better.
Yes, I just checked and it is the Sialis.org website (which has oodles of information about bluebirds) that tells about this fishing line matter (it is the very first big paragraph on their website). Good luck!Hope you get that 2nd nest, David. I believe my blues are interested in a 2nd nesting as I have seen them at two different boxes. BUT I also hear and have removed sticks from a wren’s nest and still hear it. I check on “their” box very often to play the game of “pick up sticks” which keeps them busy and away from the BB nests, since we are not legally able to dispose of them. P.S. I really have fun playing this game with the wrens!
Oh, David, SO SORRY TO SEE THIS – just shows all of us how those HOSP can kill and how necessary it is to have a spooker up to at least help. I don’t believe I have had any kills when I have a spooker up – they are fantastic I think. And Phillyblues, sorry for your loss also.
PLEASE EVERYONE – ESPECIALLY NEWCOMERS. The house Sparrow (HOSP) are capable of killing any bird they can get to with no problem at all. We must guard against them and the VanErt trap is a valuable instrument in ridding these killers. Anyone here can help you with where to get these.Just a thought, David – was this attack from a HOSP or maybe a wren since they were on the ground?
