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Chris, you are definitely correct for thinking you need to wait until a pair of HOSP are active at the box – I usually wait until they have some twigs in the box and then set the trap – if you wait until it is completed it is too tall and the trap doesn’t work well.
My pair have 4 eggs in their box but I’m not sure if the female is incubating yet, as I have only seen her come out once – the 4th egg was laid on Monday. Let the fun begin!Update – have 4 beautiful blue eggs – thought mama was going to quit and start incubating, but when I checked late this afternoon she was not on the nest, so believe it is going to be 5 eggs by tomorrow. The pair come to my suet feeders faithfully, as do the juncos, white-crowned sparrows and of course, HOSP. Even have had cardinals wedge their way into the cage feeder, but this is very seldom. Are you still “manufacturing” your mealworms, David? I have some in my fridge waiting to be put out when it warms up for good. When I ordered them I forgot to tell the supplier that I wanted to wait a week or so, just needed to get the order in, but they went ahead & shipped. I take them out about every 9 or 10 days to feed. They are growing pretty good.
Chris, have your pair decided on a house they want yet? As I posted earlier tonight, I do have a very nice BB nest (with all pine needles) but no eggs yet, and I am glad about that. We had some really warm days, then got cool again, with some light rain for several days.
Sure am glad the forum is up and running again!!!!
Golly, gee whiz, glory be, etc., etc. THANKS SO MUCH CHER, TAMMY AND OTHERS, FOR WORKING so hard to get our long-lived forum back up and running. It may be a small thing, but some don’t realize how precious something like being able to communicate about your passion to other friends here can be.
Has anyone else got a nest or eggs, yet? My pair of blues have had a nest built for over a week now (when we had that real warm spell. They got confused when it was so warm, but then we had some very cool days and nights, so they do not have any eggs yet, thankfully.
No nest starts yet, but my pair of blues have definitely “claimed” their box, going in and out a lot. Glad they have chosen this box as it is the closest and in best location than my other 3 boxes – it was their choice last year for 2 of 3 nests. Really glad nothing solid for yet, as we have ups and downs as far as temperature goes, we’ve had several nice days and now it is due to snow again tonight and be below freezing. Other winter (juncos and white-crowned sparrows) birds are here still here, so I know it is not quite time yet.
Hi, everyone – We had to be out of town several days this week and got into this horrific snow storm. We were about 2 1/2 hours from home at a dental facility – got the dental work done and then had to stay in motels the next two nights because of the snow (car doors windows, etc. were frozen over completely). The next day we traveled at about 40 miles per hour on an interstate and finally made it home – it was horrible, seeing all the semi-trucks stalled and off the road in a ditch, etc. Don’t ever want this to happen again if at all possible.
Along with all this I knew my bluebirds (and others) would find it hard to find food under about 7 inches of snow and no one there to feed them their peanut butter suet for about 3 days. The day we got home I put out the suet and all birds appeared except my blues, and I was scared something had happened to them, but the next day they showed up along with all the others. I believe my blues are roosting in their favorite nestbox or one of the others – I’m not sure but did see the blues pair on both boxes.
COME ON SPRING!! (although up to the past couple of weeks we had some warm days for this time of year.)Sure is good to hear from everyone. Yes, those heated birdbaths are greatly used, even in the winter. I’ve had my heater for probably 10 or 15 years and it is still going. I am feeding tons of peanut butter suet to those who can fit inside a cage feeder. which include my bluebirds, juncos, white-crowned sparrows and of course HOSP. I have two cage feeders and usually have at least 30 birds taking turns at the feeders (really can’t count them but there are lots – have at least 7-8 inside each feeder at one time, with my trees full of the others waiting their turn).
COME ON SPRING!
Here in Mid-Missouri we have had such warm weather (Until about the last few days) that my Bradford pear tree actually began to get new buds on it (we actually hade about 1 or 2 days of close to 70 degree weather) – I was beginning to worry about it when the cold weather hit (which it did the last couple of days), but I believe it is such a hardy tree that it will survive.
These past few days I knew we were going to get colder weather because my winter birds are just devouring my home-made peanut butter suet. I have two cage feeders (on my deck railing) where I feed the suet and a handful of suet in each cage is usually gone in about 5-1o minutes. My blues (I believe there are four still here) really have to fight the large quantity of other birds (white-heated sparrows and juncos and of course, HOSP) to get to the suet. We also have a seed-feeder in the back yard for the larger birds like cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays, etc. I even saw a starling (they have been mixed up because of the warm weather and are still around) squeeze inside my cage feeder for some suet because today it had turned very cold and trying to snow. He had a problem getting out but finally twisted enough to get it done.I say let’s get the cold weather over so we can get to spring!!
Glad to hear from you Philly Blues and you also Tammy. I was getting a little bored with winter coming on (although we have had fantastic record-breaking warmth here in the Midwest.
Great you both are seeing your blues and watching them eat the mealworms. I switch to home-made peanut butter suet in October through March usually. I have extra winter birds come in the winter, mainly juncos & white-crowned sparrows. They, along with the HOSP of course, come to the cage feeder when I whistle for them. I will shoo the HOSP away as much as I can until the blues and others get to the feeder. I don’t really have a huge amount of HOSP, but more than I want. I have tried the ground cages to catch them but I always wind up with a Hugh amount of other birds, so gave up.Merry Christmas to everyone – if anyone is traveling, have a safe trip.
I really agree with the fact that it is more location than design – blues like open spaces with not a lot of brush, bushes, etc. Wrens will always be a problem and this is why I like to have an extra box or two, that way they and HOSP can be kept busy rebuilding while my blues are laying eggs and taking care of their young. This is my secret to having a good season. Of course, can’t be without my VanErt trap for the HOSP.
Hi, Mark and welcome to this Bluebird forum. Most people here this year had pretty good nestings overall. But it will vary differently from area to area, from year to year. Sorry you did not have as good a season as usual. Personally, I had 3 nestings with the same two parents, and fledged 14 I believe it was, two nests of 5 and one nest of 4. These two parents were a new pair this year for me, so things went a little differently than usual, but overall it was a good year. All we can do is journal our different seasons and if we see something extremely different, to check and see what we had done last season. I have to write it down on paper to keep everything straight!
Carol, I remember a few years back that the distance recommended was 2 1/2 inches for the wren guard. It was later determined that 3 inches was better because the mama bird can zoom down and into the hole easier. I had this happen to me and was able to put a 1/2″ shim onto the guard, making it the desired 3″. This isn’t too difficult (I have a hubby that helps me) but you may need someone to assist on this. If not, leave it alone and see what happens. I believe it would work with the 2 1/2″ but it is just easier on the mama if she has more room to get in. Good luck.
I am in the midst of feeding my homemade peanut butter suet to my blues, but the numbers of juncos, white crowned sparrows and HOSP far outnumber my blues. You probably do not have your blues overwinter, do you?
I’ve noticed my bluebirds also checking out the nestboxes lately. I believe this is just their way of letting all other birds know “this is my box”, but then again I can’t understand “bluebird” language. Hope your new boxes work for you next season.
I personally like the Gilwood, although we have altered the specs slightly to make for a larger floor size, but I used the regular for some time. As far as the HOSP liking it, there is not any box they do not like! I use my Van Ert trap when needed, but only after they have a good start of a nest. This is my secret to keeping them busy for a while and then trapping.
This is my preference, Carol, but then everyone has theirs. Again, good luck.Carol, I would assume you are getting ready for next spring’s season because of winter coming. I don’t remember where you live, but you should have some time to decide on what to do. I have had no experience with the Gilbertson PVC box – all my boxes are wooden Gilwood designs. Maybe someone else can help you out – good luck. P.S. I, also let the wrens put sticks in an extra box and keep taking out their twigs to keep them busy. I use four boxes in my back yard, but it is a large area and able to keep them about 125-150 feet apart. I find this very useful during the nesting season.
