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If you tickle the bird with a feather or something very light, he will move if he is alive. They have a way of “playing dead” if they see something/someone looking in the hole but will move if they are tickled or touched somehow. Since the father bluebird is still coming around makes me think the baby is alive. It is possible the baby has a foot caught in something inside the box, like a string or something. As far as the noise, I had this very same thing (home’s roof being put on) but my babies still fledged along with the parents help. Good luck.
I’m glad I am not the only one upset/ranting this year. No, I have never seen so many HOSP around and NO bluebirds. I don’t know exactly how many HOSP (house sparrows) I have disposed of but I have four different boxes and almost always have a trap in one or the other of them. I had seen a pair of bluebirds earlier but they did not try to “stake” out a box and therefore all the HOSP have been using them. Sure a heartbreak after 15 years of having bluebirds/eggs/ babies. We have had very strange weather here in Mid-Missouri – almost no winter weather when supposed to have it, then turned off warm too soon, plus not much rain going on. EKKS . . . . .
Dave & Lisa – Six eggs would be pretty crowded – but nature will have to take care of them since we cannot remove any viable eggs – don’t worry, most eggs which do not hatch with the others are generally not good. I’ve had 5 laid in a box (not usual though) but never six.
Yes, have this happen – believe opinion is to leave it alone for a week after others hatch – then remove it gently. Others with experience need to chime in here.
David, I do have the worms in wheat bran in the refrigerator and only give them the carrots for moisture every 10 days or so, leaving the wheat bran in the containers while they eat the carrots. It is amazing how they can devour (takes about two days) those very thinly sliced carrots. Still no show from the blues.
David, thanks for “listening” to me mope about my lack of bluebird nests yet this year. Most of my time is spent on trapping HOSP from my four boxes – they are relentless. One almost attacked me when I was looing into a box and trying to set my VanErt trap – I finally caught it and it turned out to be a female. Almost all of my trapping has been the males, but this female was very mad & mean.
No, our nights are not that warm yet – in fact we just had two nights of below freezing weather, but today has turned out to be nice weather, just windy. I will just keep my fingers, toes, eyes, etc. crossed to see if any blues take the clue. P.S. I am still keeping my mealworms alive – don’t know if I can do this until next season, but guess I will try to save the 10,000 I ordered when I thought they would be needed. Last time I fed them there were A LOT of dead worms – don’t know why unless I had them too cramped in the containers. I had six boxes of worms in the fridge – had to really work to make room for them.Congrats, David – beautiful sight! I’m sure glad some here are having good luck with eggs. I’m SO jealous! Yes, we always need to be prepared with those foam insulator covers – they do work. Right now around 7:00 a.m. we have 29 degrees – I had to cover all my newly planted annual flowers & clematis vines yesterday afternoon – sure glad.
Dana, feel a little better that I am not alone with no BB nest yet. I guess I have had good success in the past so I am bummed out with none this year, at least not yet. I have even had a few worms out in my feeder and they have not even tried them – almost sure they are a new pair. And yes, it is not the same to watch your blues go to a neighbor’s – although that is an asset since they are at least helping the numbers.
Judy, yes, this is exactly how I store the mealworms – I take mine out of refrigerator about every 10 days, add some thinly sliced carrots to the meal bed and let them eat for a couple of days, then take out the old carrots & maybe refresh the bed & put back in fridge. THANKS for letting me vent about my woes! Did your worms get larger keeping them that long? – I would think they would have.
Thanks, Judy – hope you are right. Another problem I have is I purchased the large batch (10,000) of live mealworms about 3 weeks ago to have on time “when my blues appeared, and now I am stuck with trying to keep them alive. I have put out a few worms in my cage feeder several times but the blues have not touched them. I believe the pair I have seen is not my pair from last year, in other words, they are new and not familiar with all the goodies they could have! Oh well, . . . . .
Hi, Flipper & welcome! No, I was exactly like you when I first was informed (about 15 years ago) of the damage HOSP can AND WILL do to to our blues & other birds. I don’t like to kill anything. However, after years and years of bluebirding I know the importance of getting rid of the HOUSE sparrows (not other kinds of sparrows). I trap them with my VanErt and after they are trapped in the box I remove them and humanely dispose of them with one VERY HARD smack in a plastic bag, takes less than one second if you hit the sack very hard on something VERY solid, like cement. Good luck.
Good to hear from, Renee. At least you have spotted a bluebird – that’s about all I have done, just spotted a pair but absolutely no activity from them for building a nest. Will be very sad if I don’t get some bluebird activity this year – all I have been doing is trapping HOSP, and that keeps me busy since I have four birdhouses in my back yard, which is about 2 acres.
