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Judy, don’t forget to remove the wren guard now – it will hinder the fledging process. Those babies will begin peeking about 2 days prior to leaving the nest. At 11 days old they are big enough a wren can’t pick them up – I would suggest doing it now. Suggested time to remove the wren guard is when babies are 8-10 days old. Do it as soon as possible – this also helps the parents feed the larger babies in the nest. Good luck! (Mine are due to hatch in about 5 days)
Judy, usually I have only one box of blues at a time (they are very territorial) – the other boxes I use to trap HOSP or run the wrens crazy by refilling box with sticks. I believe only 2 different times in my 11 bluebirding years have I had two blues nests at same time. I did have two years of tree swallows along with the bluebirds. But your statement about having all 4 boxes with blues would definitely be super cool but don’t believe that will ever happen.
Judy, fortunately I have a very large yard, about 2 acres, with at least 1 1/4 acres or more in the back yard. My 4 boxes are at the four corners of my back yard lot, approximately 300′ away from each other – which I believe is why I have had success with this method, but you can probably get by with less. Even two boxes are better than one if you can space them far enough apart. And yes, like you, my area is not brushy at all. We have a pasture of fescue grass on the other side of our back fence (we live in a rural subdivision) and keep our yard mowed well. They are definitely a pain, plus they don’t read the rule books on where they belong!
I looked back on our old forum archives and found that Second Cousin Dave was from Fredericksburg, VA.
NO – the only time I have had wren attack eggs is when I did not get my guard on in time and they knew about the box/eggs. I have had a wren/wrens here all summer but I keep them busy putting new sticks in the box they have chosen and that way they seem to stay away from the BB house. Now, granted, this may not always work but it has for me. I’ll have to admit this year I did not catch a wren’s nest in time (just after they arrived in spring) and by the time I found it there was an egg in it. Needless to say, I had to eat crow and let nature take its course, as bad as I hated to.
Right now I have BB nest #3 with 5 eggs in it, with wren guard, spooker and heat shield on it – quite an ugly site. But this one wren just keeps putting more sticks in its box and I just keep taking them out. I don’t believe it has ever found a mate. P.S. My guard does have side on it, just like Gin was talking about. It also extends out 3 inches from the hole, which is much easier for the parents to enter & feed the babies.David in Strafford, VA – glad you are back from your trip. The “Second Cousin Dave” that Renee is talking about is David Kinneer who posted on this forum for several years, as far back as I can remember (over 10 years). That was his nickname here. He did share beautiful pictures, just as you are doing now and which we truly enjoy. Back then anyone could post pictures without having to pay for a photo-sharing site. Dave had a lot of his pictures copyrighted but he was always gracious to let someone use one of his pictures for a good cause (I was doing BB video presentations at that time).
We truly thank you for for sharing your great pictures, also – please continue to do so! (I have forgotten where Dave Kinneer was located)
Judy, mama blue laid 5 eggs in this new box (nest #3). I believe this is the first year ALL nests have had 5 eggs laid in them – usually have at least 1 or 2 with just 4 (which I prefer with the smaller boxes). She has been incubating since Thursday I believe. Been miserably hot here, also, for the past 4-5 days but supposed to cool down into the 80’s after today. Hope my styrofoam heal shield does the trick – it usually does. Yes, out nesters will be close to same time frame.
Rich, about the cavity in your neighbor’s apple tree – the very same thing happened to me last year. My pair built their first nest in a cavity in my neighbor’s maple or elm tree. It was close enough that I watched them, and I was VERY perturbed with them, because they were then still coming to my yard for their mealworms! Don’t know exactly what happened over there, but don’t believe any were hatched from that tree. In looking over my notes, they said it was very cool and wet during that time. Don’t know if she actually laid any eggs because I couldn’t see in the nest. But I know they built a nest or were in the process. And yes, that’s the way it was before people were taught and informed about the decline of bluebirds and then lots more yard boxes were put up.
Oh, how sad – it’s sad anytime but just after laying 3 eggs and not being able to see the results is heartbreaking – BUT things do happen! Any idea what happened to her – any signs of trauma or cat fur? I lost one like this several years ago and know for almost a fact that it was the neighbor’s cat which I had seen by the box, but there was no remains of the bird for me to identify- just fur & feathers. Not sure about cleaning out the box – maybe wait a day or so to see if papa finds a fill-in? This would probably be a long shot, but maybe . . . . .
Great news, Connie! Yes, those mealworms will be helpful – I also have a fairly new batch of 10,000 worms. Right now I am feeding parents, 2-3 fledglings from nest #1, 4 babies (which just showed up at bowl yesterday) from Nest #2, and have Nest #3 with 2 eggs right now. I’m afraid my batch of worms will not last until fall, which is when I begin feeding peanut butter suet. May have to start cutting back when these last babies are out of nest!
Congrats, Rich, on the fledging of your babies! That is always such a relief. What kind of bird was nesting in your neighbor’s apple tree, or was it in a cavity of the tree? My pair are on the 3rd nesting – sort of late so hope everything goes well.
Tammy, do you make your own spookers? Yes, it would be hard to put them on your trail but they are very inexpensive to make – could at least them protect them on your own property.
My mama blue just laid her first egg in Box #3 – I put up the wren guard a few minutes ago and will put up the spooker tomorrow. I have a wren trying to build in one of my boxes, so I know they are here – I keep it busy putting in new sticks so it leaves the BB box alone This will be one of the latest nests I have ever had I believe. I saw one of the new fledglings from box #2 just this morning – only been 8 days out of the nest for them, plus some of the group from box #1 are still around – my new shipment of 10,000 worms will not last very long at this rate!
Sorry, I misspelled his name – it is David Kinneer. Good to know where he is – however I do not do Facebook, but hope he is still showing those gorgeous pictures.
