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Congrats, Judy – glad you kept on trying. My pair have built their 3rd nest and hope to have an egg by tomorrow maybe. P.S. It is getting kind of late in the season, so hope everything goes well, but only time will tell. I know it is going to be a hot spell for them, but they have built in a new box which we just put up, has a little bigger floor area than their last box, which I am sure was too small for 5 babies in the hot part of the season. I have my styrofoam heat shields ready & waiting, as are the spooker and wren guard.
No, David Keener (Second Cousin Dave) has not been on here for quite some time. He was an excellent photographer and did share some fantastic pictures with the forum. Don’t know where he is now.
David, same thing happened to me – found 1 dead at bottom – did not think (but I probably would not have) to move others around. Have a good trip to good ole Missouri!
Thanks David & Lisa. David, I looked at the NABS website for their specs on boxes and they have decided not to give information on sizes, since everywhere may have different needs – therefore I could not get their specs & don’t believe they even have boxes available any more. My original boxes (top openers) which I used lots of years, was a 4×4″ bottom = 16 square inches. The Gilwood boxes (2) we built do not have even 15 square inches – we did make a modified Gilwood with a larger size of almost 16 square inches, which I was using for BB presentations demo. I have since these last 4 fledged put up this new, larger Gilwood box in case this pair want to have a 3rd nest (they probably will not – too hot here), but it will be ready for next season. This winter I believe we will build another Gilwood style, with at least a 18 or 20 square inch floor.
Judy, hope they return – probably will to finish the next. At least the eggs were not being incubated – this is a critical time I believe for mama to be off the nest. P.S. I try to always look to make sure she returns within 10-15 minutes, and so far she has after he leaves with the mower close by. BUT . . . . grass will wait, eggs being kept warm will not.
Judy, yeah – lots of rain, especially for July. Yes, the same thing happened to my first fledglings, the day they fledged had a terrible wind, rain storm. I’m pretty sure only 2 of the 4 fledged made it, as that is all I have seen with the parents. It has been a very hard spring this year, with all the flooding, etc. I am thankful we have a home left, compared to all the people who lost theirs.
Yes, sometimes I have a 3rd nesting – always did with a different pair of blues. But this pair usually build a 3rd nest if one completely fails, but you never know – depends on weather, etc.Got you, Tammy! I always get the HOSP taken care of before eggs are laid. I have a really good plan for this and it works because I have several boxes. But this one time I was too late, but I knew what had to be done. I don’t blame you for being hacked off with all that destruction!
Randy, that is very interesting – never have I had my blues dive bomb me. P.S. They know where their goodies (meal worms) come from! I don’t take many pictures of the babies, but when I do I have no problem.
Gin, you are lucky about having some shade for your boxes. None of my boxes have any shade whatsoever, as they are all in my back yard which is about 2 acres. I do have some big trees but they are closer to the house and also have some dwarf fruit trees which are good for babies to fledge to but don’t provide any shade. Therefore, being in Missouri which gets pretty hot, I always go ahead and put up my heat shield. Plus I have an extra large shield of Styrofoam for the top which provides extra protection from rain on the sides & front. Judy, congrats on your good luck with the blues this year.
David, they probably would be okay with the mowing, but why take a chance after putting in all the preliminary efforts to get them hatched. It is only during the incubation period that I get concerned – we have a pretty large yard (about 2 acres) and this particular box was at the very back, along a co-owning wire fence (but box is several feet from the fence) , so I don’t believe 1 or 2 time of missing right around the box area is a big deal. I’m pretty finicky about our house and yard, but when it comes to my blues, they take priority!! (ha, ha)
Rich, great that you have had this kind of luck in your neighborhood. I have tried this, also, but not had much luck as most are either elderly or working people which don’t have time. BUT I have carried out this mission by doing Bluebird video presentations a few years ago. Have probably done about 25 of them, going from town to town and local community organizations and believe they have been successful. I know several people which now use HOSP controls and monitor their nests better than they used to. I am known as the “Bluebird lady” around here.
All good points above – especially about how the box faces. AWAY from the prevailing winds is what is suggested to face a box – in my area (mid Missouri) this is southeast, as we always have strong winds from the south and north & sometimes from the west, hardly any from the east. Bees are controlled by rubbing soap on the inside of the top of the box. Ants are controlled by greasing your pole with a heavy grease (like axle grease). I usually put some at the bottom of the steel pole up to about 2 feet and then right underneath the box, about a 2-3 inch band around pole. If they make it from the first greasing area they won’t be able to make it up to the box itself. One year I forgot to do this & had ants invade the nest with eggs in it and had to do a nestbox change – not fun with eggs involved. Don’t forget http://www.sialis.org is our bible here and has great info on all this. Good luck. P.S. I guess most boxes in stores would have cedar odor already gone, but fresh built ones really have that cedar smell.
The only thing I can think about is this: cedar boxes are great BUT they probably should be allowed to “age” to rid it of cedar smell. I had read somewhere that the blues (& probably other birds) do not always like a brand new box. I remember I had read this somewhere 11 years ago when we made our first boxes – made them in the fall I believe & then let them age outside until the next spring when I had my first nesting. But this may not be the problem here, but could be. Is your box a new one? Also, if they have already started a nest this might not be the problem at all – takes them sometimes some time to build a nest and then sometimes they build it quickly. Like Gin says, depends on the pair. Hope they finish it so you can relax – good luck!
Philly Blues – have not had any experience with this slot box – but in my opinion the area in which the box is located is more important than what type of box it is. I know everyone has their favorite – but I have 4 boxes (only two are the same type) and I have had blues lay eggs in all boxes. Their first nest of the year is usually always in the same location, then they move on to another favorite one. Your picture of the slot box seems to have a very small floor, – I guess the idea is that they build a little taller nest than usual. I believe their is time for another nesting, but it is getting very close (don’t know your location) to being over for most locations.
Renee, I hear you about the mowing – I asked my hubby not to mow around my box of blues which were due to hatch that day or the next. He pouted like a little kid, but I tried to explain that mama needed to stay on the nest as much as possible. Well, in a couple of days the 5 babies hatched and he went and mowed – end of story! (I did explain that she also needed to brood them for a few days but he only had a very small area to mow and was done in about 10 minutes.) Good luck with the Warbler – don’t know if we have them in Missouri or not.
