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Yes, round 2 for me, also, David. My blues made a nest about 5 days ago, which by the way, was out of dried up, junk grass, not nice like the one above. We have had so much rain, all the good grass was always wet, so I guess they used what they could find. Anyway, I was unsure it was a blues’ nest until I noticed papa Blue on the box several times, and the first blue egg was laid yesterday, June 1, and 2nd one today, June 2. I put up spooker yesterday and the wren guard went up this morning after I found the 2nd egg. Oh, just remembered I need to grease my pole again (take off all the old heavy, axle grease first) because ants are beginning to be a problem everywhere because of all the rain. I have tried in the past to put out some nice dried grass when I thought they could not find good stuff (I even have a neighbor who has pine needles right at the corner of my lot but this new mama does not use pine needles) but they would never use it. Let the fun begin.
P.S. I have been seeing my new fledglings at the worm bowl some now – they are really big!
Good luck on your 2nd go-round, David.Cari, I’m glad you found this information, and it apparently is true. The worms are only to be fed as a treat to the blues & to help out when they have babies to feed. WE MUST remember these are wild birds and they must be able to find food on their own. I believe the rule of thumb, according to Sialis.org and the mealworm companies info, is to give them about 10 worms per bird 2 times a day. Many variables could come into play, such as size of worms, availability of other insects, etc. Yes, my blues always want more, but I am a true believer they need to hunt on their own – we feed them worms to help but mostly for our own enjoyment.
SUCH AS – this morning my newly fledged finally came to the worms bowl with the parents, which is truly a treat to watch. Enjoy feeding but do not give them an unlimited supply. My blues usually eat their worms up (when not feeding babies) in less than 5 minutes. Also, you will not break the bank quite as soon!
Cari, I believe they will remove an egg sometimes if they deem it to be non-fertile. I had one egg this year not hatch, but it ended up deep inside the nest and when the others fledged and I cleaned out the box I could see the remains of it. Hopefully yours will be lucky and make it out.
P.S. I know the cardboard guards are helpful in a pinch, but I find in the long run it is best to have a lightweight wooden one ready and on hand – they last for years. We made ours and I have 3 on hand in case I need it for different boxes.Yes, right now my bluebird pair is trying to claim their 2nd nest box and I have both wrens and HOSP that want everything! I have four boxes in my area so I am trying to be sure the blues get at least one for their 2nd nesting! I have been trapping HOSP, removing sticks, etc. for the past two weeks almost. Sure hoping to see my new fledglings soon at the worm bowl – maybe in a day or two.
Love your pictures, David – really have missed not being able to post pictures, although my pictures are nothing compared to yours!
Cool Gin your white egg babies fledged. Know what you mean by keeping wrens occupied. They have a box here they want close to my BB’s, so I keep them occupied by removing their few sticks.
Judy, yes – Butler is only about 45 minutes from us – small rural community & very nice.
Yes, it is nice to be able to make our own projects & also most minor house repairs. But age is creeping up on us and it is not quite as easy.
In addition to my bluebirds, my 2nd hobby is flower gardening – have a pretty large perennial garden & hubby has vegetable garden in our back yard which takes a lot of our time. But I love being outdoors so this works out great!Way to go Country Girl. I would be completely broke if we didn’t make our own BB items – all houses, spookers, wren guards & even my cage feeder. Buying the worms is my only bad expense (got another 10,000 coming in a day or two).
Judy, glad you like your spooker – fortunately my hubby is handy and we made our own. I have 3 or 4 to use at different boxes if necessary. Yes, my Mylar is silver on one side & red on the other. Yes, they work great and I would NEVER be without it or the wren guard!
Judy, when you say your wren guard was 4″, do you mean long or extend from the front of hole 4″? I believe the now suggested 3″ extension from front of hole is better than the 2 1/2″ formerly used. I like your idea about putting up the sparrow spooker, let her lay another egg, and then try the wren guard again. Those wrens can do as much or more damage as the HOSP I have found. But the more eggs she lays the more committed she is, so don’t give up. But then again like Gin says, some mamas are more finicky than others. P.S., yes I like to put up any guard quickly (but only one at a time) after the egg is laid so they have the rest of the day to get used to it before the next day’s egg laying.
If your neighbors agree, I would sure go ahead and put on a wren guard IMMEDIATELY. The wrens from previous year may not be around (hopefully) and any new ones could not see the hole. It’s definitely worth a try I think. I have had more damage from wrens (from a couple extra boxes which I was not aware had BB eggs in them) than from HOSP. One year they threw out my BB eggs on the ground and one cracked egg I could actually see the baby bird fetus – that was not nice! But in 11 years I guess that’s not too bad. Go for it, Cari!
Yes, Renee’s comment is VERY IMPORTANT – you can’t throw too much at the pair at once – only put up one guard at a time to be sure they accept it. And true, don’t believe mid 80’s will be a threat to the blues – I begin to think heat shield when it reaches 90 degrees.
Judy, yes you will have to remove some of the nest from the box if it is a full nest. This year I have had more trouble with this than usual, but too much nest will, most of the time, prevent the trap from tripping. If I am sure the HOSP are around still, I usually will try to take out most of the nest and then set the trap again in the hopes they will be curious and wonder what is happening. But, then, sometimes I will just take out the whole nest. About a week ago I found a HOSP nest with 2 eggs in it, so I took out the eggs and part of the nest, set the trap but after two days they did not come around so I removed the whole nest.
I have used a cage feeder for MANY years and love it! I really don’t remember exactly how I got them trained to go in, but believe I used an open bowl at first. Of course, with just the open bowl you will get large birds (bluejays, cardinals, etc.) also and I do not have enough dollars to do that. It does take persistence. As far as location, it needs to away from the nestbox some, but not too far, as they will feed the babies when they get old enough. I have one box about 150′ from where my cage feeder is and they will fly to it in a heartbreak, but most of the time they use two boxes which are closer. NO GROUND feeding in my area unless you are sure they will bobble them up in a minute or so – this is just an invitation for something to pounce on them in my opinion, but some people get by. Good luck.
