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Lisa, I know some people do feed more, but this is a quote from the http://www.sialis.org website (our bible here).
“How many to feed: Fawzi Emad recommends offering about 15 mealworms per bluebird per day. I’ve seen each blue eating about 3-10 per visit. NABS indicates that “because they should be used as a supplemental food, mealworms should only be offered once or twice a day unless poor weather conditions dictate more frequent feeding. A hundred or so worms offered morning and evening (Carol edit – meaning 100 divided up) would be adequate for a pair with a box of nestlings. Feeding smaller amounts twice a day is a good idea to ensure that bluebirds get some, and to prevent other species from “discovering” the feeder. One of the nice things about mealworms is that there is no waste left behind – no seeds or shells.
Offering an unlimited supply of mealworms is probably NOT recommended, as the nestlings need a varied diet. See supplementing with calcium.”Wild Blue – I use heavy axle grease, the kind like mechanics use for greasing wheel bearings. It does not wash away like the light stuff. You only put a about a 2″ strip on the pole, down about 4-6″ from the box itself. The birds will not get into this if you keep it up high enough. BUT, need to lift up nest gently to be sure there are not any ants in it already. This is what happened to me and I had to do a complete nest change. (I did not get my pole greased soon enough!)
Nicole, thanks. I did not have any of this DE on hand, so I did do the nest/box change because of the huge amounts of ants there. My replacement nest was too big for this Gilwood box so I had to take some material off & remake the nest. It has a nice cup in it but I’m not sure mama has gone back in. I saw her go in about 15 minutes after we completed the job (which took less than 10 minutes) but she came back out. I have been trying to watch but just don’t know. I feel bad, but I really had to do something. Thanks for the reminder about the DE and will check into getting some for future use. P.S. The pair are still here, as they ate worms yesterday afternoon and this a.m. Guess that is a good thing. I will probably dot the eggs with a marker today if I don’t see her go in, to see if the eggs are being turned.
Yes, you need to grease the pole. I completely forgot this year until I found my BB nest just full of ants today! Mama blue has been incubating about 2 or 3 days. I had greased the pole yesterday, not realizing ants were already there until today when I checked the box. I had to do a complete nest change they were so bad. Now I’m just keeping my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that I didn’t mess up. The spare nest I had was too large for this box so I had to take some out and kind of remake it and then put the unhatched eggs in the nest. I had an exact spare box, so I was able to put the clean nest in this box and just move the box and all to the previous pole. P.S. The ants probably would not hurt the mama incubating but it has been said they are very hard on the babies, sometimes fatal if it is a bad infestation.
I believe 15 worms per bird a day is recommended but is better to feed 2x a day, so divide this up. Yes, you can feed them too many, as they can be calcium depleting for eggs. Also they need to hunt for their natural food. Yes, they probably know that, but they will really eat you out of house and home if you let them. Can get to be very expensive at a higher rate. Of course, when bugs are in short supply or in the winter when food is scarce, it is helpful to feed more.
Hubby and I just realized that I will not be able to get rid of the ants remaining in the box when I do a nest change, because I cannot spray for them and they cannot crawl down the greased pole. I do have an option to do a complete box change, since I have an identical Gilwood box that is empty and ready to go, so I will put the spare nest in that box and put it on the pole where original nest was. Trick is doing this quickly, as mama is incubating. I will get the new nest and box ready and off its pole first, and then call mama for worms and when she comes off the nest put the eggs in a padded container (covered with towel to keep warm) and then put up new box and nest, and then put eggs into new nest. Anyone think of anything else to do?
Tammy, I would be upset with the TRES if I had that many, too! Nothing is more important to me (at least in birding) than my blues Is there something special or different with your territory that the TRES like? Did I remember that you have a lake or pond nearby? On the Sialis website it mentions that they like to be near water. We do have a pond at the far end of our property, over 600′ away, but the TRES have not been back after their loss of 6 babies about 3 years ago.
If it is the same parents they will stop feeding those first nesters very soon to preserve the food supply when the new babies hatch. It is a little odd, but probably happens more than we know. At least that is my experience.
Thanks everyone – apparently this red/silver mylar ribbon is not all that new, but I had just used up my first batch of two rolls of all silver (from 2008) this past year and needed more. Apparently, all is well.
Brad, you probably are a little late for this first nesting, as most have already claimed their site. But bluebirds have at least 2, and lots of times 3, different nestings, so you may draw a pair the next go-round. If it were me, I would wait on purchasing the worms until you actually see some blues around you. That is, unless you want to feed all the others birds, as most would love them. REALLY, YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT HOUSE SPARROWS (or HOSP for short). Don’t believe anyone on this site has not heard about them or the damage they can do. Just look at the pictures on “Dead Male” topic from Scott last month. The HOSP are a non-native bird (not protected by the Migratory Bird Act) and are considered a nuisance & threat to all native birds here in North America. There are several other species of sparrows which are native & okay, but not these. Check out the website http://www.sialis.org for a ton of great info.
Sherri, what kind of “guard” are you talking about, other than the spooker? If you mean the fishing line, I truly don’t know, but too many “things” on the box is very likely likely to keep the blues from laying 1st egg. If you have monitoring system, I would just keep watch & try best you can to keep the HOSP away – do you have a 2nd box to keep the HOSP busy at? I find this is truly a great way to keep them away from where the blues are building. The secret is to let a pair get committed to the box & then set a Van-Ert trap to catch/deploy them.
Brad, I began feeding worms the very 1st year 2008) of birding and didn’t have a cage feeder at first – I just put a few worms out at a time after I saw the blues & whistled for them to come. They ate the worms up in about 1 or2 minutes. I would do this in a.m. and p.m. You can use anything that is slick inside and with sides for the worms – I used a very old, heavy ashtray. I eventually did get a cage feeder, because in the long run you save $ on other birds eating the worms. Some people like to see other birds eat, but I cannot spend that kind of money. Really your choice. You could start out this way & see if in the future you get the blues back.
Pretty much normal – 2 or 3 years in a row my blues built at LEAST 2 and one year 3 complete nests in my backyard boxes (I have 4) before deciding on one to lay the eggs. This year they did just build one. It is perfectly normal after building for them to wait a several days before laying eggs – their instincts tell them when it is the right time. We (including myself) need to remember these are wild birds and not to try to micromanage them too much, but we do need to try to protect them with predator controls since we have invited them into our yards with the boxes. Other than that, let them decide when & where to do their thing!
