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Scot, yes, HOSP will attack anything I believe, so any desirable native you want I believe should have a spooker. Don’t know if you have them yet in your area, but we also use a wren guard for the house wrens, as sometimes they are as much threat as a HOSP. Of course, they are a native bird and protected by law. But I have had eggs raided (thrown on the ground & pierced) several times when I maybe did not get the wren guard up soon enough. All these predator controls help, but nothing is foolproof!!
Great job, Scot – I have not been so lucky. I have trapped a couple of males but the others have been females. The past 3-4 days I have ben trying to get the pair that have nests at two of my boxes I believe, because I see them going from one to the other. But once I set the trap, they sense something is different and have been too smart, thus far, to trip it. Because I do have bluebird eggs in a box at the very back of my large yard, I went ahead and took out the nesting and I believe, like usual, they will start all over again. I may have let them go too long (too much nest) before I set the trap this go-around. Another thing that usually helps is to place a few blades of nesting material over the arm of the Van-Ert so it is camouflaged a little. Here we go again ……………!!
Hi, Donna – welcome back. I imagine there in WI it is still cool enough that the blues “puff their feathers” up to stay warm and that is why they look so fat. But then again, maybe they have been some place that had plentiful food supply. Here in mid-Missouri we had our spring weather in February (several days of 70+ degrees) and now in April we have a frost advisory for tonight! Crazy weather. But my blues do have their first egg as of today, so I am excited. Hope you have a good season.
Lisa, I would almost bet pesticide is your problem – maybe the wind just drifted just right or something. I know TRES will not come back to a box where there has been a nest failure, but my blues have – they are all probably different. Glad they are coming back.
Lisa, so sorry about this last loss. Guess I forgot that these were just born around April 1 and at just about 5 days old a HOWR could have thrown some out & predators gotten them from the ground at the evening. Have anyone close to you done any insecticide spraying? I lost all babies at 8-days old at once my first year of BBirding. People here on forum and I finally came to the conclusion that some neighbor did some spraying and it drifted to the box. My yard is pretty large, but that is all we could come up with, especially since they all died on the same day. You need to get your spooker and wren guard ready in case your pair (hopefully) build another nest soon. Your wren guard needs a MINIMUM of 2 1/2″ (best with little more) clearance from the hole opening to the back of the guard so parents can access hole easily to feed the babies. Lots of info on this at http://www.sialis.org Good luck! P.S. I have never heard of a heat shield opening from the front – this would make monitoring hard for sure. My shields are on the south & west sides and top of box and the front of box is completely open.
Usually the rule is if you capture the female you leave the nest in the box and the male will attract a new mate. If you capture the male (ya!) you take out the nest as the female will not return without the male there. Then when another male claims the nest & they begin nest building, you can set the trap again. I usually give them a day or so after there is a pair before setting the trap to be sure they are committed to the nest. Also, this keeps them busy at this box, hopefully letting the blues build their own nest at another box. Others need to chime in here to be sure what I remember is correct.
Lisa, so sorry – really hard to find them dead in the box with no signs of trauma. Yes, we think that we can get away without predator controls, and we maybe can for a while, but it will happen sooner or later. However, wrens don’t usually (and can’t) bother the babies after they are about 10 days old. They (babies) are usually large enough they can’t throw them out of nest which is what wrens do. I am going to think positive and believe the last one will fledge successfully and that the other 3 are out there!
P.S. I don’t have any eggs yet, but blues are here and have a nice nest & saw papa feeding mama a day or two ago – they are ready! Keep us posted.Amazing that you already have fledglings – even in Texas that would seem early. Even though your pair are building another nest, it will probably be a spell before eggs, as they have to take off the previous nesters & teach them to hunt & defend themselves. I have a nest which I am almost sure is a BB’s but no eggs yet. We have had another period of pretty cool weather so I’m really glad there are no eggs. BUT I did see papa feeding mama yesterday, so it won’t be long. The answer to your last question is, probably!
Absolutely cedar – I have boxes that have lasted 9 years, and the new ones (Gilwood style) we have made the past year or two are cedar. Little more expensive but savings in the long run.
Scott, seems like this year is particularly bad with HOSP killing our blues. Sorry that happened to you. Glad you got that HOSP – was the bluebird just scouting, or was there nest/eggs involved? We don’t want to forget to put up the sparrow spooker after 1st egg has been laid. That is one thing I am pretty faithful about. That VanErt trap is invaluable as far as I am concerned. I have deployed several HOSP this season with it and believe I will be ready to set it again today, since I am seeing a lot of activity with a pair at one of my boxes in particular. P.S. I do not have much luck with the repeating trap, however, as like you I catch everything except HOSP.
Congrats on your 1st fledging there in Texas! The parents take the fledglings away for at least 10 days to two weeks to teach them how to hunt for food & survive predators. If you were feeding mealworms all the time during the nesting period they will very likely bring the babies back to their “hone” territory & teach them to eat the worms. Mine always do this, during the past 9 seasons, at least. The easiest & cheapest way to keep ants away from the box is to grease your pole at least 6 inches under the box with a heavy axle grease, which does not wash off. Treated wood has very harsh chemicals in it and is definitely not recommended for a bird house, as it may be toxic, especially for babies. If Home Depot or Lowes sell treated boxes, they should not, and would not be recommended for bluebirds. I know Westlake’s hardware sells bluebird boxes and they are cedar. Even WalMart sells boxes (cheap made) and they are pine I believe. A great website for all this info can be found at http://www.sialis.org. Good luck the rest of the season. P.S. My blues have built a nest but it has turned off cold again here in Mid-Missouri so I am glad no eggs yet.
That is exciting! I had TRES two different years, and then had a failure the next year (all 6 hatchlings died in the box – don’t know from what but the box was FULL of mites when I cleaned it out). Since the failure I have not had any more, but I am still hoping in the future to have some back, as I do have 4 boxes in my very large back yard. Hope you get eggs in both boxes.
Thank you all! Tammy, I could have disturbed the nest when I was trying to get a picture, although I did not touch the nest, but maybe shook the box somewhat and could have dislodged that piece. The male HOSP (I have caught 4 or 5 different with VanErt) is busy at a different box, so I am keeping fingers, toes, & eye crossed that the blues can get their eggs laid. I have seen the blues at these two back boxes, but it is a distance & obscured by a big tree in between my house & the box. Time will tell. P.S. I do think it works well to let the HOSP keep busy at one box, trapping when ready. and then letting another pair or the male keep on trying! In other words, I truly believe it is necessary to save one box for trapping HOSP!
Perry, that would be horrible to witness, but I know many have. Thank goodness I have not had to because I began fighting off the HOSP the very first year, and yes, I did not want to harm any little, cute brown bird. UNTIL I saw pictures of how they do things. We must not let them take over our own little bluebird territory if at all possible. No, we can’t fight the whole world, but we do not have to let them populate right on our own property, where we have invited the nice, native birds. “It takes a Nation.”
