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Troy ……you are in for a lot of fun. If you put up bluebird boxes, never ever let house sparrows nest in them! If you get a nesting pair of bluebirds you will need to put up a sparrow spooker after mama blue lays the first egg. The best setup for a box is on a post with a wobbly baffle. Placing a box on a building, tree or fence is not safe for the bluebirds. It depends on where you are located, different areas have different predators. House sparrows, house wrens and snakes are some of the issues. These are only a few things, others on this blog will have great suggestions.
Happy Birding,
Judy – MichiganSame cold weather here in Michigan. Yesterday we had snow all afternoon and evening. The low last night was 24 degrees and tonight will be 23 degrees. I’ve been feeding more live mealworms so they don’t have to be out looking for frozen bugs. I have two boxes with eggs/hatchlings ……wrapped the west sides and the bottoms of the boxes with insulation. Hoping for the best. Will not be able to look inside the boxes until Friday when it warms up. Both Mama bluebirds have been staying inside their boxes most of the day today. Good luck to all 🐣
Judy – Michigan
Yay……I hope you get egg #5 tomorrow. Then maybe #6……I have never had a nest with six eggs yet. Thanks for sharing your photos.
Judy – Michigan
Dave great photos…..I really like the picture with 2 eggs, they are such a beautiful blue. Exciting times ahead.
Judy – Michigan
Carol, Yay….. so happy you have 5 eggs and those winter birds are now gone. Now you can start spoiling the blues with your tasty mealworms 🐛. I have to say feeding live mealworms has made a huge difference here. They stayed all winter eating dried mealworms and sunflower hearts. Lol….The bad part was I had to hire someone to feed them when I left town for 3 weeks in the winter. It worked and they were still hanging out here upon my return. Such a joy to watch.
David, I love the idea of a spreadsheet. Happy to hear you have your first eggs now.
I have 2 bluebird nests going. Nest #1 has 4 eggs. Started incubating on April 4th in the afternoon after laying her 4th egg. She had really bad weather while laying, freezing 4 of the 5 nights, after egg #2 she skipped a day laying. I’m hoping for the best.
Nest #2 has 5 eggs. She started incubating April 9th, in the afternoon. Fingers crossed no freezing nights with this nest.
Judy- Michigan
Thanks Carol. Good news……there is not a 3rd egg as of 12:30pm today. Freezing again tonight, but weather report after that is all above freezing. It will be a miracle if the two eggs laid hatch, my thermometer said 19 degrees….brrr. Still looking forward to more eggs. Super happy she skipped today…….guess they do know what to do. Time will tell. Happy birding to all.
Judy – Michigan
Thanks David. Yes…Last year the 1st egg was laid on April 8th. After all the eggs were laid we had freezing temperatures and I did try to insulate around the box. All of the eggs hatched that time, but mama blue was incubating, which I think makes a huge difference. I don’t think insulation will work this time without mama’s heat. The inside of box would have to be 12 to 13 degrees warmer than outside temps.
Michigan Bluebird Society has advised me to let nature take it’s course and do nothing. Also said…As hard as it may be to do nothing, it’s the right thing to do in these circumstances.
As Carol says “Nature can be cruel sometimes”
Thanks, Judy – Michigan
Yup….I have 2 pairs of bluebirds that have been hanging out at the paired boxes in the front and backyard. Funny thing is they go in and out of all the boxes. Last season the front pair built nests in both boxes before choosing. Looks like they are doing the same thing this year. I’m assuming they are the same pairs that nested here before. Usually we don’t see any eggs until the 2nd week in April.
This was the first time they have stayed here all winter. I’m sure it was because I fed them live mealworms until the fall then switched to sunflower hearts, dried mealworms and suet. Plus 2 heated birdbaths. It was great fun to see them daily. We enjoyed 3 females and 4 males. I can not tell them apart other than male and female.
Happy Birding,
Judy-MichiganOh my gosh……this is so sad 😟. I’m seeing a lot of people on Facebook saying the same thing. It must have been a hard winter for them.
Judy-Michigan
Good to hear things are going well. Glad that heat wave has ended too. We had rain 2 days in a row over the weekend. It was needed and now everything is green and lush.
I have four ….5 day old babies in the back box. It has been a great season of bluebirding for me.
Judy-Michigan
Sounds like it’s business as usual for your blues! Thank goodness this batch all hatched.
We still have lots of wrens in our area too. I have a couple boxes (away from the bluebird boxes) that they keep putting sticks in and I take them out. Your suggestion has work for me also. Thanks!
Judy-Michigan
Carol I’m so happy to hear this. I know you were expecting them to hatch around Wednesday, so when there were no postings until today, I was worried. Good news all is well.
My bluebirds seem to like the larger sized worms better. But for new hatchling smaller would probably be better.
Judy-Michigan
That is great news David. Did you leave the mealworms or take them back inside? Mine fledged 3 days ago, but still come to get the mealworms. I’m hoping to get a 3rd nesting too. They did get an early start this season, but I have never had a 3rd nesting. I’m wondering if the mealworms will entice them to nest again. On her second nesting she started building 3 days after they fledged. I will be watching tomorrow for nest action.
Judy-Michigan
I purchased the Stan Schemahorn feeder…..if you search his name on Facebook you will see a picture of his feeders. I kept seeing these feeders come up on my bluebird Facebook feed with tons of bluebirds enjoying them. Made from recycled plastic…..I chose bluebird blue for my feeder color (of course). I also have the BBF1 cage feeder that I keep suet in for the smaller birds. I like them both.
Judy-Michigan
