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Hi phillyblues,
Those house sparrows are bullies let me tell ya. One year they drove a pair of bluebirds away from my yard while the bluebirds were nest building. The male sparrow would sit in the entrance hole and chirp then attack the female bluebird whenever she attempted to enter the box with nesting material. He did the same thing with the male bluebird when he would go to investigate. The bluebirds gave up after a few days and left. I trapped and disposed of male house sparrow. Luckily another pair of bluebirds eventually came and set up house in my box later on. But yes the house sparrows will drive them away. They’ll harass the bluebirds so much that eventually they’ll give up and go elsewhere. The only thing you can do with the house sparrows is trap and dispose of them.
Dana
Lancaster, PAHi Yolanda,
I’m really sorry to hear about your bluebird situation. It sounds like the female may have abandoned the nest. One way you can tell is by touching the eggs. If they are warm to the touch she is still incubating them. If they are cold, most likely she hasn’t been sitting on them for quite a while. Once incubation stops completely the developing embryos inside the eggs will die. If you are absolutely certain she is gone then I would clean out the nest and dispose of it. Hopefully a new bluebird pair will find and use your nest box for their 2nd or 3rd brood.Dana
Lancaster, PAMichele,
The bluebirds protecting the nest box is most definitely a good sign. Keep us posted! – Dana
Hi Evangeline,
I would be more concerned if the conflict was taking place at the nest box. As a rule song sparrows are not known to be a enemy of the bluebirds as they are not cavity nesting birds and don’t have to compete with them for a nest site. I would try moving the bird bath to a different location and see if that helps. There’s not much else you can do other than that. Having the sparrow spooker on the top of the nest box will definitely help protect the bluebirds from their worst enemy – the house sparrow. Good luck.
Dana in Lancaster, PA
Wow Michele that is really interesting for them to nest there! I’m assuming a utv is like an atv (All Terrain Vehicle). With the nest already containing eggs the bluebirds are most likely “bonded” to it. If you remove the nest and eggs I worry it may cause the bluebirds to abandon the nest. Ideally it would be recommended to put up a bluebird nest box for them to use in your yard if you don’t already have one to encourage them to nest there. If you absolutely cannot do without your utv I would call a Wildlife Rehabilatator to deal with the situation. Hope this helps some.
– Dana
Carol,
I agree totally about the VanErt Traps. They help tremendously! Keeping my fingers crossed you have a good season with the bluebirds. – Dana
Mully,
If your nest box is still vacant I would wait and see what happens. Here in Pennsylvania I usually get bluebirds nest-building in my box the first week of April. One year none showed up until the middle of May. There’s still plenty of time for them to show up in your neck of the woods. If not for a first brood then hopefully for a second or third brood.
Keep us posted.
Dana
Carol,
That’s really neat about the white BB eggs! Regarding the house sparrows, have you tried using the Van Ert Trap to get rid of them? Last year in the Spring I trapped a male house sparrow and discarded him. He was trying to usurp the box from the bluebirds. Once I got rid of him the bluebirds moved right in and they had 3 successful nestings after that.Dana,
Lancaster, PACarol,
Good to hear the baby bluebirds fledged. I’m already missing seeing my bluebird family. After the 3rd brood they don’t hang around much and tend to move on. But I know they’ll be back later this Fall and Winter as I’ll have the mealworms out for them.Dana
Carol,
So true! Sometimes you have wait and monitor the situation before making any hasty decisions. Or let nature take it’s course as you mentioned. So glad to hear papa bluebird is still around to take care of them.
Dana
Dave,
That’s truly a bummer especially at the end of the season. Maybe she thinks they’re still gonna hatch since she hasn’t abandoned the nest yet or built a new nest overtop of the eggs. I would wait and see what happens. Here’s hoping for the best.
Dana in PA
Thanks all!
It’s always a good feeling knowing you’re adding to the bluebird population. It sure is a passion of mine. And people enjoy seeing them as well. This world today could use more happiness and the bluebirds bring it!
Carol,
Two broods is still good. My pair of bluebirds used to only have 2 broods per season. But the past two years they have been producing 3 broods to my delight! I’m guessing the warmer summers could be why plus I feed them mealworms without overdoing it though.Dana in PA
