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Carol – I have not had the “heat” experience that you have there in the Midwest, but I have seen my female bluebird sitting on the nestbox or in the trees when our temps are in the high 90″s and not go into the box until the evening. I would mark the eggs as you said and watch for the rotation.
David
Stafford, VACountrygirl, When I copied and pasted the link that you had in your post I did see the photos on imgur.com, but that is not what you are trying to do. I believe that you will be able to get the photos to your submission by suing the few steps that I sent earlier. Let me know if you have any questions.
David
Stafford, VACountrygirl, Sorry, I have been in Michigan on a boat cruise out of Mackinaw City to see lighthouses.
I am assuming that you have photos in your account at imgur.com and in the Bluebird Forum you are preparing a post to submit. To post a photo:
1. In imgur, click on the photo that you wish to post.
2. On the right side of the page is a column “View and Edit Post”
3. Under that find “BBCode”. Click on this button to copy a string of code to your computer clipboard.
4. Come back to your post and “paste” the code that you copied from imgur.com. It will look something like this
img]https://i.imgur.com/nJniyO5.jpg[/img – only there will be brackets [—] at each end.
5. When you have completed your typing in the post, click submit, and your new post should show your text and photo. It will not show the photo in the text that you are typing – only the code. Scroll up to where the new post shows in the thread and the photo should be there.Hope this helps. I will be off to Nashville on Sunday for a few days. I hope to see a new photo from you when I get back.
David
Stafford, VAThought I would update this set as I am getting ready to take a trip to Michigan for a Lighthouse cruise. Then we will drive down the west Michigan coast for more lighthouses and end up in Nashville, TN for a Handbell Directors Seminar at the Gaylord facility there. Round trip of around 2400 miles and 8 days. This batch will fledge around the 29th, 4 days into our trip.😊
David
Stafford, VACarol – That was my experience also. I have used the guard except for this year when we had our cool spring and late nest building (and the wren protector coming apart in the rain). I did put a longer weather shield over the roof of the box. It extends out over the front to just above the entry hole. It took the bluebirds a couple of tries to figure it out.
David
Stafford, VAStebet, I have seen the same thing here in Virginia during the summer heat. They usually stay in the cooler foliage of the nearby woods and come back to the feeder when the temperatures drop. I have had mine disappear for 2 weeks and then suddenly they are on the wires across the street or back at the mealworms. Patience in the heat of summer always works for me.
David
Stafford, VAWren guards do work but I have not used one this year as my “temporary” guard came apart after 3 seasons and I did not build another one because of the late start of my season. If they do go for a 3rd nest, I will put a new one up after the first egg. I do have wrens in the woods and shrubs.
David
Stafford, VACarol – I keep up on my “target” practice. I have not had HOSP that I know of for the past 2 years. They used to come to the deck where the feeders are, but have not seen them for quite a while. I don’t even see them in our neighborhood.
Julie – I use a “squirrel deterrent,” 6 perch feeder from Lowes. I use a combination of the Wild Birds Unlimited shelled sunflower and safflower seed with dried fruit and I mix in the premium Pennington seed (no milo, etc.) with fruit and nuts from Walmart. I have not been able to see what seeds or nuts the pick out of the feeder. They seem to spend as much time at the seed feeder as they do at the mealworm feeder.
Sky – are the Blue Jays staying away from the bluebirds?
David
Stafford, VAAny thing away from the box will help. Even though I have a large lot I do not have trees or shrubs on most of it. My bluebird box is about 75 feet away from the deck where my seed feeders are located, all in the clear. The blues seem to like the seed feeders as much as their mealworm feeder, but the other birds seem to leave them and their mealworms alone. There are trees and shrubs in back of and to the right side of the nestbox. The birds hang out there. Luckily I have not had House Sparrows around for several years.
David
Stafford, VA
