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There is not much more to say that what Carol and stebet have already said. Just remove the nest and clean up the box a bit and put it back for the next nesting. We will all hope for the best.
David
Stafford, VACarol – MO is right. They have now claimed that box and the second egg shows that they are there to stay. Watch for the wrens and others but I believe that the bluebird pair will take care of the situation themselves.
David
Stafford, VAI agree with Carol and Tammy on the feeding of mealworms. It is a “supplement” not substitution for their natural feeding. I try to feed mine in the morning around 7:30 – 9:00 AM and again in the afternoon between 4:00 and 5:30. Sometimes, depending on my schedule with the grandkids, I may miss a feeding so they are used to being on their own for food. I have even noticed this year that they do not clear to bowl of the mealworms, so I have reduced the number of mealworms to about 30-40. This is with them feeding 5 young. They must have a good supply of food somewhere. I have noticed them at my seed feeders regularly. I am not sure whether the are feeding the seeds to the young though. Has anyone else had this experience?
David
Stafford, VAI just responded to Brad on the use of this feeder. It does a great job of keeping the larger birds away. You cannot do that with an open or domed feeder. I have even found that my blues actually defend the feeder just like the nestbox.
David
Stafford, VAThe BFF feeder is the one to use if you want to feed mealworms to bluebirds. It doesn’t take much time for them to get accustomed to going to the feeder for the worms. Like others here, mine never liked the dried mealworms, not even in the winter.
Put some live mealworms in the dish, about 40 to 50 initially, and leave the top open to get them used to going into the feeder to get the mealworms. Of course you will probably get other birds in there also. After you see them taking the worms regularly from the feeder, close the top. The larger birds will not be able to get in and most of the smaller birds will not go in (wrens and titmouse excepted.) The blues will flutter around a bit, but will usually go into the cage very soon.
I really like this feeder.David
Stafford, VAI also agree with everyone about the food on the box. Not a good idea, especially if you have HOSP or Wrens around. They like the mealworms and can make life miserable for the bluebirds.
For photos I use imgur.com. Easy to set up an account and upload photos. I use the “copy” on the BBCode link” to post the photos here.David
Stafford, VAThat would work. Don’t use the Shepherd’s hook option. Go with the Advanced Bird House option with the Racoon baffle. The store can help you with the parts selection if it does not come as a package.
btw – I noticed that the brochure is from the Lancaster WBU store. Are you near Lancaster/ Mount Joy area?
David
Stafford, VAGood to have you aboard, Dennis. Do keep us informed on the activity at your nestboxes. Good luck on the nesting.
David
Stafford, VAHow could I forget, Wild birds Unlimited also has a big selection of poles, baffles, and other things that you could use. They are more expensive than the “do-it-yourself” model that I described but it is another option.
David
Stafford, VAEach year I put a 3″ coating of Lithium Grease around the base of the pole, a 2″ strip above the top of the baffle and another one below the mounting flange to stop ants from climbing the pole go get into the nest.
David
Stafford, VAI have both a Home Depot and Lowes near by. I bought the 1 1/2″ PCV pipe and the 24″ Stove Pipe and cap from Lowes. I cut my pipe to 5′ and stood it in a concrete footer block with a hole in the center and filled it with concrete. Then I drilled 2 holes 180 degrees apart and inserted 2 3″ large screws to hold the baffle. I cut a 1 1/2″ hole in the stovetop cap, slid it over the pole to rest on the screws. Since I have snakes in the wooded area behind my house I used some hardware cloth to make some sharp edged disks that I also put on the pole before I put the stovepipe on. I then stuffed some crumpled chicken wire into the stove pipe to deter the snakes.
I also bought a 1 1/2″ flat mounting flange that I screwed onto the bottom of the nestbox. I mounted the nestbox on top of the pole but did not use pipe glue to secure it (you could use a screw to hold it on but I found that too much work to redo after you take the nestbox down – It never seems to line up right). This way I can remove the box and clean it out after each nesting.
Hope this helps.David
Stafford, VACarol, Julie, and Sky have given you some good information. You may be reluctant to deal with extreme measures with the HOSP – but I am sure that the view of a destroyed nest with the broken eggs, or worse the mangled remains of the dead female or the dead young birds will give you second thoughts about what you need to do. While trapping the birds does not harm them, moving them to another location just transfers the problem to another Bluebird monitor. It’s a tough choice but I am sure that you can do it.
David
Stafford, VA
