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Good to hear your experiences Nora. That Snake and predator baffle will do a lot to insure the little ones survival.
David
Stafford, VARoger, that is common behavior for the bluebirds. I have seen 2 or 3 different pairs of blues do exactly what yours are doing. When a pair is ready to start a nest, they will claim it and start building their nest. It could take a week or two or it could be just a couple of days. It is a new box in the neighborhood and they are checking it out. That is a good sign.
Good luck and keep us posted.David
Stafford, VAI watched a bit this morning to see what was happening with the nestbox with the eggs. This male and a female bluebird were bringing new nesting materials into the nest and the female appeared to be constructing a new nest. So I went out and removed the bottom half of the old nesting materials in the box along with the 5 unhatched eggs and disposed of them. The two seem to have accepted the change as they are working again this evening. It was hot this afternoon and I didn’t see them around.
David
Stafford, VAOnce she starts laying the eggs, the nest is hers and she will not likely abandon it. I usually put my spooker up after the first egg is laid.
David
Stafford, VAI agree with this. I am in Stafford, VA with similar weather to what you have. My birds started to build around the first week of March but just took their time building. They finished on March 28 but did not lay the first egg until April 2. If the BB pair have not been back to look in and around the nest for a couple of weeks, they have probably abandoned it. There could have been a mishap for one of the pair.
I do agree that taking the box down was probably not a good idea once thay had started to build the nest.
Give it another week. if no activity, then I would remove the nest and let another pair start all over.David
Stafford, VAShe apparently trusts you to not leave the box when you approach. When I check on my birds I usually whistle as I approach the box, then gently tap on the door. There is enough play in the door that it will move slightly when I tap. If she is in there she will normally fly away to a tree behind the nest box and wait for me to leave.
It sounds like you will have only 3 eggs this time around.
David
Stafford, VAIf you are a serious Bluebird keeper, it becomes and “occupation.” I didn’t think much about it until last year when I had the Sparrow problem and took the box down to keep the Sparrows away. It was really strange not going out to look in on the nest. It is good to be doing it again. I am putting up the Sparrow Spooker as soon as the wind dies down a bit.
If you are familiar with Stafford, I am out Garrisonville Road about 8 miles from I-95 and off Rock Hill Church Road going to Lake Arrowhead. Been here since 1989.
David
Stafford, VAI’m with Tim. I have raised my mealworms for several years until cold weather cooled my basement when I had to replace my wood burning stove a couple of years ago and killed off my beetles. You can use the dried worms in home-made suet for winter feeding.
David
Stafford, VAGood for you. I have noticed the the first nest is prone to not having all of the eggs hatch. But I am in Virginia where it is colder in March most of the years. Hope nest 2 is full of young ones soon.
David
Stafford, VAAnd now we have 5 eggs. The female was sitting on the eggs and flew off as I approached the nest a few minutes ago. It is cool, so I am going to avoid the box for a while. If my numbers are correct, we should have hatching on April 20. More to come later.
David
Stafford, VA
