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Thanks for reiterating that point Tammy. Tres WILL evict eabl. At the very least they annoy and harass eabl.
I realize many on this forum are all for tres. But I thought this is a BLUERBIRD forum!!
For the above reasons I have a zero tolerance policy for tres. I have witnessed helplessly droves of tres gang up and dive bomb eabl trying to defend its box, even when there where other empty boxes available. This was a by product of letting them nest in years past. This year no tres allowed. And behold- a record amount of eabl nesting, 4 pairs.Chris
Rochester, NYN
Tammy
I found an early fledger on the ground last year. (Turned out a Wren killed her siblings in the box) after I figured out the situation- I collected the little one and returned it to the box, minus the siblings. But he hopped right back out, even though he couldn’t yet fly, before mom and dad could find him. (He survived just fine)
So you are right- I guess once they leave, they wont stay!
I am curious though… does your nest box door open up or down? It is my biggest pet peeve-supposed dedicated “bluebird” boxes that open at the bottom. I modify all of my boxes to open top down for just that reason. You can carefully peek without escapees jumping ship.Chris
Rochester, NYN
I feed lots of mealworms (10k monthly). A couple of years ago I too learned of this calcium deficiency, potentially caused from live mealies.
I Found out two things:
Blues will only get 10-20% of their daily intake from us.
Exotic nutrition has a fairly inexpensive solution- calcium fortified food for mealworms. It is made to gut load your mealies a couple days before you feed them to your blues. The worms love it!
I have been monitoring all our blues, very closely, while they lay there eggs each day. There have been not one problem with egg issues or early hatching. None, for 3 years.
I personally believe that providing worms at the time of fledge is the best possible help for at least the first few days, especially for the first clutch of the year.Chris
Rochester, NYN
I have seen many times as a tres stays and “squats” in the box with the door fully opened! Every time she is protecting her eggs. I’m sure she is just fine!
Chris
Rochester, NYN
Hi Connie!
I’m in western NY, just south of Rochester and north of you! Many people are quite surprised that they stay or survive here during the harsh winters. I would not believe it if I did not see it- every single day! In fact they spend MOST of the day here, often leaving for only 30 minutes at a time. It turns out that the colder it is the more they are here. It is utterly amazing and awesome to watch them all, nearly all day. I still worry on those bitter, sub zero days! The down side is the commitment- time and money. As close as I can tell we are feeding more than 2 doz blues. This year was record setting for worms…around 11 pounds of dried and 10k live, monthly. Fresh water twice daily. I dont know why birds deficate IN the water they drink??
Fortunately our resident/ dominant pairs have begun chasing the others away this week and claimed their box! I’m ready for only a couple of pairs!
Be careful what you wish for…!Chris
Rochester, NYN
Hello fellow Bluebirders!! Glad I found this forum, it is great and nice to be amongst othes who “get it”!
Blues first found me in 2007. That first pair returned annually until 2014.Then I learned how to keep them as residents, year round. What a joy they were. Until then I was neivlly ignorant about Hosp. Ironically 2017 was first time the pair attempted a third brood. Just before fledging they were ALL killed in their nest. Hosp had built a new nest, on the dead family. Accurate descriptions of that experience are indescribable. I immediately educated myself immensely.
So I subsequently wound up on a crusade to educate EVERYONE who owns a nest box. Which led me here! I really dont feel that the Hosp information is adequately and readily available. It should come WITH every nest box and all Bluebird food.
Nevertheless my bbird efforts have morphed into nearly a full time job in and of itself! It is a lot of work, with no days off, but well worth the effort! I have been able to keep more than 2 dozen blues all winter, in western NY, long for several years. And are now up to three matting pairs.
I am still plagued with Hosp but they are in check and I have the upper hand!
So I am here to learn, help share my experiences, but mostly drive home the point about dealing with Hosp BEFORE a Bluebird tragedy has to be the inspiration for motivation.Chris
Rochester, NYN
