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Or you could save the nest that wasn’t used. When that happens here I usually save it and today I did need an extra nest. Went out to check the 5 day old chicks and discovered ants. Argh! Took the chicks out, killed all the ants, replaced their nest with one I had (and had to add some extra pine straw since that one was sparse on the bottom), replaced the chicks after checking for ants on their bodies, greased the pole again and done. All the time with adult scolding going on.
I had 3 CACH nests in reserve since they often fail and only one EABL nest. Whew.
Gin
Atlanta, GASometimes people think birds want the box completely empty but that is not always the case. A clean box, yes. But empty is not so necessary. They absolutely will build a new nest on top of a used nest also. EABL will also build on top of another species nest and even remove those eggs. Been there.
I have seen too many nests with very little to no bottom. Most of the time I gather a small handful of whatever comprises the nest and tuck that under what is there. The bird never knows!
Gin
Atlanta, GAI wouldn’t ever worry about putting a partial or complete nest. If it’s not to her liking the female won’t hesitate to remove things and do it her way. The main thing is the box, not the contents.
Gin
Atlanta, GAWhat I do know is that HOFI are not usually cavity nesting birds. If your box is a slot style they could possibly be tempted but I’m doubting it.
See if you can get a good look at the female. If she has streaks on her breast feathers, she’s a HOFI. If not, she’s a HOSP.
Gin
Atlanta, GAPlanning to check for hatching today if I get a minute. Yes, Carol, I know white eggs are not typical. Seeing them is what prompted my happy dance!
Gin
Atlanta, GAI have heard lots of reports of extremely territorial birds who can’t tell the difference between themselves and another bird. You are not alone! Remember we are dealing with bird brains.
Plenty of people do use clings of some sort on window panes. Have you ever heard of glass wax? Basically you rub that all over the windows and it makes them opaque. After it dries and you want it gone it’s easy to wipe off. Of course, you won’t be able to see out of the windows but the bird won’t see her reflection either. You can also use car wax.
The good news is once the bird finally gets busy building a nest the aggravation usually lessens. Let’s hope this female gets engaged in the real world soon.
Gin
Atlanta, GAWelcome, Chris, and you are so right about the HOSP. I took my 28 year old son to Wild Birds Sunday afternoon to equip him with a feeder, seed, and hanging hardware for his own house. The store owner still hasn’t learned anything about the dangers of HOSP (he’s owned the store for years) and is basically a stone wall about it. Needless to say, I picked a seed mix for my kid with NO WHITE MILLET and explained to him WHY. The kid said he’s not hosting nesting birds right now but doesn’t want to feed the invaders.
So sorry you had to experience what you did but…you learned from it and took steps. Good! I look forward to hearing about your season this year.
Gin
Atlanta, GAHa! See? Impossible. Well, probably not really but it seems to be frustrating at the very least. Guess I’ll do without at avatar, never mind loading an image in a thread.
I’m so glad she has come around. I remember the years of eye rolling!
Gin
Atlanta, GAYet another question that is beyond my scope tonight. I just noticed that my avatar disappeared sometime over the winter. Great. If I find the time to wrestle with this, I’ll let you know what I find.
Gin
Atlanta, GAWhy oh why do I always miss it?????
That’s my usual drill. Wait weeks and miss the whole thing. I’ve caught it maybe twice.
Gin
Atlanta, GAStrangely enough (lol) Fred seems to have pretty good luck with hanging boxes so they might be a good bet for him.
Good to see you, Fred, and know you are still alive. :-)
Gin
Atlanta, GALeaving little trace is usually the work of a snake. If you look at both pictures you can see differences in the two so there is a slight trace. In the second one the cup isn’t nearly as neat. That’s a big change in 3 days if it wasn’t a snake.
The really big snakes can get around most baffles. A Krueger trap is last resort but you might have to do that. You also have quite a lot of vegetation around the box. If you shorten everything a snake can’t hide.
So sorry. Those were pretty eggs.
Gin
Atlanta, GA
