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So I found a wasp starting a nest in the box today. Could it possibly be what’s moving the grass from the hole? Or any other tricks out there to determine if the nest is actually abandoned?
The new box has been up only 4 days and that chickadee already has an egg in there. And of course who shows up today but papa blue. He even flew under the wren guard to check out the hole before the chickadees started flying at him. so frustrating I miss the blues :(
Well the grass I put in the hole of the first box keeps disappearing so I guess they are still interested. Or the wrens been back, but eggs are still intact as far as I can tell. I put up a guard early on the new box since I saw the HOWR around and looks like they’ve added to the nest so accepted it. This nest also looks way better then the first so maybe I have some dees that know what they’re doing now?? Haha. Also our eastern phoebe has decided to make the new box her new hunting perch. Curious if this will help deter the HOWR at all with her sitting on it all day.
Well after Randy’s comments I decided to just put up another box hoping the blues would come back. Put it up around 7pm last night. I looked out the window at noon today and there were chickadees bringing in nesting material..just checked and they already have around an inch of moss in there! Hah guess I just can’t win.
Well unfortunately I did have both blues and TRES interested in the box but the chickadees had already built their nest so I put on a hole reducer. And yes I’d love for chickadees to have a successful nest in the box but at this point I feel like they’re holding the box hostage! I did end up seeing them again yesterday so who knows what they’re doing.
Well after two days of not seeing much activity, I went to walk around the box today and accidently flushed mama chickadee. The male quickly flew over to her and they were pretty irritated at me so I didn’t even open the box. So seems like she is possibly incubating now. Maybe I was wrong the other day about thinking the nest had been disturbed while I was gone. The wrens do seem content with the front box like Scot has seen with his, so maybe the multiple boxes have worked after all. Time will tell I guess.
Good thought Lisa, maybe I’ll “accidentally” let my cats outside when the wren is around hah. I put up a cardboard guard and it’s basically been raining all week and seems to be holding up fine. The chickadees were back in and out of the box last night so not sure what’s going on there but I only see them in the late afternoon. I’ll check it later and see if there are any more eggs.
Well it doesn’t seem like the multiple boxes are helping here for me. I finally gave up this year and let the wren nest in one hoping they would leave the poor chickadees alone in their second attempt.
I just got back from being away several days and the chickadees had only one more egg in there and it seemed like some signs that the wren had been back..the nest material seemed a little sticky in one place and it looked like there were a couple pieces of eggshell although it was hard to tell. Doesn’t seem promising although I think I saw a chickadee leave the box this afternoon so maybe the few eggs survived? Next year I think I will just plug the boxes once the wrens arrive and hope to get at least a first brood before I do. The HOWR just seem too destructive here. Well I put it on yesterday because the blues were getting pretty attached to the box. I saw the dee going in so checked on the box this afternoon and there were 2 eggs! Guess I missed the one yesterday but glad I can get the wren guard and spooker up before I’m away for a few days next week. Wish I didn’t have to keep the blues out, but I always feel bad for the BCCH I feel like they get bullied by everyone else. They’re pretty friendly here I’ve even gotten them to take food from my hand in winter.
They are BCCH, but I’m assuming the 1.25 is also okay for them? Is it okay to put it on before they lay the first egg? It’s been cold and rainy here and have only seen the blues today and no eggs yet. I will be out of town so wanted to get it on before I left.
Try hitting ‘subscribe’ at the top of the thread. I was getting emails from one post I started but not another and noticed that wasn’t selected in one.
Well it looks like the Dees have not abandoned the box even after loosing their eggs so I can’t plug the hole. I have the wren guard ready if they lay again. My husband said he may have seen a HOSP but I haven’t seen them around our property before so I hope he is wrong! Although maybe that’s what got the eggs in the first place, not the wren? Will have a spooker ready just in case. Poor Dees, hopefully everything goes well for them this time.
I also saw some blues the past couple days hanging around the yard. At least they visit us once in awhile.
Yea sadly that is what I’m thinking too is I’m just not in a good area it’s too wooded and the boxes are just doing more harm than good. I may just plug them until fall – the woodpeckers roost there all winter – and then leave open next year to try for a first brood before the wrens come back. Then plug again when wrens show. I know the blues are around I saw one in my neighbors yard a couple weeks ago. They do visit my suet feeders in late winter every year. Do they visit mealworm feeders all summer? Maybe I’ll try putting one up so they’ll at least visit occasionally :)
Yes they are definetly house wrens. We have Carolina wrens visit in the winter but they seem to disappear for the summer. I think I’ll move the original box or take it down for now. I try to remove dummy nests and sticks but that wren just won’t give up. Unfortunately my yard isn’t too large so I don’t have a lot of options to move it. Maybe I’ll try a paired box with the one I just put up in the back.
So in that second box the chickadees lost several eggs a few days ago I found them all on the ground. They hadn’t started incubating yet and I put up a guard just in case they weren’t done laying. There have been no more eggs for 3 days but they still visit the box and go inside throughout the day. Will chickadees retry in the same box or do they just hang around for a bit after a failed nest?
