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Connie, You give me hope for another nesting. We already had one and a half–both ended in disaster thanks to some HOSP. The mama bird was killed in the last nesting, but the papa is still sitting atop one of our other boxes. Problem is, I don’t think he can find a new mate before the weather starts to turn colder. But, as I said, you give me hope that we’ll have some babies before we know it.At this point, I’ll just wait and watch… Mspatt,Ohio
You’re right!! This is war!! We have a total of four boxes, two are HOSP nests. We will keep monitoring their nests and keep kicking them out!! There is even a directional thing on the sialis site about how to humanely euthanize them, but we won’t let them hatch any eggs!!! War!!!! mspatt,ohio
Thanks, Connie. This is breaking my heart and I’m almost,almost ready to give up…but the mama and papa just keep plugging away, so I probably will,too.We tried so hard to keep them safe, but the HOSPs seem to win more than not. Sooooooooo sad!!Thanks again for your kind words… mspatt,ohio
Sorry, I am a technological dinosaur–can’t post pics. Anyway, we opened the box for the last time today. The nestlings were born on the 30th of June. They don’t gape, but I did see two or maybe three beaks. Somebody will be fledging soon.The babies look like the pictures on the Sialis site.
Those metal things we have are called Noel Guards and we have one attached to another. Mr BB sits inside the two guards and watches for HOSPs (we do have some).There may be reason to hope we have fledging BBs!!!Well, now I am wondering what is going on. The nestling is in a standard BB box with a hole of a bit more than 1.5″. Both parents show up in the early morning (6:00 a.m.). And then they both disappear for the rest of the day. The papa BB will return in the evening. Sometimes with food, sometimes without…The feeding seems to be very irregular. Now the strange thing is this: my husband opened the box the other day and there seems to be one large baby in the nest. Maybe the other babies are underneath the big one?????
We do have some cowbirds around, but does anyone know if they could fit through the entrance hole?? Could it be a HOSP? Sometimes they build there nest on top of the BB nest, right, but then we never saw any other eggs…I’m very confused!!
Mspatt, OhioI’m not sure what they are called, but we have 11 inches of a metal cage made out of hardware clothe that wraps around the box and has pointed spike-like things sticking up at the end. Then we have a sparrow spooker on top of the box. We had four babies that fledged from this set up last year and I haven’t seen a snake in the five years we have lived here. We do have raccoons, but I don’t think they can reach inside and they come after the birdseed.The box is in a position that keeps it out of the sun most of the day. The man across the street from us had four boxes on his deck–I was surprised that they nested that close together, but all his boxes were filled.
Anyway, thanks for the advice. I wouldn’t want to endanger the blues or their babies, (eight days old) and when they fledge I will let you know…Thanks, again MsPatt, OhioHi Connie, I know I am responding to a post of a month ago, but in my defense I am new here. The thing I wanted to tell you is that my husband has about 18 aquariums and most of the aquarium stores sell live mealworms. But better call first just to make sure.
Connie, So sorry to hear your babies did not make it a while ago!!This was supposed to be a relaxing hobby, but it is turning out to be so stressful,lol Mine are in a box on our deck and I am able to see them almost constantly through the glass patio doors. I sometimes see the mama in the morning, but then she vanishes for the rest of the day. Maybe because it is so hot she is hanging out in the shade of the trees. We have lots of old growth forest around here…Anyway, I opened the box this morning. Most of the babies were born on Saturday, so I wanted to wait a bit before checking on them again. I could be wrong, but I only saw two gaping mouths–no egg, but no dead bodies either. So I am hoping for the best…papa is still feeding regularly and the weather is supposed to break after today–that should give the parents some relief!!
Thanks for your response… Mspatt, OhioGood Morning, The babies were born last Saturday and I wanted to wait until today to check the box again. The blues are in a box on our deck and so I can see it almost constantly. The female seems to show up in the morning and then I don’t see her for the rest of the day.But the papa feeds regularly. Anyway, I opened the box this morning and could not see the egg at all (I’m thinking it is not going to hatch and has just dropped to the bottom of the nest). I only saw two gaping mouths, but did not want to disturb the cup too much–I am hoping all four babies are there…Thanks for your advice. I will let yu know what happens… mspatt, Ohio
