[Meredith]

Really appreciate the info — this makes it much easier to make a wren guard than I thought!!! I do have a 2nd box and will give it a go! Out of curiosity, how late in the year do the bluebirds build the 3rd next?

I’m assuming I should discard the failed bluebirds’ nest at this point ???

And is it a no-no to remove the wren nest if I do open up the first box up again to distract the wrens?

Thanks SO much!!!

[Meredith]

I’d really appreciate the info! Do you think it was a good idea to make the box uninhabitable for the wrens? I’m inclined to just close down the house for the year ….

[Meredith]

Thanks so much Tammy! I do have a Van Ert trap to give him. I will share with him your advice!!

[Meredith]

Can’t thank you both enough for this helpful guidance — I love this forum. :) I’ve been checking with my binoculars and haven’t seen any feedings happening, tho the male is going inside the house constantly. Crossing my fingers I won’t have another bad sight when I look in there tomorrow … hoping he’s just getting ready for Round 3! Thanks again!! :)

[Meredith]

Thanks, David! The bluebird house is actually made of recycled plastic. Do you think that would still work?

Also, if you don’t mind another nestbox question …. the nestbox is blue, and I’m worried about it getting too hot in the summer! Since the fledglings just took off, do you think it would be a problem to take the house down for a day to repaint it? Would that discourage the parents from starting another brood?

Thanks so much, everyone!

[Meredith]

Carol, thanks SO much for your valuable insight! I’ll plan to give the baby a light poke this afternoon when I get home from work.

My one concern: I have a commercially made birdhouse that’s hard to open. The only way to get in there is to pry open the front door. Do you think that’s OK to do at this point? I don’t want to startle the baby, if it still is alive, but I wouldn’t be able to put my penlight and a small probe both into the peephole at the same time ….

Thank you again!!

[Meredith]

I can’t thank you all enough for the pointers. The blue jay feeder is down, as well as the bird bath (never thought of that!). I’m getting it that the more vigilant you can be, the better! (Which is no problem for me, as I’m obsessed with the bluebirds and sit in my breezeway as often as I can to check on them, lol!)

I’m wondering: is it most important to keep a close eye on things in the early morning at this point, or does it matter? I saw a blue jay lurking around this morning quite early so I’m thinking that might be the best time to step up my efforts. Never would have guessed they could be so aggressive!!

Thanks again!!!

[Meredith]

Hi again everyone, Thank you so much for helping me to get a better sense of what I need to do this time around. I’ve done a bit of research on the sparrow trapping, and I’m planning to purchase the Deluxe Repeating Sparrow Trap. Skyonitsback, if you see this message, can you please tell me more about how you dispose of the trapped birds without ever touching them? I’d love as many specifics as possible, if you don’t mind.

So far, it’s really the wrens who’ve been the biggest nuisance. (I see a house sparrow occasionally, but none have tried out the birdhouse. Maybe the filament has deterred them?) Anyway, the wrens have been quite persistent in building and rebuilding their nests no matter how often I take down them down. Tonight, the bluebird couple that’s been dallying in the yard at the mealworm feeder for a few days got pretty serious about driving the wrens away (and entering and reentering the birdhouse themselves) so I’d love to be prepared as possible. I was really hoping that the Sparrow Spooker would suffice but I would like to prepare myself to use the trap.

Thanks so much again for all the helpful information!!

[Meredith]

I’ve put up a decorative house out of sight (as best I could anyway!) and the wrens have already been checking it out so hope that works!! Of course, there’s now a house sparrow couple that’s interested in the bluebird house, too. Prime real estate, apparently! A bluebird couple was around last night as well so here’s hoping …. :) I don’t think I have it in me to hurt the house sparrows so I’m just plugging up the house whenever I see them. Thanks so much for the ideas and ongoing dialogue — it’s been invaluable and allowed me to learn a lot this year.

I think next year when I have the right set-up going early, I might increase my odds! :)

[Meredith]

Carol, thanks so much for your insight. It sounds like what works for you is to keep the wrens occupied so they won’t mess with the other houses, do I have that right?

At the moment, I just have the one house. I’d like to give the bluebirds a chance to nab it, as I’ve seen some stopping by now and then at the mealworm feeder. I’m thinking of leaving the hole unplugged whenever I’m home so I can just keep an eye on things and plug it back up if I see the wrens making a claim. I’d like to thwart the wrens as soon as possible, as I’ve read they’re quite territorial. What do you think of this plan? :)

Thanks so much for taking the time to lend your experience — I greatly appreciate it!!

[Meredith]

Thanks so much everyone for the helpful ideas! I’ve got the baffle up and a good location, and I’m ready to go with the sparrow spooker and wren guard, if the bluebirds do try to use the house again and lay their first egg. I also have a membership to WBU so I’m using high-quality seed, and I only have finch feeders, along with the bluebird mealworm feeder in the backyard.

With my new setup, of course, I see wrens already trying to move into the house. I keep a pretty close eye on things in the backyard, and I’m wondering what to do now. Do I wait for the wrens to start building their nest and keep taking the incomplete nest down? Or should I just stop up the house for a couple of days and hope they move on? I’d love your advice!!!

[Meredith]

Thanks so much, both, for your kind replies and ideas. Upon closer inspection, I realized that no new nesting material had actually been added. What I saw sticking out of the hole haphazardly was actually the bluebirds’ nesting material (and some was pulled down the to the ground as well). Could this be some type of small mammal that got in there and pulled the eggs/nesting material out with their small claws? I’m hoping to learn from this failure, and I wonder if folks on this forum have found baffles to also be a necessity? Thanks again!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Meredith.

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