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Did they all hatch? 4 or 5 delay between eggs is almost unheard of. I wonder if something happened to the original male or maybe it is a new female. I seem to have a high drama bluebird season the last couple of years.
Tammy
Sorry, Tara. Sorry that I didn’t see your post and that you went through that. It does get easier as you keep with this hobby. I used to bawl too!
There’s a good chance the babies wouldn’t have made it if they had hatched because the mom still broods new hatchlings. They can’t regulate their own temps early on and need mommma’s heat. But it has happened. Sometimes I’m super curious at how far along the babies were and I open an egg (after I’m positive they aren’t hatching). That might be too heartbreaking for you but it makes me feel better when I see that the eggs weren’t as developed as I thought they were.
There’s no right or wrong answer for when to remove the eggs. As long as you wait enough time. But I rarely leave my eggs in very long when I know they aren’t going to hatch because I want that box to be freed up for a new nest. But I always err on the side of caution.Tammy
Aww…so sorry. That’s why it is good to do regular box checks. A dead bird inside a box of babies a lot of times ends in the death of the babies too. I check once or twice a week until the babies are 12 days old.
Did you see any wounds that would be the evidence of a house sparrow attack etc? Maybe next year you could get a photo of your Mountain Bluebirds. We had one that was out of normal range here in the Toledo, OH area a few years ago. I didn’t see it but I heard about it.Tammy
https://www.tmbstudios.com/products (scroll down)
This is what I was thinking of that is sold by the Cher who started this group. I can’t vouch for how good this one is at all though.Tammy
I only know about the Blink Camera. I think some people make their own box and give it extra room at the top to use Blink. I’m sure there are others out there but I don’t know what they are. I think Cher may have one at the store connected to this group.
A lot of purple martin landlords use them but the ones I know use the Blink Cameras.Tammy
Hi, Doc. Welcome. The males can successfully feed and fledge babies as long as they don’t get wooed by another female. You can offer live mealworms to your male bluebird but getting him to find them is a trick. Mine come to my sliding glass door and I’ll throw mealworms on the concrete patio. If there’s Robins around I put the mealworms in the mealworm feeder. I would put mealworms in a white dish on a planter stand or something close to where you see him perch. So he can look down at the planter stand where ever he is Put only a few, because another bird may find them. There’s a good chance he’ll find them because he’s desperately looking for food. Once he finds them you can gradually move the contraption closer. You get mealworms at Pet Supply stores. But they are expensive that way but you may want to start off doing that since you aren’t sure he’ll take them and it’s only for a week. Actually he may take them from you after the babies fledge. The Eastern Bluebirds teach their babies how to hunt for a couple of weeks and the first few days feed them. I have some new fledgling right now and the parents are feeding them mealworms.
Later, you can buy them in bulk from the internet. I buy 5,000 and they last me for months when stored in the fridge and taken out occasionally to give them food and moisture.Tammy
I’ve had a 3rd nest that started in August once but most start in July. Depends probably on where you are. I’m in NW corner of Ohio.
Tammy
I’m not sure what to tell you. You’ll have to make that call. I don’t think the bluebirds will keep laying in a nest that’s experienced predation. But what if she is ready to lay another egg? Did it seems like they were done? Maybe just keep that nest in there and see what they do. I hope they choose the second box that the wren hasn’t tried to get into. If they haven’t laid another egg by tomorrow??? You can just take the nest out and let them start over. It’s a guessing game.
If you end up making a Wren Guard. Put it on after the first egg is laid and make sure you watch to make sure she will go in the box. They always do but if you see her struggling and you made the one with velcro you can leave up a side.“Distance from front to guard should be 2.5″ for bluebirds. 2.0 to 2.25″ is okay for smaller birds like chickadees. I usually put them a bit further out (3-4″)”
Tammy
Info about depth of guard etc and general info about wrens is here. https://www.sialis.org/wrens/
Tammy
Or you can make one out of a sign that’s easy to remove. Add velcro. When you bend the sign it cracks but I just reinforced it with duct tape. It makes a waterproof sign. You put each of them up with tacks or small screws. Remove from bluebirds babies nestbox after 10 or 12 days.
https://imgflip.com/i-page/8vpvjd
https://imgflip.com/i-page/8vpv6zTammy
You can make a wren guard out of a shoe box.
https://imgflip.com/i-page/8vpwcs
https://imgflip.com/i-page/8vpw5nTammy
Honestly, house wrens scare me more than House Sparrows and I haven’t quite figured them out. Since they have found that box they probably will try again. And now that the bluebirds know the wren has found it they probably will not nest in that box again this season. Do you have a second box up in your backyard? You could see if the bluebirds will take a second box and put the wren guard up as soon as you see the first egg and let that house wren build his dummy nest. Technically you don’t know if it’s a dummy nest but I just assume it is and then take out the sticks later.
Tammy
Hi Meredith. It was most likely the House Wren. It’s just what they do, even if you have empty boxes nearby.
You can make a Wren guard. That will help once you have bluebird eggs in that box. You put it on after this first egg is laid. I’ll give you some links and photos. But it will take me a few minutes.Tammy
