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Don’t know much about it. I know my daughter has her yard sprayed because mosquitoes are horrendous and she has nesting birds very successfully. I don’t know if it is a different spray than normally or not.???
Tammy
Roger. Buy a Van Ert at https://vanerttraps.com/.
Tammy
Hey, Roger. I don’t even know if that exists anymore (HOSP control forum). We can talk about it here. The only thing we can’t talk about (per Cher’s request) is how to euthanize them. I can help you with that topic via message here or maybe by email or even texting.
The best way to capture House Sparrows is purchasing a Van Ert trap that goes into your box.
Put up extra boxes in your yard so that hopefully the House Sparrow takes one that the bluebirds haven’t started nesting in. You have each of your boxes prepared with screws in them so that no matter what box the House Sparrow takes, you’ll be ready. You let the House Sparrow pair build a nest a little and then you insert the trap.
Do you have eggs in the box yet? As soon as you have eggs you put up a Sparrow Spooker. That will help keep the House Sparrows from taking over the housing. It isn’t foolproof but it helps a lot. If you don’t know much about the Van Ert trap or the Spooker I can let you know moreTammy
@ David. I have the same problem with the streamers too. All the time! Good idea for putting weight at the bottom. Maybe even paperclips would work at the bottom? Just a random thought.
@ Tim Neat that you did a presentation and are helping a group of people!!
I’m big into Purple Martins. If you are on FB there’s a group called Purple Martin Fanatics that is really helpful. I have a small colony for the last 17 or so years. I really don’t want to add more. I like to keep it simple. I probably have about 20+ martins right now. But am having terrible HOSP and starling problems this year. Usually the Starling can’t get into my Starling Resistant Entrance Holes but this year I’ve fought with two pair.Grrr.Tammy
That’s tricky. Could you make a nest for that box and put the egg in it? And then wait to see where she lays the second egg? Just put some dried grass in it and set the egg on top. I like David’s idea of moving the egg but maybe just wait a day to see where she lays the next egg.??? I think you can’t go wrong with whatever you decide. You could always move the egg back if she keeps laying in the box without a nest.
Tammy
Congrats. Exciting! That’s normal for me in NW Ohio. I have 5 eleven day old babies in my nestbox in the backyard.
Tammy
I agree with David. We don’t have nest cams so there’s no way of knowing for us but from what I understand the female makes the nest cup. So that is unusual.
There are females that are brighter than others but I trust your observation on that.Tammy
The bluebirds are committed to that nest. So if you follow the suggestions on clearance and flap length to give them they’ll have no problem.
BUT unfortunately the House Wren knows where that box is now and unfortunately they’ll probably keep piercing in the eggs. You can try it but people normally don’t have luck after the fact.
The Wren guard keeps a Wren from finding the cavity hole initially.
So it’s hard to know whether to let a Wren nest or not allow then to nest. Either way, they might destroy eggs.Tammy
Hey BlueDaBaDee. You know not do morning nest checks during the laying time right? Wait until the afternoon to do them. After they are finished laying you can check any time.
Tammy
(@ David) Bummer!!! I think that it is a good possibility that something happened to that particular female bluebird and the male got another mate.
(@ Tim C) I wouldn’t count on E-bird numbers to be accurate for bluebird nesting. Because most backyard bluebird landlords don’t report to E-bird. I’m out of town now but had a complete nest with 5 eggs by April 6th and I’m right on the Ohio, Michigan border. They started building probably 3 weeks before that date. I also have see several active nests on the trail already and probably most with eggs.Tammy
They have no need to go into a box once the nest is constructed. They will wait until she is going to lay an egg.
And … Have you checked? They are sneaky little things and this year I didn’t even know I had a complete nest and when I finally remembered to check I had 5 eggs.
As David said, it takes them forever on the first nest of the season to get going. They’ll have 2-3 and sometimes 4 nests every season.Tammy
Welcome. Another thing you might need to do if you live in the South is electrify your box right at the bottom. Those rat snakes can get by even cylinder predator guards where rat snakes are super long. Up here in the North it isn’t a problem. I know this from Purple Martin groups I’m on. The Noel guard and extended hole doesn’t really help much at all. But as others have said your cylinder guard should help.
Concerning one of your nests… Babies aren’t ready to fledge at 14 days. And usually do so only if something makes them fledge. They usually can’t fly at that age. They can fly around from spot to spot on the ground but can’t fly up into a tree. But if predators didn’t get them they might have made it. Could your dates me wrong?Tammy
Wrens scare me more than house sparrows. Yes they are native but they are very destructive. And they often make several dummy nests, evicting other birds eggs and nestlings.
I always discourage them from nesting but if you’re in a heavily treed area and have a lot of wrens, like my daughter, that might not be possible.
Also you could put up a Wren guard for your bluebirds AFTER the first egg is laid.Tammy
