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Monofilament Sparrow Spooker
https://ohiobluebirdsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Monofilament-Sparrow-Spooker.pdfTammy
Hi, Ann. Welcome!
Fishing line around the hole and on top of the box does help deter HOSP. I tried it and my HOSP got used to it but it has worked for others. I’ll give you a link on the best way to do that.
But the best way to deal with HOSP is to trap them. They are relentless so it’s best to eliminate them.
This group is pretty slow right now.
I’ll find that link for you.Tammy
Chris. Bluebirds stay here in NW Ohio all winter long. It’s probably colder where you are but it gets down into sub zero temps here quite a bit. From what I hear, feeding them won’t keep them here. They will migrate if they need to. Robins are here year round too. It’s crazy!!
Tammy
Hey, Ira. Sorry about your house sparrow problems. I didn’t realize that you haven’t started trapping yet. You’ll have a very frustrating season, I’m afraid. The House Sparrows will not give up! And the problem is, as you are removing strands of grass for several weeks the bluebirds move on to find another nesting place.
I know you don’t want to hurt the House Sparrows and I get that. That will change when they kill an entire nest of cute little bluebird nestlings. Or kill the parents in the nestbox. At least that’s when it changed for me. One thing you can do which I did in the beginning is to trap the House Sparrow with a Van Ert trap and take them far away to release. I used to do that at my church. It’s not legal but it’s all I could do at the time.Tammy
Mine are going in and out of my boxes too. They could be scoping them out for next season but are probably just curious.
Tammy
We all know one main reason of the decline here. ;)
I’ve heard this about HOSP the past few years. That’s wonderful.
Yes Pairing Boxes works great for bluebirds and tree swallows and even purple martin colonies.Tammy
I can’t remember, do you have a camera in the box so you know for sure what’s happening. You’ve seen her rotating the eggs.
If you don’t have a camera do you check a couple of times a week? I’m asking that because of it were me (without a camera) I would be afraid that perhaps a new female laid eggs and I missed it somehow.
That’s very unusual for them to incubate 22 days past the normal time. They usually abandon the nest. As you know.
I agree with your evaluation. The idea of her starting a new nest now are probably slim anyway. But if there’s not even a sliver of a doubt that these are old eggs you can remove them. How about candling them? I’ve never done it but I’ve heard it’s easy.Tammy
Bummer! Were they in there when you attached the wire mesh to the front? They are so vulnerable to all types of critters. Raccoons, squirrels, mice, snakes, cats. I think the wire mesh was a decent idea. It couldn’t have hurt anything. I don’t think they are very helpful normally but in this situation it was worth a try!! Sorry, that they didn’t make it.
Tammy
I think you can find the larger floor boxes (5×5) now online but you can also make them if you’re handy. I can give you a link if you are. I’m not handy and my husband doesn’t have the tools to make boxes so…I have to buy them.
Tammy
It’s hard to know why it died. It just happens sometimes. But yes, it’s better to have a 5×5 floor instead. But, I have some Gilwood boxes that have smaller floors and my bluebirds do great in it. So the floor space probably isn’t really the reasoning behind your dead bluebird baby. There could have been several other things that were the culprit.
I have a few boxes on a walking trail that were made by someone else and his floor is larger that 5×5 and it’s a little hard for the bluebird to build a nest in it because it takes so much effort to fill it up.
As you get into this hobby you might want to start monitoring your nestboxes. Check them when you think they might be building so when the first egg is laid you’ll know. Keep records of when the first egg is laid and also when she’s done laying and then you’ll know when they should hatch and then after that when they should fledge. Opening the box and checking doesn’t discourage the parents or harm the babies as long as you don’t open it after the babies are 12 days old because they could fledge prematurely. You’ll love this part of being a bluebird landlord if you aren’t doing it already. So much fun to see the babies!! And it also keeps you aware of any problems.Tammy
My guess is just what you said. The parent or parents are feeding them you just aren’t seeing it.
I do the same….try to just assume the best and not think about what could be happening. It helps emotionally to do that. I would be a basket case if I didn’t do that!Tammy
@Ilovebluebirds. Is there a reason you do not open your boxes? Monitoring your boxes really is important and helpful. It really helps you notice any problems that are going on, instead of guessing.
Hawks really can be an issue. The only thing I know to do is to stop filling bird feeders for awhile (if you have bird feeders.) And that only helps temporarily.Tammy
How old are your babies that are still in the nest? Could it be babies from that nest that have fledged but there are still a couple of babies left? It’s not normal for babies from a different nesting couple to show up because bluebirds are so very territorial. I’m not sure how they even got to this area.
They beg for food ALL the time even if they have just eaten when they have fledged. I’m guessing that is what you are seeing. They follow the parents around and beg continuously.
If there’s something else going on, there’s not much you can do. You could put out mealworms but that age of bluebirds will beg for food when mealworms are right in front of them.
I’m hoping that what you are assuming is happening isn’t really the case. Sorry. I know that doesn’t help much.Tammy
I’ve never seen this idea but it makes sense. It used plastic sheeting. https://nestwatch.org/blog/how-to-protect-tree-mounted-nest-boxes-from-snakes/
Tammy
