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Thanks a lot for all the help so far! Hopefully I’m not too much of a bother.
3 eggs yesterday. Not checking until after noon, although the 4th should be in there now.
I made a new sparrow spooker yesterday. It seems to hang well and they are usually straight down but move around in the breeze. Let me know if this does or doesn’t seem adequate.
Tomorrow should be day/egg 5. Would incubation typically begin immediately? During incubation, will the female usually be in the box unless it’s quite warm out? What should I do about checking the box or leaving it alone during incubation? Thanks!
Thanks Carol. They are the same color, just a lighting effect with the camera. I’ll leave the box alone for the rest of the day and not check until later tomorrow. I am going to try to make a new sparrow spooker that’s a little better looking.
I went out this morning and checked the box at 9:45. I always knock first, but when I opened it up there she was staring at me. So I gently closed the box and let her be. Glad to know she didn’t have any trouble with the box. I did not modify the wren guard or anything.
I’m pretty sure she was laying the egg when I opened the box as well. I’ll try to avoid that time window moving forward.
If these eggs hatch and fledge, how long do the young typically stay in the area? Should I expect them to stick around the yard, or will they venture off to find their own way as soon as they can?
It’s an inch and a half from the bottom of the hole to the bottom of the guard. The guard is also 3 1/4 inches out from the hole. It seemed like you could see the hole fairly easily if it was any higher.
I ate lunch in the car watching and the female flew to the nearby tree, then the UPS truck beeping its horn scared her away. I haven’t seen her since but I’m not watching closely.
Nothing is jumping from those bushes to the box. It’s across the walkway. If anything, something would jump from the roof of the land rover, but that’s a pretty daring leap.
Kind of embarrassing but this is all I could put together with stuff in the garage. Hopefully it’ll work until I can make something better.
I haven’t seen the bluebirds around and I don’t look out over that part of the yard from any of my rooms. How can I make sure they are able to get in the box? I assume she will get her way in there no matter what.
How can I make an easy sparrow spooker? Is it just any hanging material like mylar that will touch the top of the box? I’m pretty sure I can make something easily that will do that. I just wasn’t sure if I needed one or not.
I hate triple posting but it won’t let me edit after a period of time.
I just made this wren guard out of a cereal box. Does this look ok? It’s 3 1/4″ out from the hole and 4″ tall.
Mom was in the box when I went out and I spooked her a bit, but hopefully she’s ok. Anything else I need to be doing? I have both HOSP and HOWR around. I’m not too thrilled about the babies of both being all over the place.
Well would you look at that. I just checked again and there’s an egg in there. I guess it was laid about 9-10 this morning, although I thought they laid them in the early morning. Do I need to make a wren guard ASAP and get it up? I’m going to make one out of cardboard.
The nest appears to have been completed 2 days ago but I haven’t really seen the female around. I still see the male hanging out nearby. I’m not out there all that often so she could still be around, I just haven’t seen her.
Do they often wait some period of time after building the nest before laying eggs? I assume if they built a nest to completion they intend to use it, right?
It was easy enough this morning. Walked out to see the brilliant blue male sitting in the nearby tree, then saw the female fly out of the box with her more dull blue.
This is either day 2 or 3 of nest building. I’m not sure whether the first day with a handful of pieces of straw count. But they’re getting on with it pretty well. I guess I need to go ahead and work on a wren guard out of cardboard.
5-7 days. 39 days, if a male is trying to do it. :)
Ha! Are they pretty tolerant of disruptions? I was pretty active today with the garage open and my neighbor actually used my garage as a workshop with power tools for about 3 hours. Still saw the bird around after all the noise was done.
Maybe it’s a female. I just assumed it was a male putting the beginnings of a nest in the box to attract a female. It’s definitely already being made into a circle though.
I thought the females were more brown. But it may be a female that is fairly blue. It isn’t a brilliant as the blue I have seen on some around.
How long does making a nest normally take them?
It’s a pine straw circle. He’s making good progress. And I see the bluebird in and out of the box and hanging out in the area.
Will he build a nest without a female or just start it and wait for her to finish it? I’ve only seen the male. When would you start seeing a female, if he has one? I don’t think I’ve even seen a female yet in person, come to think of it.
I moved the box to the front of the house yesterday. I came home today and found some stuff in the box. I wasn’t thrilled thinking the blasted wrens found it already. Then I walked out of the garage and there was a male bluebird sitting on top of the house.
I didn’t want to spook him, as he was staring right at me. So we just sat there for a minute or two. He moved to a nearby tree and starting singing. It’s the same male I see sitting on the house across the street (or several of them use the same spot).
What is he likely doing? Just claiming a space in case? Or is there a chance he’s actually wanting to use the box soon? I’m happy to have progress at a minimum. Much better than the young HOWR and HOSP that seems to be enjoying my backyard now.
