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Ditto what David said. I don’t have snake problems here but I’m thinking eventually raccoons may become troublesome. House Sparrows are also rare here but they are in town about six miles north.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Good to hear. If I could send you some little stinkers, er Wrens, I would. 🤔 We seem to be having a surge this season.
And today I determined I had another fully built, “abandoned” bluebird nest. I removed the nest and it was very clean with very little dander so possibly truly abandoned.
Curious what is your location? I’m on the WI/MI border so have only experienced two broods per season.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
I’m not an expert but I have some experience in my four seasons of bluebird trail monitoring. I have averaged two dozen boxes each season.
Bluebirds are very clean parents. When I clean out a box after fledging sometimes the only evidence of success is a little extra bird dander mixed in with the nest materials. I usually dissect the old nest to check for blow fly larva or other pests. This year there has been no blow fly larva. My first season it was very common to see the worms buried in the bottom of the nest. That’s when I learned how important it is to clean out old nests and dispose of the material far away from the box. IF the blow flies establish themselves and a second brood uses the nest the larva could kill the hatchlings. I’ve been told that at night the flies feast on the little guys blood. A brood supposedly can survive a small amount of that. But when they are established before hatchlings appear they could overwhelm the little guys.
It is not rare to have the experience you describe. I have had it happen three times out of almost 100 nest boxes installed. In 2025 out of 35 nest boxes installed I had 13, or 37% occupied by bluebirds. One nest was abandoned in a similar fashion as you describe. I have no idea what happened but I like to think they found another site that suited them better. I often pair boxes about ten or fifteen yards apart. Bluebirds have never occupied both boxes in a paired setting. I have had a great deal of success with Tree Swallows and bluebirds nesting at the same time in paired boxes. The TS and EBBs do squabble a bit when first establishing their chosen boxes but eventually when nest building and laying start they coexist well. I think they mostly feed differently so they don’t compete completely for food. EBB feed primarily on the ground and TS feed in the sky.
I’m not sure if the three abandoned nests I have had (4 seasons) were abandoned due to predation, unfavorable weather, or maybe they choose a different nest box nearby. Nature is not easy on these birds. A mating pair could have been attacked by predators and if that happened while they were out foraging you would never know. Have accessible water for the birds. If a drought occurs they might have to move out.
Keep trying. Don’t give up. It is very rewarding to experience the little guys fledging.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Those are very good questions. Hard to know the answer to that without monitoring continually. Anywho, congrats on the potential for three broods in one box! I haven’t ever had that success with our season being so short.
I’m interested in your general location?
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
The nest box I referred to previously made it through our cold snap and the little guys fledged a couple days ago. This is my first fledglings in boxes I monitor. No sign of bluebirds or fledglings during my last two visits. I hope they return for a second brood before those little stinkers (wrens) fill the box with sticks!
I now have four nest boxes with varying ages of eggs/hatchlings. Someone mentioned a few days ago about a noticable increase in tree swallows. That’s also the case here. I even have paired boxes about ten yards apart with two pairs of TS nesting. I love the TS but Bluebirds are my preference. Though I don’t get to decide.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Nice. My first brood fledged a couple days ago. They haven’t started nest building yet. No sign of them and the fledglings. Hoping they come back.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
That’s settled then. That’s the first I’ve heard of someone feeding suet, so I stand corrected. No expert here. I’m fairly new to the bluebird landlord world.
As far as feeding the dried mealworms… they know better than us if it’s a good source of energy for them and their hatchlings. I tried live mealworms my first year of providing nest boxes for them. The bluebirds loved them and I tried raising the worms but it didn’t go well. For the last three seasons I haven’t provided any supplemental food for them. I get why people provide mealworms. It’s great fun watching them collect them and bring them to their nest boxes. My nest boxes are all remotely located so I don’t have the opportunity to spend much time observing.
Anywho, it’s great you are providing the much needed nest box. There are far to few natural nesting cavities out there.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
I would say let the bluebirds decide. Suet may or may not be a good choice during breeding season. I am not an expert by any means so go with information you find.
I just tend to not worry about what they feed on since they know better than me. Mealworms are a common feed for bluebirds, though I wouldn’t worry about them avoiding dried mealworms during breeding season. Natural, live bugs are preferred as the little guy’s only source of hydration prior to fledging may be from bugs mom and dad bring them.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
On my last two visits to the box with five eggs I’m happy to report a pair has been hanging close to that box on both occasions so I’m hopeful the eggs are viable. 30 degrees last night here. Going to say this quietly for people that hate bugs but I hope they start appearing soon. That pair apparently have found enough food to fuel laying five eggs so I just can’t see the bugs.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
My nest boxes have never had house sparrow problems. They are definitely in the adjacent town but not in my rural area. So no experience with them.
I have read some reports of the use of fishing lines and they seem to work after nesting and laying has started. I can’t say if that technique will work before a pair adopt your nest box. This is a great question and I’m going to follow the replies with interest.
Look into mylar ribbons as well. Some success has been reported.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Tammy your bluebird story sounds similar, at least this season. I was too aggressive the first three years and started to stress out about spending four mornings a week monitoring. Other than a few nest boxes around my property I’ve reduced to two trails (21 boxes total) that I can monitor in a day. I typically just monitor one trail each morning though.
No bluebird activity on my property boxes so far. A Chickadee pair is building a nest in one of five boxes which my wifey can see from her chair in the living room. I haven’t heard any Lil Stinkers in the neighborhood yet. Wifey reminds me they are Mother Nature’s Lil Stinkers and to leave them be!
Today is supposed to be in the mid 60s so I saw a lot of activity on one trail today. Cold spell has hopefully ended but I see some freezing night temps in the next few days. Tree Swallows have arrived in numbers the last few days and I’m happy to see my pairing of boxes is working out. Even the little stinkin Wrens are not filling boxes with sticks on a daily basis though I think that will change : (
One TRES box had a pair actively defending a box from another TRES invader this morning. They were just swooping through the sky with no real aggressive behavior. I love watching them and they seem to tolerate the bluebird pairs in the box nearby. I think there are eleven bluebird eggs so far. A little worried about the first nest box with five. Hopefully they are still viable after our cold weather. I’ll keep an eye on it. When is it safe to assume they are unviable? I won’t do anything with them until I am sure they have been abandoned. Mom and dad are staying close so I think they will be OK.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Very cool David! As soon as ya think you have bluebirds figured out they surprise you.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
I hope that little bugger is warming up under its siblings. Good to see them all asking for lunch!
My first PVC box I installed Sunday had nest materials in it on Monday, what appeared to be a full nest Tuesday and today two blue eggs. I still haven’t seen or heard any blues but they are out there.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Whoa, that’s awesome. That little guy is hungry! Congrats David.
I’ve been putting out nest boxes for a couple days now. Haven’t heard any BB song yet. It won’t be long until they arrive. Last years earliest nest was April 20th, but still have a few patches of snow in the woods. Tomorrow will be only our second day of 70 degrees this spring (hopefully). I have to get busy!
Edit… Oh, make that 70 on Tuesday. Only in the high 40s Monday.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
Thanks for the update. It is cool to be able to have bluebirds most of the year.
Let’s hear from the ‘nut community about their feeder visitors. And please give an approximate location.
-7 degrees here on the WI/MI border this morning. Feeders are visited by chickadees, nuthatches, juncos, goldfinches and downy, hairy, red bellied, red headed and pileated peckerwoods. In addition we have regular visits from cardinals which has been rare in past years. I’m hoping grosbeaks are not too far away.
WI/MI Border, about 100 miles north of Green Bay
Tim C. WI/MI border.
