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Renee, I was reading about bird mites this week and discovered this advice on a purple martin forum. Instead of using Sevin dust, this guy uses Sevin liquid. Here’s what he said:
“I spray with Liquid Sevin ( 21 percent ) and spray in each compartment
This is good for at least one year and it looks like we may get 2 years from one spraying.. We spray in the spring each.year.. I never use 5 percent..dust..
I mix 4 tablespoons of 21 percent liquid Sevin in one gallon of water… be sure you spray the dry parts of the gourd or the compart ment… Your going to be delighted at the results… ”His rate would come down to 1 Tbsp per quart of water if you’re just doing 1-2 boxes. I thought this might be a good option, too. Here’s the link to that forum page–it has a lot of great info about mites:
https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1460I know in warmer climates those mites can be something else. After our mild winter, I’m somewhat concerned about the situation here. I usually soak my boxes at end of season in a dilute bleach solution. After soaking, I put them back in place, then used a dollar-store spray bottle to spritz bleach solution inside, and kept any side-openings open for few days to dry out. Probably overkill, but since it was my first season with TRES (notorious for mites), I wasn’t taking chances.
David, following your adventures with this box like a good book! It’s really had some twists and turns. Thanks for sharing the great photos!!! So gorgeous. Hoping you’ll see an egg soon…Keep the updates coming!
Carol, you were on my mind so much last night. Thank you for sharing the update. I’m sorry it wasn’t a happier result. It’s hard to deal with having these birds we love so much suffering. My heart goes out to you. You really did all you could in reaching out for help, though. There’s some comfort in that, I hope.
Renee, your yard sounds like a birdwatcher’s heaven! What fun! Thank you for sharing all the tips, esp about the mites. I had TRES 1st time last year, no mites that I saw. After fledging, I took down the box, got rid of the nest and soaked the whole thing in a bleach solution (per something i read on Sialis, I think). I forgot to soap my boxes this year! Thx for the reminder!!! Will get on that! Enjoy watching all the bird adventures!!!
One question re: the dee nest: Did you have to lift the fur plug to see eggs? Is that hard to do? I’m always so nervous I’ll break an egg. I’ve had chickadees here before, but never checked the nest (they were in a tree limb). Now they’re in a box so I’d like to keep track of egg counts for the local BB Society count. Thank you!!!
This is quite a saga, David! Thank you for keeping up updated. Fingers crossed for a nice, egg-filled nest!
Carol, thank you for the encouragement! I checked everything a bit ago, and still no visible activity in that box. The nest in the backyd is progressing nicely, though, under Mr. Brilliant’s supervision. I have chickadees methodically visiting all the boxes in the yard. Not sure if the ones in back have moved on due to sparrow interference or if this a new pair. I’m just going to focus on what needs done and keep an eye out as I can. I’ll post as things unfold. Thank you for the encouragement! I do learn so much from all of you. It’s a blessing.
Rich, this made me laugh. You sound just like me! Wondering, wondering what they’re doing!! There’s nothing like that feeling of seeing a complete nest and knowing eggs are on the way. It always makes me smile. Checking the box is one of my favorite times of day. Also, congrats on the Van Ert success. I just caught a male HOSP in the TRES box in the last hour. Love your story about the WBNU!! Nature is such fun.
Rich, thanks for that encouragement! Just as I started typing this a male blue swooped up to the light post arm. It’s not Mr. Brilliant, so maybe he’s back. We still have a few freezing nights to get through this week. I keep wondering if the female was killed. I’ll be patiently waiting. It sure does help to have a team where we can ask these important questions! Thank you!
Lisa, I’m so glad both the blues and nuthatches are okay! I have chickadees in one box here, 1-2 bluebird nests and tree swallows. I’ve had some house sparrow activity at the chickadee & swallow box, but use the Van Ert later in day, when male sparrow is chirping his heart out on the swallow box. I’ve dispatched 2 this way. Hopefully we’re done. Chickadee nest was stacked so high in the box (like your bluebird nest!) that I couldn’t use a Van Ert, so I added lots of fishing line to the top of the box and hanging down. The sparrow is officially off the box, but occasionally dive bombs the chickadees flying in and out. It’s nuts. Hopefully I’ll get him with the DRST.
I know you had a nuthatch mishap, but wanted to reinforce Carol’s idea of 2 boxes to help with sparrows. This system works well for me. I start using Van Ert in late Feb. getting some male sparrows out of the way early. In spring, I’ll often have blues nesting in one while I’m catching sparrows in the other. It works.
Where we live in PA, in 2018 they cleared older trees out in a nearby glen/public park. This has created a huge vacuum for cavity nesters, which is why I put up more boxes. Maybe something similar happ’d near you to send those nuthatches looking for a home!
Thank you, David! I did read about your experience and that’s one reason I’ve kept waiting–and it’s also why I posted. Seeing Mr. Brilliant Blue pop in and out at dusk is what has had me puzzled. He’s actually scared me once or twice as I walked thru the yard at dusk! Thank you for a reply. I really appreciate it. It encourages me to wait. Thank you!!!
Thank you for all of this excellent input, everyone. I really appreciate it. I did leave the nest just b/c the week has been a busy one. A male bluebird (perhaps of the original pair that built it in early April??) showed up at dusk that night of the kill. He swooped in and landed on the elderberry and checked things out…then left. The next day, TRES showed up and claimed the 2nd box that had had the dead bb in it. Blues have returned to the box with the nest. They’re trying to oust the TRES from the 2nd box, but so far the TRES aren’t budging. Last year TRES built a nest and THEN the blues booted them. That’s why I put up the 2nd house to begin with.
I am going to double-check my house spacing again later today. I would like to have both nesting here, if possible. We’re not far from a river, so there are more than enough bugs for all!! One side note, the blues are carrying off some of the nest that had been built, and they’re returning with new material. So maybe they didn’t build it, after all. Thanks again for input. I learn from each thing that’s shared.Ooops, should have dug into the internet more–just found my answer at this link:
http://www.sialis.org/widows.htmSorry to add an unnecessary post. Happy birding!
Chris, thank you for weighing in. Your HOSP numbers are astonishing! In in the last 2 weeks, I’ve caught 5, and the decoys seem healthy, so I’ll keep going for now. I have a new small flock of HOSP in the yard, mostly males. I’m not catching them yet, though. I don’t even see them at the trap. I’m using a finch mix that’s 90% millet, white bread and have little other food available in the feeders (just some leftover safflower). My neighbors still have out their cheap seed, but there are not HOSP back there. It’s nice to be making a dent.
Thanks for sharing your strategies! It helps. I need to get a big board so I can set my trap above ground. I don’t have anything like that to use. Thanks, Chris!
Thanks, Carol! I appreciate your help! I’ve been searching online and not finding much on this roosting topic. Yesterday’s activity really surprised me. I haven’t decided yet whether or not to leave boxes out all winter. Been trapping HOSP, so slowly diminishing that issue (fingers crossed). But will watch for that. I haven’t seen them around the boxes, but I did put up fishing line X’s on box roofs and dangling pieces out front (weighed down with metal nuts), and the HOSP definitely do NOT like that, at least in this yard. Thank you so much!
