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Sky, usually mine are done by now (Central PA), but this year with this new pair I have a nesting going right now! She started incubating Sunday. I think there are 3 eggs, but will check later this week for final count. We’re trying to let them alone this time since they were so aggressive previously. I want to be able to walk thru the front yard and tend the garden! I’ll say fingers crossed for another nesting for you. I have never had one this late. So anything can happen!!
So cute!!! Congrats, David!! I just think they’re adorable at this stage with the bright yellow beaks!
Dana, I have a 2nd nest now, but I’m in PA and they never nest this late for me. Of course they missed the 1st nesting here due to the deck construction. Like you I’m stoked, because this means this pair is up for 3 nestings at this rate, which is rare for me. Mama started incubating Sunday. Congrats on your 3rd nesting!!! Enjoy it!!
Meredith, just keep your eyes peeled, especially as the nestlings grow. Long time ago I had a house wren at a previous home (no bluebirds there–we were in the forest). A blue jay actually went up to the box, reached in, and pulled out a nestling!! It was nuts. Of course it dropped the baby bird and that was another horrible thing to see. So just be observant and stay sharp. Hopefully your bluebirds will team up and keep it away if it’s hoping for a nest raid.
Dave, we’ve had tree swallows for a few years now. We love them and the blues, of course. This year after fledging, the TRES were around for about a week, visiting all of the nest boxes repeatedly, going in and out, perching on them, chittering excitedly. We had a small flock (2 parents+4 babies) swooping around the yard. People walking by would stop and stare with their mouths open because it was truly such a sight. I was trimming shrubs behind the shed, and at one point one TRES came around the corner and stopped, hovering, in mid-air, face to face with me. We were both surprised! My husband films the TRES. We have come to love the birding season so much!
My neighbor told me he’s been seeing bluebirds in a giant hedge 2 yards away. I’m pretty sure the fledglings are there. So fun to watch the progress! Our male blue this year has been singing his heart out all season long. He’s the most vocal bluebird we’ve ever had. Sits on the high spots–roof peaks, chimneys, telephone pole and sings non-stop.
Sky, this is a great story! So happy you were there to help things along and eliminate the sparrow nest. The BB Fairy, indeed!! Way to go!! This makes me think I should observe the abandoned boxes by our water treatment plant. One actually turned upside down this year—so neglected! Enjoy sitting on your rock and watching the bluebird show!!
Rich, this post was so timely for me! Yday a neighbor met me in the yard to tell me “one of my bluebirds” was dead in her yard. I went over, and it was a little tiny one, pin feathers just beginning to come out. I had checked all of my boxes the previous evening, so I knew I had no active nests and 4 babies in the trees nearby. We have no idea where that baby came from. Clearly ripped from a nest, but I don’t know where. I sort of figured it was taken by a house sparrow or some other bully bird. Then I read your horror story!!! So, so sorry that happened to you. What a nightmare. I have no love for house sparrows…
I’ve had a female lay all the eggs and wait a day or two before incubating. The delay always makes me nervous, thinking they’re going to abandon. But I think most of mine the eggs have been laid in succession. Congrats on a 3rd nesting!
I know in the winter the birds form little mixed flocks. I’m wondering if the bluebirds are part of this. Anytime they come to the heated birdbath in winter, there are house finches with them and sometimes goldfinches. Those mourning doves love your DRST, Stebet!! Or they love the millet, I should say…
Rich, that’s so great! I spied the beginnings of a nest this evening in my box. I sure hope yours works out this time. You have been thru the wringer this year!!
That’s great! So you ARE making a difference! I meant to say last night about birdfeeders. My HOSP problem hinged on 2 things: 3 neighbors’ birdfeeders filled with that cheap millet-y seed mix (these 3 yards encircle my backyard) AND that arborvitae hedge where they’d hang out between feeder runs. In my yard, the HOSP would hit the caged suet feeder in summer, so when I see them there I let it empty. Happily, 2 of 3 neighbors moved & took their feeders with them! That, combined with heavy trapping for 2 years, knocked down the HOSP #s here. The 3rd neighbor still fills with cheap seed, but HOSP or squirrels wipe it out ASAP after filling, so it’s not an issue.
The thing with the Van Ert is that you are dealing with the HOSP claiming nestboxes AND you have to monitor. It’s not a set and forget deal. But I’ve used VanErts in every season, even winter if I notice HOSP hanging out around a box. I’ve waded thru deep snow to set it and it’s got ’em!
Congratulations!! Look at all the difference you’ve made this year with HOSP and blues!!! It’s exciting. You’ll enjoy those bluebirds for years to come.
Stebet, putting the trap on a tire is a great idea! But as I thot about that, I seem to recall reading somewhere that it’s best for the trap to have a bottom that the birds can see. Maybe I’m making that up, and I’ll try to dig out my directions to confirm, but maybe if you put a board under it that might up your game. If you have it on a board, oh well. So much for that brainstorm!
I am at the point of the midsummer influx of newly hatched HOSP. When I put the trap out this time of year, I’ll catch a few, and that’s great, but I like to wait until July, when the blueberry crop is in (I sit the trap in the row beside the blueberries). I’m not wanting it near something I’m picking for us to eat!
Mostly now I trap them in the nestboxes with the Van Ert. But I do usually put out the DRST once or twice in summer, then again in fall. It depends on my work schedule. Last year was the 2nd time I’ve put it out for nearly 2 weeks and caught nothing. So maybe the HOSP problem here is more under control. Who knows? I saw one today on the birdbath and my husband rushed out to scare it off! We’re all in on the action here!
Have to share this! Today sitting at my desk and noticed a bluebird swooping up and down in the front yard. Up to the porch roof, down to the ground beyond the flower bed, so I couldn’t see what was there. Then it just stayed in flight (no landing on the roof) and swooped up and down, up and down in a pretty tight arc. After the 2nd arc, the tree swallows joined in flying in a horizontal circle (perpendicular to and intersecting the bluebird arc). After two swallow circles, the house finches that nest in the porch hanging basket joined in. They have a small flock from two nestings, so there was a flock of 5 little birds flying through these swooping bluebirds and swallows. This went on for a few minutes! I thot for sure there must be a cat out there. Finally I saw what it was: a red-wing blackbird. I have to look up if they are predatory birds—maybe they’re like blue jays. I don’t know, but that was surely wild!
Stebet, coming home to find 4 sparrows in the trap is a never-forget moment!! Wow. That had to boost your spirits. Your last mention about doing a better job with trap placement…I have to say that every single thing I read about using the DRST said to put it on a table. Guess what? I don’t have a table I can use! I tried it for a bit on this little patio table, but it blocked the stairs to the backyard and got seed all over the walkway, which found its way inside the house…ugh. And I kept catching other native birds, not HOSP.
So I just prayed about it and felt to put it on the ground in the veg garden. It was near the sparrow hang-out hedge, and it’s not visible from the street, so I gave it a shot. Then I saw someone on here use cardboard under their trap, and I adopted that method. Bit by bit my strategy was born. You’ll figure out what works for your situation. Trial and error is a good teacher!
And it’s great that you’re increasing the bluebirds where you are. Best part of all!!
I’m glad for your Carolina wren, Dave. Yesterday I heard a house wren in the giant oak trees across the street. I have NEVER heard one in the front yard….sigh. Will have to be vigilant. I checked the backyard chickadee box today because I saw fur and moss on the ground. The box is empty. I guess a wren tore the nest out. I wonder if the chickadee fledged…Carol, thanks for sharing your house wren strategy. I was mentally reviewing it while mowing today. I hope I don’t have to use it, but if they start nesting, I will!
