Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
She looks sleek as a seal diving into the sea! Wow–you were right, Dave. That’s a cool photo!! Thank you for taking time to share it. Can’t wait to show it to my DH. He loves taking pics of the bluebirds.
Okay, found the video link for the trap with shelter box:
This guy super explains how to trap hosp using the DRST. Many great tips! It’s worth viewing. I re-learned some things, too!
You have to figure out your situation. Like with the white bread—doesn’t sound too great with your fly supply! What are the HOSP eating when they’re not at the trap? If there’s another great food supply, they’ll ignore the trap. Since you caught one today, I’d keep the trap out and see what happens. But if you have a long lull in the action (long=whatever it means to you), put it up and wait to try again in late fall when other food is scarce. I don’t put mine out when it’s cold, but a lot of people do with great success. They cover it with rugs or an old blanket at night. You’ll figure it out.
The next time you catch a male, if you’re not catching other ones, leave him in there alone to chirp and draw others in. That’s all I can think of now. Don’t be discouraged. You WILL figure it out!
It sounds so beautiful, Carol. I love that you can see them from the kitchen window. We spend so much time there, it’s important to have a great view. Yours sounds wonderful!! Enjoy!! My kitchen window view is the backyard feeders. Right now the woodpeckers are going through suet like crazy. The timing of visits makes me certain they’re feeding babies. Love this time of year!
Sky, this thread was such a learning experience for me! Thank you for sharing the details and entire saga. Congrats on the community garden bluebird nest!!! What fun that must be for everyone to enjoy. I know how much my neighbors all enjoy the bluebirds here. There are people who purposely walk by to see what’s going on. They do bring people together.
David, love the photos you share! 5 more bluebirds to brighten our days!! After reading what someone on here found about the TX snows and impact on bluebirds, these babies this year are more important than ever!
Carol, thanks for sharing this update!! I’ve been wondering what’s happening. It’s so exciting! Just think of all the action you’ll see with 5 babies! Those parents will be feeding like mad. Loved what you wrote—nothing like keeping busy. So true!!! Best wishes on catching those HOSP and keeping that wren active. Just imagine those wrens talking at supper. They’d be saying, “I know I put those sticks in there yesterday, but they’re gone again!” Keep up that great work!!
Carol, that sounds like a dream!!!! Being able to watch all the action at the mealworm feeder sounds so fun. That would be ideal. I love when you share stories about the babies. Your yard sounds like a little bit of bluebird heaven…My husband just said I was really smiling while typing—I told him I was imagining your bluebird patch!
I usually get 4, too, Phillyblues. Hey, keep forgetting to ask you if you know about the PA Bluebird Society. They have a great newsletter. You can read the newsletters for free on the website– http://www.thebpsp.org
They publish year round, so you get to enjoy bluebird stuff in winter, which keeps me happy! I’ve never been to the annual conference. I just joined in 2020 when everything shut down.
Sometimes I leave the male in if it’s just him and a female, but realize he may fertilize her and you may end up with eggs in the trap. I’ve had that happen—eggs rolling around in the trap, which always break and make a mess. A male may lure other males in, but if that happens, get one out because they will battle eventually. It’s really a judgment call. I don’t usually let the males in very long due to the egg situation I’ve dealt with. That was upsetting to me.
No, I don’t want to mislead—we have 1 bluebird nest, 1 tree swallow, 2 chickadee. I worry most about the chickadees at this point with the sparrows. The bluebirds seem to be pretty aggressive, altho’ early this morning the male went to the box, landed, sang a bit, then shifted to a speed limit sign about 50 feet away. The female poked her head out, looked around, saw him, then flew over beside him. Before she landed, he was wing waving, then she landed almost on top of him wing waving back, then they touched beaks a bit. It was so cute! They sat side by side on that sign. The old pair never did that.
One other thot on the sparrows: I also use white bread to lure them in. I grab day old buns or 1-2 fresh buns and keep the extra in freezer. Sparrows seems to like white bread. I stack pieces of it in the bait area (really filling it up), beyond the elevator, put one on top of the trap above the bait-area pile (so when they grab it they see the mother lode under it!), and one on the platform outside the elevator. Sometimes they grab them and fly off, but they often stay and then get caught. (By pieces I mean I pull little chunks off.)
I also take a little chunk of white bread and mush it against the millet, then flip it millet side up. Sparrow delight! I usually put that one on the elevator platform (the little wooden spot).
I have not had the sparrow trap out this year yet. Seriously, once you dent the population, it helps so much! I did catch a bunch pre-bluebird nesting season with the in-house traps. But I just noticed a male sparrow today hanging around, and I have nests in 4 boxes right now, so I may be putting the trap out. I’ve been too busy with work to see if there are a bunch here or just a loner.
When I had a low trapping rate, I would always think, “tomorrow i’ll put the trap away.” Then that day I’d catch another! It never failed. I also tend to keep at least 2 decoys in there at a time, often 3. I figure company (they can roost together at night) is good. Plus if they make a racket, that draws more in. I find the trap area is busiest in the morning, but rather dead in the afternoon & evening. Maybe stop putting seed outside the elevator? Just let them eat any spilled seed, and then if they want more they have to go into the elevator…an idea.
I’m not sure how many eggs yet, Robbe, because my work schedule has been hectic. The only times I could look were evening, and I just won’t do that. I think she might be incubating as of yesterday, which would maybe make it 4. I’m determined to look tomorrow afternoon. These are new birds, and last night I was standing maybe 30 feet from the box, and the male bluebird dive-bombed me! He was about a foot from my face when he turned sharply away, clicking his beak at me. When the “old” regular bluebirds were here, they were very tolerant of me, knew my patterns, etc. when I was tending the garden or mowing. These two are unpredictable right now. I’ll have to be more quiet until they know I’m not a bad guy. But defensive posture on their part is good!
The tree swallows we have give us so much enjoyment. When I go to the mailbox, one of them is often sitting on it. It’s so comical. I go back inside then, because it happens when one is in the box (mama, most likely) incubating (the male also develops a brood patch and helps incubate), and the other sits on the mailbox chattering away. I imagine it’s words of encouragement or requests for supper! My husband has taken videos of the whole process quite close. They’re rather tolerant of us. But we wear a straw hat when we’re out there, just in case one misjudges a swoop. We’ve also tossed feathers to them to take into the nest. I found some on Amazon that work well. Now that’s a fun way to spend an evening—throwing feathers for the swallows to swoop around you and catch in mid-air!
Dennis, this is quite exciting to learn! I want to tell you what the lady from the Pennsylvania Bluebird Society told me this week. I told her how the bluebirds just started a nest in my yard box on Sat. May 14. In past years the first nestlings were fledging by this date! She said on the trail she monitors, the bluebirds had all fledged the first broods already, while the box in her yard also just had the first egg laid on Sat. May 14. She said timing is definitely wacky this year! She’s hearing it from the PA folks.
Good for you putting up so many boxes!! I bet you get bluebirds and other natives, too. Keep us posted!
Oops, I forgot the Iowa guys link:
https://vanerttraps.com/shop
