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We’re having down-in-the-dumps, too, at the moment. The blues are definitely nesting elsewhere, but we remain hopeful they’ll be here for Round 2 since the male visits a lot. The chickadee nest with the egg…the egg has now disappeared. Day 2 of their egg laying, the male bluebird went into the box. I was about to put on a hole reducer, too! So not sure what the chickadees are doing, altho’ they are surely around here constantly. I’ve checked the other Gilbertson, and there’s a chickadee nest on the go in there. The tree swallows are mating and egg laying now. In the other swallow box, there’s a lone feather, so evidence that someone was in there at one point. But no BLUES!!! So we have the blues, too….
Has she laid another egg? I’m on pins and needles wondering. Ours are nesting somewhere else this round, so I’m definitely living vicariously thru all of you!!
Congratulations!!!! So exciting. Now you know it works. Here’s to many more catches!! Remember to keep a tally somewhere…
Robbe, I just resent 3 pics about an hour ago to your gmail address. Subject was fishing line pics. Did you get those?
The weather has been so up and down here that I’m sure it’s affecting normal processes. Maybe your birds are dealing with things like that, too?? You can always put a long piece of grass sticking out of the hole and see if it moves–that way you know if a bird has gone in. Early in the season the bluebirds left a looooong piece of grass dangling out of the one box hole, and it became so easy for me to see if anything was going in–good or bad–just by the presence of that grass.
I am so happy for you, Carol!! That’s the best news. I was trying not to imagine bad outcomes. I just hate opening a box and finding problems. Congrats on round one of nesting! We’ll be eager to hear when the next nesting begins!
Just checked and they’re in my sent folder, so yes. It’s a forward email with attachments, so maybe in your spam or junk?? Look around & let me know!
Today I was looking thru old files and found one I saved with info on the DRST from a purple martin site. This link still works–I just used it. Check this page out: https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29434
Go to the 3rd post, I think–it’s by terriergal. This is how I set up my trap. You might want to try the idea she suggests of jamming the elevator at first so they learn to love that seed in the bait part. I copied and pasted this info (including the pic) into a word file so I can refer back to it. Hope it helps!
Robbe, I just sent them. 2 emails with plenty o’ pics! I forwarded what I sent to Barbara. You can blow the pics up as big as you need to see. Sorry the pics here are gone. They weren’t big enough to see anyway. What I sent you is better. Hope it helps! julie
Carol, saying a prayer for that little bird! And one for you as you check it tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing the report. Thank you for sharing everything–it’s so helpful to learn.
I would just be consistent with keeping seed around. It might take some time for them to discover it and then to eat the seed, and then to discover the goodies just beyond the elevator! Fingers crossed for you!!! Enjoy the day, too!!
We’re having another freeze tonight over here in PA. It’s crazy. I did spy a chickadee egg today in their nest, and the tree swallows are finally building. Not sure if eggs are there or not. I can never tell with them due to all the feathers in the box. At least you have a bluebird nest!! We don’t have any right now. I think they’re nesting two yards up. I hope they come back…But yes, this spring has been crazy cold.
This is so fascinating, Dave! Please keep posting on this behavior. I am curious what the end will be. Our blues are nesting in a neighbor’s yard right now (I think)–I still have to ask them. But I’ve seen the male over there. But he comes here daily to sit on their box and hang out, so I expect them to return for the 2nd nesting. We’ll see. I didn’t know bluebirds put feathers in the nests! I have never seen that.
I keep mine on the ground. I’ve tried it on a small outdoor table, but I rarely caught HOSP in it that way. The gang of HOSP hang out in my neighbor’s giant arborvitae hedge. They’re often flitting around the veg garden, which faces neighbor’s hedge, to pick seeds out of the straw mulch. So I just made a spot on the one end of the garden where I could sit the trap. The ones in the trap cheep a lot, and it seems to draw the others from the hedge. The proximity seems to have no bearing on any of it.
I don’t move the trap to empty it. I just remove the birds there. Now you’re going to whack them on a wall, so I would do that out of sight. The big thing on the Sialis site is to never make eye contact with the male HOSP you’re trying to trap. I usually wear my straw hat when I’m emptying the trap and keep my head down coming and going.
The trap is pretty heavy duty, and I only move mine when I’m swapping out the cardboard I keep under it. I’ll be excited to hear how you do!!!
