Bluebirds!!!

[Bamagrammy]

I also have been spotting Eastern Bluebirds sitting on my clothesline! They have been visiting for a couple years now, wonder if they have a nest somewhere on prop0erty. I get so excited to see them. I put out some dried cranberries out, tried to take a pic but Mockingbird shooed him away!

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by Bamagrammy

I also have been spotting Eastern Bluebirds sitting on my clothesline! They have been visiting for a couple years now, wonder if they have a nest somewhere on prop0erty. I get so excited to see them. I put out some dried cranberries out, tried to take a pic but Mockingbird shooed him away!

That's wonderful! Seeing them, especially after a long winter, makes me better understand the phrase "bluebird of happiness ".

They are cavity nesters...do you have a nestbox or natural cavities they could use to raise their young?

[linrose]

We have 5 young nestlings in one box out of the four to choose from. I'm happy to see them year after year. This morning I saw what I thought was a bluebird but it happened to be an indigo bunting. No mistaking those bright blue birds.

[havalotta]

Wow Would I ever love to see one of those! Are they this far north?

[linrose]

Day old baby bluebirds, I count 5 from today. Another nest box has what I think are 5 house wrens eggs and one larger paler egg. Note the bluebird feather lining. Cowbird maybe?

[jack]

Originally Posted by linrose

Day old baby bluebirds, I count 5 from today. Another nest box has what I think are 5 house wrens eggs and one larger paler egg. Note the bluebird feather lining. Cowbird maybe?

I know th ehouse wrens that nest here on my property are particularly pugnacious, and drive out and possibly kill nesting chicadees in other nest boxes. Do you think there is a chance they killed a bluebird and used its feathers to line their nest??

I'd guess cowbird in that second pic...

[linrose]

I worried about that too but I did see the female bluebird atop the nest box yesterday. If the male was killed I’ve seen broods raised by the momma alone.

[dapjwy]

I think house wrens killed my nestling bluebirds this year...and one of the tree swallows nests. A second pair seems to have succeeded in raising their young. It is very disheartening, and I wanted to start a post about it for a while...but I kept putting it off.

I fear that I won't see the bluebirds return. For every year since I put a boxout the first spring, I have had them best here. Often two or three broods per year.

After adding a new nestbox to the far edge of our property, I am now considering removing all except the original four that used to host one bluebird pair and two to three pairs of tree swallows...with a chickadee pair once or twice. Hopefully that will get me back to more successful broods. I hope that the two house wren pairs that succeeded in the other boxes don't come back and cause problems again...but, with success, I expect them to return--hopefully removing their boxes will be enough to deter them.

Sigh.

[linrose]

Oh no dap, that's terrible. I'll be watching both nests carefully now. The strange egg in the wren nest actually turned out to be a wren egg after all. I think it was the angle of the camera and the flash. So far the 5 bluebird nestlings are OK and are still being fed. I'll keep an eye on the wrens. I haven't had them both nesting at the same time before. I usually keep an eye on the boxes earlier but it has been such a crazy busy summer. Usually when I see sticks in a nest box I remove them before any eggs are laid but I was too late this year. We've had chickadees in that box too from time to time. Two boxes that were used last year are empty.

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by linrose

Oh no dap, that's terrible. I'll be watching both nests carefully now. The strange egg in the wren nest actually turned out to be a wren egg after all. I think it was the angle of the camera and the flash. So far the 5 bluebird nestlings are OK and are still being fed. I'll keep an eye on the wrens. I haven't had them both nesting at the same time before. I usually keep an eye on the boxes earlier but it has been such a crazy busy summer. Usually when I see sticks in a nest box I remove them before any eggs are laid but I was too late this year. We've had chickadees in that box too from time to time. Two boxes that were used last year are empty.

Linrose,

I hope yours will be fine. I am not 100% sure that the house wrens are to blame...but I do strongly suspect them.

Are the nestboxes the bluebirds are using far away from shrubs and brushy areas? I think my land may be changing to habitat more favorable to house wrens. I will have to fight succession in the one section of my field where locust trees are starting to try to take hold.

Keep us posted.