Who has Eastern or Western Bluebird trails?

Who out there maintains Bluebird trails?

Do you do anything special to protect the parents, eggs, and nestlings?

I saw a local bluebird guy speak a couple weeks ago.

His main protection is continual europoean sparrow control. Without sparrow control maintaining a bluebird box is almost impossible.

He also uses electrical conduit to mount the boxes on and he keeps it slippery with vaseline or silcone spray.

I didn't think I could get bluebirds because of the wooded area that I live in... but he thought I could. He thinks the bluebirds are so desperate for habitat that they are expanding their choice of nests sites.

That's what I read. I don't know if it is true or not but I suspect there may be more validity to his statements than not. I actively control the English House Sparrows over here but there are others who go the passive route. What ever one who provides nest boxes is comfortable with. I've got the stray and feral cats under control. Took a few years. Right now, I am still inundated with HOSPs so my nest boxes are all open and exposed to discourage the Bluebirds from nesting in them but I figure another couple years of actively addressing the issues here and I should be in a position to close them up. I think then I will monitor the nest boxes like a hawk and use a sparrow spooker once the first egg is laid.

I saw a really great next box idea in another forum using a coffee container that was posted by Magpye I think. I need to go find her thread and post a link here. Looked incredibly easy to clean and maintain. Really neat idea.

Not traditional housing but I found this birdhouse at a gift shop this weekend and it might be just right for Tree Swallows.

This one is more my style and it could be mounted flush against the house-

Bingo- found the thread!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/600812/

Not exactly a Peterson nest box but it certainly works.

The bluebird guy (I wish I could remember his name) prefers a box designed by Loren Hughes. It has a slot in the front instead of hole. The slots seem to deter the sparrows and the bluebirds like it. He has alot of Peterson boxes but he says sometimes the birds build their nest high in the box and its harder to check the nest in the Peterson box without it disturbing it.

My BIL is supposed to build a Hughes box for me.

Here is the plan for the Hughes box. (He also said to delete the cup shown - its really not necessary and an encumberance.)

http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/nestbox/pdf/hughes%20slot%20nestbox.pdf

That design is very similar to the design I use only without the cup. I'll try to see if I can find the plans we used to build 9 that are now mounted on what I think was metal plumbing of some sort. Those nest box blueprints were provided by McHenry County at a Bluebird workshop I went to a few years ago. I'm happy with them although I do like the looks of the Peterson boxes.

Is it possible to get blue birds in town? On a small lot? I would love nothing better than to have bluebirds.

Yes, I am told it is possible. My property is larger than yours based on what I have read in your posts but there are people who are providing Bluebird nest boxes who do live in towns and they have claimed they are getting occupants! Perhaps joepyeweed could get a hold of the man he heard speak and maybe that speaker would be kind enough to provide a recap that could be posted here in this thread for others to read.

I think joepyeweed is a she....and I would love to hear what she says! She just lives an hour south of me. And yea....you have 5 acres? I have a lot 62 x 130 or 60 x 132....I can never keep it straight. Corner lot, overhead wires on the side...side street side. Main Street a block west.......

We have three bluebird nesting boxes on our property - it's big enough and treed enough to have three, even though we have just over 1 acre. (They're spread pretty far from each other, and point in different directions.

We almost always have a family in one of them from March until late summer; as soon as one family flies the nest, another moves into a different, vacant box. We've had two going simultaneously a few times.

We used electrical conduit as mounting poles, too (snakes and cats are common predators) and DH checks the boxes each week, and keeps them clear of house sparrows. Our guess-timate is that we've "hosted" at least 20 families of new eastern bluebirds in the past three years.

Maybe we used conduit. I know it was metal and I know it was cut to 12' lengths to sink in the ground. Eesh, it's been too long and I can't remember what we used but now I'm thinking something called black pipe used for gas lines instead of plumbing pipes??? Yes, snakes can slither right up wooden poles. Good point to use metal. I've seen a snake going up a fence post that a nesting box was mounted on. Never thought of them doing that until I saw that. I knew about cats but never considered a snake a threat. I suppose they're just trying to eek out an existence too.

Terry #1, do you have any photos even if they're far away? Does anyone have any photos of nestlings? They are so darn cute with their fuzzy little afros.

Equil, I'm guessing you mean me...if so, I don't have any pics (my photography skills are "workmanlike" at best ;o) but we have a family building their nest right now, so I'll try to get some photos.

We have reached a point where the mamas and daddies don't get too excited when we peek in on the boxes. (I guess they've gotten used to us coming and going - plus we provide them with meal worms and dogwood berries from time to time.)

Terry #1 = you!
I didn't know how else to do that since terryr is in this thread too.

"workmanlike"? I'm thinking you must be like me and miss a lot of Kodak Moments too. By the time I run inside to grab the camera, it's too late. I get great silhouette shots most of the time that are worthless. What do you, or your husband, do about the blow flies? I find them disgusting myself. Probably a whole new thread in and of itself. I know there is a great site out there that addresses these parasites. I'll see if I can find it.

Yes, Terry, I think it's high time you changed your name! :o)

When we went to Guy's, I couldn't believe all the bluebirds that were there. I thought Edie said it was a bluebird that had made a nest in one of the deer cover things around the trees.

What is a blow fly?

Here ya go-
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscope/Autumn1999/blowflies99134.html

I'm going to ask an incredibly dumb question.....what do they mean by having trails? I certainly don't have the lot size to have a trail..........

I'm going to do a search for what a blow fly looks like.

BTW, did joepyeweed leave us?

Terry

Why did I do that? Ever see the remake of the fly? I need to go shiver and shake someplace for awhile.........GROSS!

If I am not mistaken, a trail refers to a series of nesting boxes that are in some semblance of close proximity enabling one to better monitor them. This doesn't mean you need a ton of space. I have two series of 3 that are only spaced at 10' intervals and I have one set of 3 spaced at a15' interval. Others space them out farther but I saw no need to do so.

I didn't leave you, I've just been busy at work and in real life.

On a small residential lot, its probably best to just have one box. The blue birds are territorial and its recommended to keep the boxes about one football field apart (300 yds).

In order to have sucessful bluebird reproduction, one gets better results by continually maintaining the boxes, keeping them free from sparrows, predators, parasites, removing old nests from other birds, monitoring the sucessful nests, watching the fledgings, how many, what dates et al.

A person who has a blue bird trail usually maintains several boxes in a vicinity on a regular schedule. All of these boxes don't have to be on your property. You can enlist your friends and neighbors to put up a box...and then monitor/maintain them.

An avid trail person will number their boxes and keep track of when eggs where laid, how many, when they hatched, when they fledged and at the end of the season they can send their data to be compiled with state wide and national blue bird data.

I've been helping my mom with her blue bird house and she did get a nesting pair last summer. This summer we've been battling sparrows so haven't had the pair back either. As I said previously, I wasn't planning on putting a box up until recently, just because I didn't think my habitat would draw the birds... anyway I now think I will put up a box and if I have any success I may start a trail but I'd like to get one successful box in my yard first.

Thanks joe, I don't think any neighbors would be inclined to put up a bluebird house, but that doesn't mean I can't. Back about 20 yrs ago, I put up a bluebird house in a previous home, but at that time I didn't know about keeping the sparrows out. I do now though. When I get the sparrows out of here, I'm putting one up.

For some strange reason, we have no house sparrows here. We live 3 miles from town. There are plenty in town. Lately we have had Bluebirds nesting in holes made in power line poles by Pilleated Woodpeckers. There were none here 3 years ago, now I see many on a regular basis. For some reason, we never have starlings, house (english) sparrows, or pigeons. We have many doves, 4 kinds, and many other birds. Blue birds were thought to not live in this area. Now we know better.

trois

Hi all, I don't have a trail, but have a few boxes and have been bluebirding for a few years. I have had blowflies and wet nests and English House sparrow horror shows, wrens, and the like. At the risk of sounding like I know it all (which, believe me, I don't) I thought I'd mention a few things from my own experience.

Firstly, mounting a box on a building is probably not a good idea because of predators. I have seen pictures of snakes crawling up houses to get to eggs and/or nestlings. A slick metal pole with a baffle is always best. People always say "I've never seen a raccoon or a snake around here" until they have a problem.

Equilibrium, the ones you have mounted on the metal poles sound like they would work well. You are smart to rid your yard of sparrows before allowing any native cavity nesters to nest there. Sounds like you have done your homework on active control!! ;o) With your boxes so close together, I'm guessing you'll probably get a bluebird pair and a tree swallow pair. It is unlikely you will get two pairs of the same species as they are too territorial. I have heard tales of bluebird males pinning each other on the ground like a couple of wrestlers over territory disputes. I've never seen it myself, but have seen a few "get outta heres" which usually rids the area of the weaker male pretty quickly. If you mount one box in one area of the yard and another box in an area where the hole cannot be seen by the other pair, you may get lucky. As for the decorative boxes, they are both adorable. I particularly like the acorn. I did help another bluebird landlord who had a bluebird that decided to nest in a ceramic hat. It wasn't exactly the same as yours, but was meant to be decorative. Unfortunately, the bird didn't realize that. It turned out that by the time she built the nest, it was so high that the eggs were almost falling out! So, we worked hard with the landlord to help switch the mother to a new box nearby, but since the eggs hadn't hatched yet, the bird abandoned the box. This doesn't usually happen, but occasionally, you get a skittish mom. So, that is something to think about. The best box are NABS approved, made of wood (to provide insulation during extreme temperatures). You seem as though you will be a great bluebird landlord once you get rid of the HOSPs in your area. Good luck to you and keep us posted.

Terry, You should try putting up a box. Just beware of the house sparrows. I live about a mile from town and have them out here. I just have to stay on top of the HOSP population in a big way. So, you could put one up and see what happens. Good luck to you.

Von, I will put up a box. But first, I really need to be rid of some the sparrows. I thought I'd work this year getting rid of some of them and possibly, hopefully, have the confidence that I've gotten the numbers down low enough to feel comfortable with putting up a bluebird box next spring. I've got one....and I've got a pole and baffle.

.. von76 ..

It truly puzzles me, and is somewhat disappointing .. to see so many nest boxes which are set-up at gauged distances and are intended for Blue Bird trails .. that are mounted to the wooden fence posts and generally low to the ground (as, at/on top of the posts with no height extension). Seems that total demise is simply a matter of time .. should any BB take to such boxes. Perhaps such trails are far more closely monitored and checked ...

Contrary to popular belief (and BB nest box 'instructions') .. we provide a ' T ' perch post at the top of our nest boxes. We've (yet) to incur any problems with any unwanteds. Had the occasional unwanted to drop by the feeders in the yard, but we've been most fortunate to be able to ensure and maintain their quick exits. The BB's seems to look for and 'count' on the ' T ' perches up top. They perch to oversee and watch; they use the perch to do that last 'way-lay' of a 'whammy' to bugs and worms to 'cease and desist' before feeding to their babies; the parents 'exchange' sitting assignments; and we've witnessed congregating of friends & family on them .. along with seeing many a pair 'twitter-pating' using the ' T ' posts! Perhaps it is merely a special exception, here .. for us and our locale. I don't know & can't say .. but we've no doubt, that the BB's would be 'lost' without their ' T ' posts up top of the nest boxes.

We've pretty much disagreed with the 'distance between' factor, of the nest boxes for years - - for 'out of sight/out of mind' has indeed worked very well for us. We plan to put up a couple more boxes out behind our work shed also .. since that structure also serves to obscure the 'view' from other possible competing BB's.

- Magpye

Hey Magpye, I scored a Folgers can from another member who drinks that brand of coffee. I loved your birdhouse design. I've got my red Folgers coffee can that is actually plastic out in my personal stash in the garage. I'd like to get two more and then I'm going to make your bird houses. Those were very creative.

Wellll, 'hot doggity', Equil ... The plastic cans really do make for some wonderful lil houses!

And should a body not take a fancy to risking 'publicizing' them as birdhouses (* they can be easily painted *) - - they're mitey dandy for feed/seed 'scoopers' also (with that lil molded-in handle)!

Even the plastic ones - a body may want to opt to keep 'em out of direct sunlight tho'. Think most all plastics will begin to degrade (get brittle, crack, distintegrate .. with time). The plastic probably won't hold up (last) as long.

The metal coffee cans, should do well * in nothing but 100% completely shaded spots * .. with no chance of the sun hitting them, at any time!

(jes read your post aloud, to the ol Coot) .. & he's sitting here grinnin' from ear-to-ear, nat'churly. (Ya know I am!) .. heehee ..

((huggs))

- Magpye

The other member who let me have the Folgers can is sstateham and they were using them to store odds and ends in her husband's workshop and they did have one they were using as a scoop just as you described. Mine will serve a "higher" purpose than being used as a scoop. I know exactly where I want these to go and I don't particularly care if they are red or not. And, the location is out of direct sun. I loved that sequence of photos you took with the bird up down and all around the entrance to that birdhouse. It cracked me up.

Magpye, I mount my boxes on real steel pipe because that is what I have. The pipe extends beyond the top of the box so that they provide a perch for the males to sit on also. When I mount a sparrow spooker into the top of the pipe, this provides a T (see the picture). I find most of the birds do like to sit up there and to hunt from there also. I'm not sure what to say about fence posts. I've seen trails like you describe all along the turnpike in upstate NY. I would not mount my boxes on wooden posts. Maybe someone figures that even if they lose a few nests full of nestlings, the sheer size of their trail will make up the difference. I don't think monitoring can help since most predators are around at night. How frequently can they possibly monitor a large trail? I figure no more than once a week. I only have 3 boxes. Lately, I've been trying to decide how much intervention is really ideal. I think that the first year, my goal was to learn and so I monitored daily. That leads to a more emotional tie to the birds that I feel is healthy for me or them, so I have cut back. I will do everything possible to control sparrows and keep them safe from predators, but I feel that too much intervention might just be encouraging a weaker species. I don't know though........just food for thought.

Equil, you are welcome!

Well, I guess my brush is going to have to wait a bit! I am originally from Ohio but have been here in SC for over 30 years. I had never seen a bluebird until I moved here. When I bought this property putting up bluebird houses was one of the top priorities (among a dozen others). I did a lot of research and talked to several people who maintained trails. The Peterson box is probably the best- with a side opening so you can check on the birds. You should not check the birds when the babies are more than 12 days old. This is because they may bolt from the nest and then are in danger from predators. Putting them back does not help because once they have left, they will not return but simply jump out again! The box should be no lower than 3 feet, 4 to 5 feet is ideal but they have been known to nest as high as 15 feet. I have mine on metal poles that I keep greased with either Vaseline or Crisco or Pam. I have Rat snakes here and they can climb straight up just about anything but this keeps it too slippery for them. If raccoons are a problem they recommend putting 4 inch PVC pipe around the pole to keep them out. The open should face away from the afternoon sun and prevailing winds. Also it is nice for the pole to stick up a little from the house. I watch my bluebirds every year and I notice that Daddy comes from a large tree in my nearby woods, lands on top of the pole and looks around before entering the house.

I have a little over 3 acres and that is what is recommended for one pair of bluebirds. I have two boxes up though since the Carolina Chickadee also likes this type box. I have had bluebirds every year since I put the first box up! Do not put boxes closer than 100 ft. apart. Bluebirds are territorial but apparently only with other bluebirds. I often have both Chickadees and bluebirds in the backyard and an Easter Phoebe on my front porch. My binoculars are about worn out!

And this part makes NO SENSE but is true. While you are free to take out the nest of sparrows and destroy the eggs, I cannot possess a bluebird nest! I had a speaker from Wildlife Management come to my classroom and I mentioned that I had saved the last bluebird nest to show my students. Now everything says clean out the boxes at the end of the season, the law says you cannot possess or touch anything that has to do with a native bird. Sparrows are not native so you are free to do whatever you like. If some year the Chickadees decide to take over both boxes, I cannot do anything. The speaker DID say they had better things to do then go around and check to see who had native bird nests!

I hope you all get to see a brood fledge some day. I sat for literally hours as Mom and Dad sat on my roof and "called" the babies out. One did not come out until the next day! And they don't come out soaring! One took off and did a "swan dive" into the bird bath. Then took off again, landed on a limb and fell off! After several false starts, he finally got it. How I wished I had had a video camera.

Also bluebirds will have 2 or three broods a year. Mine always has two. The first brood will help feed the second. Mom usually builds right on top of the first nest or once in a while even uses the first nest.

Sorry this is so long. I retired from teaching a year ago. My mouth has not. I am going back to the classroom in the fall to save you all. But first I am headed over to Carolina gardening to ask a ton of questions!

Thanks to all of you who make it through this!

I found two nests - both were empty (thank goodness) and am keeping them for identification. They came out of felled trees from a building site. I don't understand the law on keeping the nests?
What about the one in my RV bumper? How am I not to keep it if I leave it where it is?
Perhaps this law was made w/o forethought to anything rational.

Hey Mollie, glad you retired so you can post away for us. Welcome to our little corner of DG.

Say indirt, I wouldn't so much worry about those nests but do not get caught with a Bald Eagle Feather.

indirt, I think you are right about not giving it any rational thought. I think all these strict laws came into effect when the bald eagle became endangered. You know, DC always has to either pretend the problem doesn't exist or they go overboard. Basically they are just trying to protect our native birds. I gather the sparrows and starlings are on their hit list! Right now I have 2 Eastern Phoebe nests, a bluebird nest and a Carolina Wren nest in my carpet. The Phoebes are on my front porch. Oh, yeah, a carolina chickadee nest. The Carolina wren loves to nest in an old milk jug I had cut apart to use to scoop birdseed out of the bin. Well, I finally went and bought one. I leave the nests there during the winter because they often come back on really cold, windy nights and sleep in those old nests. Then at the beginning of March I clear them away so they can start fresh.

No Bald Eagles around here - no rivers stay big enough to support them. Saw one on the half-froze Mississippi in MN w/ a huge fish in claw and saw them soar above the river at Wisconsin Dells - they dwarf those big gulls.

I have a bluebird box right outside my back door, maybe 30 feet. I had it on a post further out in the yard, but I lost far too many nestlings to snakes. You dont know what a disconcerting feeling that is to peek open a box and the first thing you see is coils. Now I know snakes have every right to be here and have important part in the ecosystem, but they can do their part somewhere else. I moved the box to right outside my back door. I wasnt sure if they would nest so close to the house, but it didnt seem to bother them.

They hatched 4 eggs a couple of months ago, and all 4 fledged. As they got older in the box I started getting really nervous about predation at night, so goofy me would duct tape the hold closed at dusk and open it up before dawn. That way I could keep a close watch on it. On their 17th day I saw them all peeking out of the box. I had to go to work; when I came back, they were gone. Their are now 4 new babies a week old today. I have seen the 4 older babies several times, so Im very happy that I was able to help the population this year. I havent had any problem whatsoever with HOSP; in fact, Ive not seen them here. Where I work, there are bunches of them right outside my office door. I was working one day with the door open, and I heard a huge clatter....I jumped up just in time to see a hawk fly right into the bush outside my door, grab a sparrow, and took off. There are a lot of hawks and owls in my area; maybe they are helping to keep the HOSP population in check.

The funniest thing is when Im close to the box, which is frequently, Mr. B dive bombs me. I have never seen such a serious little face on a bird. He looks like a little kamikazi pilot flying right at me. Too funny.

indict, although they tell me there are bald eagles returning to my area, I haven't seen them. I did get to see them 2 years ago when I was fortunate enough to go to Alaska. I thought they were awe-inspiring! I was so excited I almost fell off the ship. (Nope, not rich - got to tagalong on someone else's deal). Like they say, it's not what you know but whom you know. :)

halo, I know what you mean about the bluebirds being protective. All the other birds I mentioned take off if I pass near their nest. The will sit up in a tree and "yell" at me but don't really try to protect their young. My front porch is off limits while the Phoebes are nesting but I can't avoid using my carpet. I just try to hurry. I watch to make sure the bluebird parents are out for a while before I check the nest. After I lost a few nests to snakes I switched to metal poles and keep them greased with either Vaseline or Pam or Crisco. I haven't lost one since. I have enough other wildlife to keep the snakes well fed!

lol. Falling off a ship in Alaska sounds cold!
I often get excited about birds flying across the road. I try not to when it is me driving. I have bird guides in the car with binoculars - of course on the PASSENGER side. Sometimes, a person just has to pull over to the side of the road.

indirt, I know just what you mean! I can't leave the house without my binoculars, bird ID and plant ID books, and a camera. I have a friend who now refuses to go anywhere with me say, "In order to travel one must leave home, not take home with them!" Well, heck, why leave home if you can't see and don't know what you are seeing?

Sometimes DH doesn't want to pull over. Someday, I'll make him take me for a joy ride and we will stop and pick seeds, look at flowers, and really get to see what kind of bird that was. Ok, maybe not w/ my DH. Maybe by myself or w/ my DD. Other people think I'm crazy. I get excited over spiders, bugs, birds, reptiles, flowers, trees, a rock pile, a dead tree, etc. etc.

I can't take my whole library w/ me. I do try, though. My brother gave me an animal tracks book for Christmas. We have about wore that sucker out already. Every time it rains we go out looking. We look around the tanks, too. Do not step in mud before looking for tracks (ha ha)! That is the only reason we know there is a bobcat around. Never have seen it - don't want to up close.

So what are your favorite take alongs? Which bird guide do you use in your car? Which plant guide?