Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 22:41:43 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Arlene Ripley Subject: Re: Bluebird Box Query; Today's Sightings In-Reply-To: <390B9961.43B62B08@doubled.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 10:24 PM 4/29/00 , you wrote: >A nonbirding co-worker who for many years has maintained a bluebird box >on his backyard fence came to me yesterday with a mystery. For the last >two years, something has enlarged the holes of the boxes he has put up. Cathy, Woodpeckers and squirrels frequently enlarge holes in bluebird boxes. This can be prevented by placing a metal plate with a 1.5" hole over the original or enlarged hole. >He replaced last year's box, only to have the same phenomenon occur this >year. Also, this week he checked the box with the enlarged hole and >found dead nestlings in what he did not think was a bluebird nest. I can't say what kind of nest it was without some description but recent weather events have resulted in both abandoned bluebird nests with eggs and even dead young. The cold, rainy weather has prevented the parent birds from finding enough food for the young. It is also possible that the young were killed by House Sparrows -- a terribly aggressive bird that thinks nothing of killing bluebirds so it can use the nest box. I suggested he check >into putting a chicken-wire type channel in front of the box opening, >something I have seen on bluebird boxes lately--was this good advice? This is typically used to prevent four-legged critters from reaching in the box and taking the young. It may also dissuade bluebirds from using the box altogether and is not generally recommended. I elected to answer this note publicly since it is nesting season and others may be having the same problems. ////// Arlene Ripley | || Calvert County, MD | 0 || aripley@nestbox.com | || http://www.nestbox.com || ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================