2002 Tough Year

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From: "Karen Louise Lippy" <brdbrain@superpa.net>
To: <BLUEBIRD-L@cornell.edu>
Subject: A set back, but a step forward.
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 19:06:19 -0400

Our trail in South Central PA has been having some tough times this year. We have experienced many deaths of nesting birds. This includes all species which utilize our boxes.

Two areas of our trail continue to fledge birds at a rate greater than ever before which I hope will make up for all the losses suffered.

Today I got a call about one of those areas. Vandals had broken several of these boxes into pieces as small as toothpicks. The boxes held both bluebird chicks and eggs, which, of course were all lost. The young mother and her small children were devastated. But Julie is made of stern stuff!!! She decided to make this a positive experience for her children!! Julie put the word out about what had happened to local home schoolers. They have promised to replace all boxes
destroyed. As a group, they are going to remount all the boxes. In addition, they have promised to form a "trash detail" and remove mountains of garbage dumped in the area by the vandals.

The home schoolers have been learning from this trail. Now they intend to return the favor to the birds and the park Julie's children have seen what a few low-class people with too much time on their hands can accomplish. They are now looking forward to working with their friends to erase that image with one of cooperation and good will.

And she hadn't even given me a chance to state my policy of "Never let the idiots win!" before taking action. Karen from South Central PADate: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 08:09:57 -0400
To: Bluebird-L <Bluebird-L@cornell.edu>,
Karen Louise Lippy <brdbrain@superpa.net>
From: Haleya Priest <mablue@gis.net>
Subject: Tough year

Haleya Priest Amherst MA

Karen, I also am continuing to have a "tough year". Since the disaster in May I am still having way too many abandons, nestling deaths, and more deaths caused by HOSP occurring. Others? :-) H

Haleya Priest mablue@gis.net
The online Bluebird Reference Guide: http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirds/
Massachusetts Bluebird Association: http://herper.tripod.com/mbahome.html
Cornell's Birdhouse Network: http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/
North American Bluebird Society: http://nabluebirdsociety.org/ 

Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 10:19:31 -0400
From: Pamela Ford <jpford@comcast.net>
Subject: RE: Tough year
To: mablue@gis.net, Bluebird-L <Bluebird-L@cornell.edu>,
Karen Louise Lippy <brdbrain@superpa.net>

Haleya, I concur on the HOSP trouble. I've given up having any bluebirds nesting in several of my trail boxes that were good producers last year. I just keep visiting and addling HOSP eggs and attempting to trap HOSP.

However, my backyard pair are having a banner year, with the earliest nestings yet, 100% fledge rate, and the third brood just hatching this morning. Since it is in my backyard, we are able to subvert HOSP takeovers and have dispatched three after dummy nest box takeovers just this season.

So, a great backyard year, and a tough year on the trail.

Pam in Harford County, Maryland

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-BLUEBIRD-L@cornell.edu
[mailto:owner-BLUEBIRD-L@cornell.edu]On Behalf Of Haleya Priest
Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2002 8:10 AM
To: Bluebird-L; Karen Louise Lippy
Subject: Tough year

...

Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 14:16:57 -0700
From: Linda Violett <lviolett@earthlink.net>
To: "Bluebird-L@cornell.edu" <Bluebird-L@cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: Tough year

Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif.

Haleya, about a week ago you mentioned these abandonments and I responded that it sounded like some type of harassment occurring at the sites whether it be house sparrows or a variety of other pests/conditions.

Since you mentioned in this recent post that at least some of the deaths are being caused by HOSP, could you list the problem (abandonment or death) along with basics such as the box style? I believe you use a mix of boxes and tend to rely on trapping along with the Gilbertson plastic PVC tubes in sparrow problem areas. If those assumptions are correct, perhaps the sparrows in your area are adapting to the PVC's and, thus, are increasing their challenges.

That is what happened (per previous monitor's log notes) at a local sparrow-infested park . . . sparrows were an existing problem, then PVC tubes were tried (some paired), the PVC's were successful for a few months until the house sparrows started taking over, resulting in some bluebird abandonments/deaths.

It would be interesting to know if you are experiencing the same sequence.

Haleya Priest wrote:
>
> Haleya Priest Amherst MA
> Karen, I also am continuing to have a "tough year". Since the
> disaster in May I am still having way too many abandons, nestling
> deaths, and more deaths caused by HOSP occurring. Others?

Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 14:58:06 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kerry Sweet <ksweet3450@yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Tough year
To: Bluebird Messages <bluebird-l@cornell.edu>

Haleya, Pam, Karen and all

I have to agree with you all,

This year the one pair of Eastern Bluebirds(EABL) in the backyard nestbox has fledged almost as many EABL babies as the 8 nestboxes on the trail.

On the trail:
Lost 5 babies to Starlings/Grackle/big black birds? not sure which it was. Lost 3 babies to the cows knocking down the nestbox. 4 EABL eggs abandoned.

I have had 18 babies fledge successfully with 4 new babies now from the 8 nestboxes. The 1 backyard nestbox has had 11 fledge successfully with 5 new babies now.

I checked last night and three of the 8 boxes on the trail had partial House Sparrow (HOSP) nests, Three were empty, one had a partial EABL nest and one has 4 EABL babies.

The trail has had alot of partial nesting attempts with abandoned nests from the EABL.

The backyard EABL will not surprise me if they start a 4th brood in their nestbox in the yard.

Kerry in NE corner of Okla.

--- Pamela Ford <jpford@comcast.net> wrote:

> a great backyard year, and a tough year on the trail.

...

Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 06:56:52 -0400
To: Bluebird-L <Bluebird-L@cornell.edu>
From: Haleya Priest <mablue@gis.net>
Subject: Linda's ? about abandonments

Haleya Priest Amherst MA

Linda et al, since my post yesterday it amazes me how many trail monitors in the North are experiencing the same thing this year! None of us are able to figure this out. An anomaly which will soon be in our past we hope!

There is no pattern.

To answer your question though which may help you determine what or what isn't the cause, May and the terrible losses not counting, only one abandonment has come from a PVC. This was this wkend with 2 ready to fledge TRES abandoned and dead.( All others from my front tilts (NABS style) This PVC is located under a small tree with no HOSP or wrens or anything around. All HOSP attacks have been in my front tilt (NABS style) and one in a Troyer Slot box. None in PVC. Of course abandonments happen on every trail through the season, but my numbers and others show us the amount of the above are way out of the ordinary.

The HOSP attacks are up this year, but that we've got figured out: the mild winter allowed for a HUGE increase in their numbers.

If anyone wants to add to this discussion it would be great. :-) H

Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif.

Haleya, about a week ago you mentioned these abandonments and I

...

Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:39:56 -0400
From: dottyrogers@netscape.net
To: bluebird-l@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: tough year

Hi everyone;

Like Haleya, we, too, have had alot of loss this season (30 miles east of her in MAss).

48 EABL laid clutches to-date. 113 young have fledged, 31 nestlings/22 eggs left for 166 potential bluebird youngsters; 2002.

85 eggs/nestlings lost so far: 58 eggs, 27 nestlings. --That's about one-third of our total clutches.

45 of those (33 eggs, 12 nestlings) were lost to cold, wet, insectless spring.

16 eggs: HOSP-kills, 4 eggs: HOWR-kills, 4 eggs abandoned to massive Jul 4th fireworks display (parents are still flying; probably in Asia by now), 5 eggs lost to undamaged dead female found on nest, 7 nestlings recently found dead just before fledge; cause of death unknown (female still going to box at one clutch). Others lost as expected singles in nest after fledge.

So this year's loss is an overlay of last year; first clutch a disaster because the sickly warm winter turned into a cold, raw, wet not-spring with no insects available. A little over half our losses were "spring" related.

Dot; eastern MAss

From: "carol fitzpatrick" <gdfitzmich@msn.com>
To: <bluebird-l@cornell.edu>
Subject: More house sparrows now
Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 00:59:09 -0400

Kerry,
It seems like I've been fighting house sparrows all summer...in places I wouldn't have thought they would be, like in the state parks where buildings are few and far between. I've read that the HOSP population as a whole is declining according to some feeder surveys but you wouldn't know it by what's happening on my trail.  They've just benefited so much from all the blue bird houses that were se t and then left since the nationwide bluebird rescue of the '70's and '80 's. I think many people came to the bluebird's rescue and perhaps they w ere good monitors back then. Since that time, we know that the bluebird population has increased greatly and I think some people have let their guard down believing that everything will be OK now.  Also many companies that make bluebird nest boxes don't mention the importance of sparrow control. The market's flooded with them. And for example, if you go into a Lowes store that's right in the middle of the city, you'll see nest boxes with pictures of bluebirds on them. I know bluebird s will never use them.  I've begun the process of closing down nest boxes in areas where 5 years ago I wouldn't have had a sparrow problem. Part of the reason is develop ment. Things are changing rapidly. Most of the time it seems to be ignorance.  It starts this way. One day a person looks out their back window and see s this beautiful blue bird and says "I want one of those!" They run to the store, buy a nest box and put it up on a wooden post. Things are good for a short while, then suddenly the sparrows move in and k ill the bluebirds. That's an important crossroad. Do you give in to the sparrows and let them have that nest box or do you commit to say "not on my shift!"  Well, I was one of those people who saw that bluebird and wanted one. On ly I chose to fight 'em. I read every book I could and am still learning both from hands-on experiences and by reading from people who know more than me like those on Bluebird-L. Sparrows declining in America? I don't think so. Perhaps the animal rights activists have a part in that line of thought since they don't believe in active sparrow control. Who knows, but Kerry and Haleya, it's been a tough year for me, too. Carol Fitz Oxford, Michigan

Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 18:01:18 -0400
From: dottyrogers@netscape.net
To: BLUEBIRD-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: tough year: revised

I left off an important half sheet of info in my first attempt.

To cut to the quick, we lost 97 eggs/nestlings from of a total of 271 eggs laid. That's what, 35% or so? That seems like a really high percentage? Has anyone else here in the east added up their totals as the season winds down?

271 EABL eggs laid in all; 2002
30 fledges to-date [124 birds]
6 broods nestlings left to go [23 birds]
6 clutches of eggs to go [23 eggs]
Total possible production: 170 birds

75 eggs lost
22 nestlings lost
21 clutches lost in all [88 eggs/nestlings] & 9 singles left behind in nests after fledge
[3 adult males & 1 adult female lost also]

97 total lost

Sadly,

Dot; eastern MAss

From: "BONNIE A. YEAGER" <dement@frognet.net>
To: <dottyrogers@netscape.net>
Cc: <bluebird-l@cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: tough year: revised
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 11:43:20 -0400

Dottie,
Diane Barbin, Harrisburg, PA posted the following information to BB-L on 5/14/02 (see below). Her reference (ornithology.com) indicates that the average survival rate from egg to fledgling is 66% for cavity nesters. Calculate your survival rate at the end of the season and see how you did compared to the 66% benchmark. Based on your data so far this year, I'd guess that your final survival rate for 02 will be close to 66%, or about average.
Looks like your glass is about half full, not half empty.
Great job!

Fred Yeager,
SE, OH

Diane Barbin
Harrisburg, PA
Here are some statistics that may make you feel better about the House Sparrow populations, but perhaps worse about those native cavity nesters that we here on the list are trying to help.

The fact is that not every egg that is laid will hatch, and not every bird that fledges will survive. If they did, we would might feel like we were living out scenes from Alfred Hitchcock's, "The Birds."

The information that follows came from the website ornithology.com:

"Nest Success
A successful nest is one in which some young are fledged. The % of young fledging varies widely within and between species. Among songbirds in temperate areas, the proportion of eggs that eventually become flying young varies between 30 and 80%. M. Nice (1957) analyzed data from 7788 open nests of altricial birds and found that the success rate ranged from 38-77% (avg. 49%). Of cavity-nesters, 66%. For asynchronous hatching species the chief cause of mortality is starvation. For synchronous hatchers it's starvation, predation, and climate. Predation is probably the chief factor.

Once the young leave their parents and nesting areas, their chances of surviving to breed the next year are about 60% - the same as an adult. So, for a typical songbird: % of survival to fledging 50% % of survival to juvenile from fledging50% % of survival to breeding from fledging 60% Chance of surviving from egg to breeding adult15%.

The age at which a bird first reproduces is important to the growth rate of the population. Virtually all terrestrial species breed in the first year after hatching except swifts (2 years), many parrots (2-3 years), and raptors (3-5 years) and a few males of some passerines (Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds).

Adult Mortality
Heavy mortality is associated with migration. Mortality is mainly due to the weather, food shortage, and predation. Weather can be particularly disastrous at times. In Song Sparrows and titmice, over 70% of the adults die each year. Thus an average individual can expect to live one year. In most songbirds the figure is 40-60% mortality.

But mortality is independent of age after maturity in birds. In other words, birds generally do not die of old age, but succumb to environmental factors."
----- Original Message -----
From: <dottyrogers@netscape.net>
To: <BLUEBIRD-L@cornell.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 6:01 PM
Subject: Re: tough year: revised

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