|
Welcome to
The Bluebird Box
since 1995 |
Nestboxes (Bauldry and other open topped boxes)Also see posts under Nestboxes & Heat and Passive House Sparrow Control In addition to Messages that have appeared in the Bluebird Mailing Lists on this topic, the following are on the Audubon Society of Omaha website:
Subj: RE: discourage House sparrows Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas The nestbox with the hole in the top covered with screen was used by Vince Bauldry of Wisconsin and was tested as one of the first three sparrow resistant boxes by NABS by 1979. Vince had been using it years before that. Others fearing rain would harm the bluebirds used a variation with the Plexiglas covered hole. It should not be used in full sun areas unless you have used a thermometer and are sure the inside temperature will stay below 107*F, which is fatal to eggs and young birds. You are building a green house! It would be a shame to save this box for bluebirds and then cook them! Although no nestbox is sparrow proof it is not that hard to get rid of a single male sparrow who has fallen in love with your box. Remember they have wings and in an hour they could fly and find millions of suitable nesting sites for them right! But they LOVE that box. Well drilling a two inch hole in the roof and installing a sky light is not what that sparrow evidently liked, so off he goes and chooses another site. Tomorrow another may come and LOVE the sky light.... You can fill the interior up with small blocks of wood and remove the cavity or cover the inside floor with duct tape sticky side up and even his favorite perch, the roof top, with the sticky tape and see if he likes it. After that male is gone remove the alterations and get ready for bluebirds. Simply taking down a box and changing styles or replacing it with a PVC or two holed box might do the trick. Install a hole restrictor that is 1&1/8" or hang ribbons from the box, try a rubber snake or large plastic worms used for fishing as a scare tactic. The silver Christmas tinsel scared some of my sparrows into the next county when I stapled it across the front of the box, others stripped it off and used it for a nest. Experiment! Alter the box, take off the roof or open the side or take down a big deep box and replace it with a small shallow box and vice versa. I have never seen changing a color of the box scare off a sparrow but changing their dream home does work (on that single bird)! If small box size works what should I tell the sparrows nesting in a 2" steel pipe at our school? Or the open topped box when they often nest in trees, bushes and even in neon signs! Ever wonder why they started making electric stop lights with the tube cut out on the bottom and not the old fashioned pipe protecting the light? Birds (house sparrows and purple martins) were nesting in the tubes blocking the lights and creating a road hazard! These birds adapt to their environment! No box is totally safe! Do not drive the sparrows out of a box if you have bluebirds nesting near! Trap and permanently remove them. Don't forget people with snakes and large lizards need food for their pets too. Try the pet store's also. I prefer them in my garden since they are an excellent source of bone meal. Sparrows are the worst and most widely spread unprotected predator of cavity nesters! We need to find a way to stop them! What have I forgotten? What has worked for you? It only needs to work on one box at a time and then one yard, one county ETC. until it really works every where! KK
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 16:26:50 EST Date: 17 Jun 2000 02:55:00 -0000 Hello Everybirdie! Sometime ago, I saw an "alleged" bluebird nesting box, with an OPEN top, except for 1/4-inch hardware cloth, for predator protection...allegedly to similate their nesting in wood posts, broken trees, etc., NO protection from rain...that HOSP would avoid. Is such a design desired by EABL (Eastern Bluebird) or not? Thanks! Stan, St. Paul, MN
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 23:22:20 -0500 This spring I rebuilt 7 boxes for an assisted living group and they were all
constructed that way. Somehow the idea is about. I put solid covers on them.
Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 00:16:58 -0500 Maybe my old mind is playing tricks on me again. If I remember correctly all independent tests on the open top boxes have shown that the drawbacks outweigh any claims of making it less desirable for sparrows. Some reports have shown that the open top was not a deterrent at all. I don't want to be unfair to someone's idea, neither would I like to see products go up that are not in the best interests of the bluebirds. Look before you leap. Best regards, Bruce Johnson ~ Life Mbr. NABS
Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 08:06:04 -0400 (EDT) To answer the recent question about the open top nest box here is a web page about it. Joe Huber Venice Fl. http://users.aol.com/jimmcl/bbbox/openroof.htm
Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 10:27:14 EDT Hi All; Bob Wilson
From: Jgandy8580"at"aol.com I seem to remember more than 10 years ago open-top boxes (with window screen where the top would be) being touted as an anti-HOSP device, as the HOSP supposedly wouldn't use such a box but the EABB would. We had a cold, all night rain here in south Jersey last night and it is hard to picture my incubating female successfully enduring such nights, not only soaking wet but lacking the heat retention provided by the roof. Could a clear Plexiglas dome discourage HOSP nesting and provide the necessary protection for the EABB or another cavity nester? Some such experiments by someone with an extensive trail might be interesting. Boxes with only a screen for a top might work for 2nd or 3rd nestings when rains would not be so cold. I imagine perfect drainage would be necessary. From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas a cool 50*F this morning when normally we should be in the high 70's or even 80's by now for an overnight low! Rain and wet nests in the south in May are very seldom ever a problem. Bluebirds are no less hearty a species of birds than are the hundreds of other species of birds who just survived 36 hours and about 5" of rain in Oklahoma the last couple of days. If a 2" rain would kill eggs or young then most bird species would never have been seen by mankind! Birds weave a nest so that it will wick the water away from the birds and down & out of the nest. As long as you have drain holes in the nestbox bottom and cold water does not rise above the eggs or nestlings you should be fine. During days of high heat and low humidity the eggs actually will benefit from a moist nest as the developing chicks will lose too much moisture through the shell and become stuck to the membrane and not be able to hatch, just the same problem as being incubated at too low a temperature for extra days. This problem is not as severe for species of birds that hatch in less than 2 weeks but is critical for ducks, chickens, turkeys and ostrich's. These birds from first egg to first hatching might go over 5 weeks. Losses of birds in wet nests in the north during cold spells are due to a combination of factors. Look at actual nest construction materials! A pine needle nest will be damp but will not hold much moisture. A nest like Chickadees will be fur lined to keep the eggs away from the damp moss they use and remember that wet wool socks are a LOT warmer than cotton or polyester socks. The problem is when more baby birds (that are cold blooded until about day
69) have reached a total mass greater than what the female is capable Open topped nestboxes: Vince Bauldry observed that in Wisconsin (other parts of the country also) bluebirds would sometimes nest in the tops of larger rotted fence posts that had an open topped "cavity" for the birds to nest in. He also noted that very seldom would House Sparrows use this type of nesting site. Way back in the 1960's he began experimenting and developed a nestbox that was deeper than normal, 11&1/8" deep from floor to entrance and had an entrance thickness of 2&1/4" (he added a standard 2"x4" piece to the box front as a hole guard). I am sure that most of the boxes back then were like the shallow (2"deep) large holed box mentioned on the list the other day that the farmer just installed! Vince also bored a 3&1/2" round hole in the roof, covered this only with stiff wire called "hardware cloth" in his nestbox that had a floor 4"x4". By the mid 1970's these open roofed boxes were having incredible success compared to shallow nestboxes in the Midwest that were losing about 50% of the bluebirds and tree swallows to raccoons, house wrens and house sparrows. The bluebirds that used these deeper, open topped boxes with thick entrance holes were multiplying and returning in far greater numbers than other box styles. Wet nests did NOT seem to be any more of a problem in these than other styles of nestboxes! Other people could not stand the thought of their bluebirds being forced to nest exposed to the weather so they duplicated his box style and entrance hole thickness with a closed roof. Eureka!!!! Over night raccoon predation almost disappeared! Bluebird fledge numbers skyrocketed and with control methods sparrows weren't that big of a problem! The "Hill Lake" nestbox developed in that area was the same as Vince's box except for no open top and it had a floor 4"x5&1/2". There was a mad scramble to design nestboxes similar to these and when MOST of the boxes became deeper the raccoons were "forced" to learn how to feed from them and they did until over time the deeper boxes have given way to shallow nestboxes to conserve wood and costs and emphasis has changed to predator proof poles and baffles. Vince's open topped boxes in national testing in the early 80's had higher loses than most other styles due to different weather encountered in say the south where direct sunshine cooked the eggs in these deeper boxes. Weather patterns in the 60's and 70's around Green Bay Wisconsin might have been more favorable than the weather extremes the nation is experiencing in the 90's and on for the next 10 years is anyone's guess. These open topped nestboxes are STILL being used on Vince's original trail and I just got a report off list about this box style being used at one of the universities. Maybe the person reporting on this trail might post the results to the list:-))) I do NOT recommend this box style but it has been in use for more than 40 years and thousands of bluebirds have fledged from wet nests in northern states in these "open boxes" so DO NOT WORRY about changing a damp nest in one of your boxes! KK From: "Bill Darnell" bdarnel3"at"bellsouth.net There is a natural open topped hole in a large fence post nearby. The
diameter is about 3", maybe a little more. The Bluebirds have fledged one or two
broods each season for several years from this vertical cavity. Just across the
road, there is a nice NABS box but they won't use it. Bill TN I seem to remember more than 10 years ago open-top boxes (with window screen where the top would be) being touted as an anti-HOSP device, as the HOSP supposedly wouldn't use such a box but the EABB would. We had a cold, all night rain here in south Jersey last night and it is hard to picture my incubating female successfully enduring such nights, not only soaking wet but lacking the heat retention provided by the roof. Could a clear Plexiglas dome discourage HOSP nesting and provide the necessary protection for the EABB or another cavity nester? Some such experiments by someone with an extensive trail might be interesting. Boxes with only a screen for a top might work for 2nd or 3rd nestings when rains would not be so cold. I imagine perfect drainage would be necessary. From: "Bonnie Boex/Ed Baker" bakerbon"at"earthlink.net Keith: Your email (as usual) contains so much useful information; it sure explains a lot!! And I would LOVE to post to the list 'cause I'm the one who recently hiked thru the Sanctuary in Green Bay, Wisconson one day (HOME OF THE PACKERS) and spent the next day hiking thru the University's open space, both areas absolutely FILLED with birds I've never seen before!!! It's my hometown and I appreciate it now more than when I lived there. Anyway, the University trails were lined with Vince's open-topped nestboxes. I spent a day with Vince on his trail some years ago and recall him telling me about the University students helping him with monitoring etc. so it all seemed to fit. I was very saddened to find MANYboxes filled with active HOSP nests, and if not HOSP's, then they were vacant! I KNOW Vince is looking down from heaven and shaking his head. Never saw a BB. If I were a new-by my perception would be that Vince's nestboxes were increasing HOSP numbers immeasureably. I did not contact the University, but should have, to ask if anyone was monitoring the trail. I'm thinking they've dropped the ball. Bonnie Boex -----Original Message----- ... From: "Jim McLochlin" bluebirdbox"at"cox.net I don't totally agree with Keith on the seriousness of wet nests and the
complications of open-topped nest boxes and neither do many others. See I can believe the seriousness of this style of box would be less of a problem in the south than in the north. I have seen wet nests in perfectly sealed boxes with proper drainage that are wet from driving rains primarily entering through the entrance hole. I don't believe that a nest wet from this condition needs to be changed. A nest that is wet from other problems (i.e. cracked roof, no drainage) indicates a more severe problem and if it were to remain wet for an extended period of time then I would consider changing out not only the nest but the box as well (or modifying the box). I do think these wet nests put an additional burden on the female and stress on the nestlings but in a normal year it should not be a major problem. I also believe these wet nest can create other problems. Keith mentions that birds have survived wet nests for years and this is obviously true. However it occurs to me that cavity nesters use nest locations that are often enclosed to protect themselves from the elements and the predators. Certainly many bluebirds have fledged from natural open topped nest sites. But if a concern about the size of the Peterson hole has anybody worried wouldn't an open topped nest site be even worse (in the Bauldry box a wire mesh does offer some protection for the birds) or for that matter any natural cavity that doesn't have the 1.5" opening? We all look for the perfect box for our trail. I have come to the conclusion that the perfect box isn't out there (yet) and it may never occur. I can almost say with certainty that no box will be perfect on every trail in the breeding range of the three species of bluebirds that inhabit North America. Our concerns and opinions are important in achieving the best box for our trail and that is all we can really hope for is the best box for our trail and situation. Jim McLochlin The Audubon Society of Omaha =
http://audubon-omaha.org/ You can send me an instant Message from Windows messenger to
omahawebsol"at"cox.net -----Original Message----- ... From: "Joe Schultz" joschultz"at"hotmail.com Joe Schultz Vince Bauldry's nestbox never really caught on in WI. I know he fledged many birds from them on the east side of the state where he had so many of them in use. I think you are right about people feeling sorry for the birds in his box being exposed to cold and wet. You also had to cut a big hole in the top and cover it with hardware cloth which must have been a pain. On the other hand, Dick Petersons box is not exactly what you would call an easy box to make for the average Joe and it is as others have said the most widely used box in the state. However, the Peterson box is a very small cavity with a massive outside structure. The Hill Lake box was invented by a man by the name of Andrew Nelson from West Bend WI. That box was a Bauldry with no big hole on top like you mentioned and was deep.Mr.Nelson used to do a great skit with a giant cardboard HIll Lake and get up on a chair to show how racoons could not reach the nest as a result of measuring a front leg of a road kill.At the 1998 BRAW convention Andrew Nelson got up in front of the group and told everyone not to use his nest box because it was too deep and did not fledge birds as well as the shallow boxes did provided you no longer used a wood post.That was in his home town! That was also when the BRAW data base showed patterns of what was going on with the deep paired boxes and created a small revolution in the state. From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas My personal thoughts on this box. That this is probably the worst possible box out there for the nesting bluebirds since it has so many problems and really no advantages. Wet nests are a problem in the south early in the season but not normally this time of year. I know Ann Wick and some of the other northern bluebirds consider wet nest a real problem and it would be a good time for those with experience to describe when, IF and how the novices should consider this a problem. This latest cold wave will have really thinned out bird nests with 511 day old chicks I am sure. Oh covering the roof of these boxes with Plexiglas actually will turn it into a green house situation and will be hotter than an open top if the sun shines in. If being open to the weather does not stop House Sparrows then a little extra light won't stop them either. Large entrance holes and shallow boxes are something most people should monitor closely to see IF they have a problem but open topped boxes need to be avoided as there is NO advantage to them. KK Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 15:06:12 -0500 Janet, I am sure we ALL would like to see the day when bluebirds could survive in the wild, on their own - as you put it. But sadly, we as humans stacked the cards against them big time: Pest control spraying, European Starling and House Sparrow introduction, house cats, etc. Since you have stated that you are only recently involved in bluebirding, then let me tell you how things were in my state twenty five to thirty years ago. Bluebirds were a RARE sight! We had bird clubs back then do counts in which NO bluebirds were seen for the entire length of time. Please READ about the plight of the bluebirds back then, and read about Larry Zeleny's impassioned pleas on behalf of the bluebird back in the 70s, and then perhaps you will understand better why we now get a special satisfaction about helping these beautiful birds out! The artificial boxes are our way of helping to even out the odds somewhat. Take 'em away - take away the trails, and leave everything else as it now is, and you can soon welcome the 70s back - because all the factors that contributed to the bluebirds' fall are still in place! Your fears that the bluebird will become too common, and consequently become drab and uninteresting, as you put it, and eventually lead to its demise - well, Janet, you are overthinking this whole thing way too much! Bluebirds will never be for any of us drab and uninteresting because they are "common". I have enjoyed birds coming to my feeders for decades. I love to observe them as much now as I did 25 years ago, and many of them - such as the cardinals, Downys, nuthatches, Song Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Goldfinches, etc, are much more common than the bluebird. And no, we would never consider them "pets". Just because we enjoy helping them out with housing, maybe helping keep their house clean (blowfly larvae), or occasionally feeding them or letting them take a "bath" in a birdbath, that doesn't mean they are our pets! (Take a poll and see how many of us are considering putting air conditioners or heating units inside our boxes...) Their "wildness" is a big part of why many of us are drawn to them. Their Spring migration is part of their being "wildlife"!! Their foraging for food, and coping with cold weather by surviving on sumac berries - at least here in Wisconsin - is all part of their attraction as wildlife! If I wanted a beautiful multicolored bird for a pet, I'd go purchase a parrot! Lastly, your conclusion that in your hometown of Bolton, Mass, the habitat
for bluebirds is getting "more advantageous for bluebirds and less desireable
for house sparrows" is not a true picture for much of this country!! Ask any of
us that live near cities!!! House sparrows/starlings are moving in wherever
buildings are going up. And that is happening all over. Consequently, the
bluebirds, and many other natives, are being pushed out. This fact is only too
true in Muskego, Wi., where I now live. When we first moved here 20 years ago,
it was "out in the boondocks", which is just the way we wanted it. Now, there is
little resemblance to how it was back then, and, if not for the county park
where I maintain a trail, bluebirds pretty much would be non-existent. So, you
can be thankful that your area appears to be attractive to the bluebirds- but
Bolton, Mazzzchusetts, is probably not a good barometer for the country as a
whole. I wish you every success in your new venture in bluebirding, and, like
you said... go ahead and back off a little. Because many of us have done that
already. And bluebirds are prospering. But bluebirds will never become totally
independent of us, and that's ok with me. Bob Tamm Janet Pesaturo wrote: To those involved in the natural selection vs. micromanagement debate: ... From: "Bonnie Boex/Ed Baker" bakerbon"at"earthlink.net To the List: In a previous Message I said that we were hiking on Green Bay University trails where Vince Bauldry's nestboxes lined the trails. Not totally true. It was the Sanctuary's trails that were lined with Vince's nestboxes; however, the Santuary and University trail system connects to each other. Not a big deal but felt I should correct the info. Bonnie Boex Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 14:00:32 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA If those open tops had been on my trail during this cold rain, any of my remaining bluebird chicks would have been killed off. You couldn't PAY me enough to use open-top boxes!!! IMHO :-) H Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 15:07:50 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Ok - about the ages of chicks lost. KK I think you are right, they are from 1-12 maybe 13 days old. Now, I don't have any older than that to start with... alive or dead. But for the sake of science, I will go over all my monitor forms and give an accurate log of ages of those lost and alive. One thing I am noticing is that for the nests with one- five day old chicks lost, the parents in most instances were beginning to remove the dead babies. A few nests had only one baby (dead) left, and one with none at all. One nest they had already removed the baby and were starting to line the nest again. Most of these parents interestingly APPEAR to be coming back to their boxes. Some have disappeared period. Either that or they are all switching boxes. So perhaps if the chicks are young enough so there is not much waste in the nest they'll just simply reline the nest???? No one has appeared to abandon eggs. Will report back. Great to be back on the list. :-) H From: "BONNIE A. YEAGER" dement"at"frognet.net
I have a TRES nest in another PVC nest box. The nest was completed on 5/11 - compete with feather. Checked it today and no eggs or hatchlings. The nest looks undisturbed since I checked it on 5/11. The white feather in the nest is not molded tightly into the bottom of the nest cup. There are no signs of predation and no eggs in the general vicinity of the nest and it has been too cold snakes. Meanwhile the TRES are busy flying around the barn with the barn swallows. So, what can I conclude from these observations? 1. The food supply is inadequate to start a clutch. Seriously, does anyone know if it is normal for a TRES to build a nest then wait such a long time before laying eggs? Fred Yeager, From: "Zimmerman, Bet" Our local Wild Bird store is recommending that people drill a small hole in the bluebird nestbox roof and put screen over it to deter HOSPs (since they don't like wet nests.) Has anyone heard of this? Seems like it would seriously increase the likelihood of hypothermia for bluebird nestlings. Bet in Connecticut Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2003 13:52:22 -0500 A friend of mine has a box like that and the bluebirds are in one of them and the house sparrow is in the other one. So much for sparrows not liking a hole in the roof. Norma Zier "Zimmerman, Bet" wrote: Our local Wild Bird store is recommending that people drill a small ... From: "Mike Chaney" chaney"at"tis4000.com I have used boxes with these openings in the top with screen and I never once had any birds nest in them. Mike Chaney -----Original Message----- ... From: hubertrap"at"webtv.net (Joe Huber) Hello, I believe NABS did a study on boxes with holes in top and results were, don't use them. First of all they didn't prove to deter HOSP. Provide little protection to nest from elements. An article on this should be available if some one knows where to find it. Joe Huber,Venice,Fl. Charter member NABS, Charter member OBS, Life member OBS Joe Huber ... Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2003 22:32:48 -0400 Yes, that store needs to be told that NABS no longer recommends that type of box. One of the sites I took over for someone had 7 boxes with the holes and screens on all roofs and all 7 boxes had house sparrows (HOSP) in them!!!! I took those boxes down and replaced them with proper boxes and now we have a wonderful site of bluebirds and tree swallows! Besides attracting HOSP, those boxes are sure death traps to tiny hatchlings with these cold wet springs. Remember the HOSP builds a nice cozy domed natural roof over their nest and so are more protected from weather - but the bluebird is absolutely exposed to the elements in those boxes. :-) H ... Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2003 12:43:11 -0400 ----- Original Message ----- Hi Bet, ... Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2003 09:22:09 -0500 At 12:25 PM 6/6/03 -0400, Zimmerman, Bet wrote: ... Since one advantage of cavities for nesting is protection from the elements,
and many people on this list work very hard to weather-proof their nestboxes,
this would be very counterproductive. It has also been tried before,
unsuccessfully. Kate Arnold From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"tds.net To Ruth, et al, I think that this belief in open-topped boxes must have originated from the fact that some Bluebirds (and other birds) have been observed nesting successfully in natural cavities which are open to the elements on top, like for example, hollowed-out old fence posts or hollow tree stumps. I can see how that might work, especially if the parent birds made special efforts to keep the nest dry during rains, or if the local climate were unusually arid. Open-topped boxes also seem to invite predation of many kinds. But when we box-builders have the option of making cavities which are protected from the elements on top, I can't help believing that we should do it. Why should we create deliberately a box which puts the nesting at so much risk. It makes no sense to me at all. What we are trying to create here is a BEST-case scenario, a situation in which the birds can nest under OPTIMUM circumstances, relatively free from the many natural hazards that threaten them. Bruce Burdett, SW NH ----- Original Message ----- ... From: "Karen Louise Lippy" brdbrain"at"superpa.net
Bruce & all, Vince tested this box for about 20 years, I believe. I read his research results a few years ago when discussion about the box came up. Vince was a trained researcher. He was assisted in the study by several other people. He tested the box along with several other types. Some of the boxes he tested did poorly and were dropped from the study, but the standard box promoted by NABS and perhaps one other remained in the study until the end. He did find that bluebirds which used the boxes faced less competition from other species. He never claimed it was fool-proof against sparrows or other birds, but that it did better than the others in regard to competition. He did put hardware cloth over the hole, so predation was no more of a problem than in a box with a good roof. I have heard people say birds would drown in such a box, but Bauldry
suggested good drainage holes, so they must not have been following the The Bauldry box would be able to handle brief periods of rain, even torrential downpours. I never set out to make such a box, but when a pair of bluebirds moved into a vandalized topless box, I left the box as was to see what would happen. This pair had been driven from several 'good' boxes to this one. We had rain nearly every day. One day as I was doing my trail, it began to pour. I went to the box and peeked down inside and saw the hen sitting with wings spread sheltering the chicks. I checked after the rain and all was fine. In this same manner thousands of birds which nest in the open successfully raise chicks annually in spite of weather conditions. I have known people to have success with the box and those who have not, just with any other box. During the study, Bauldry added all the improvements to the standard box as they were suggested. Toward the end of his study, he found little difference in the fledging rate between his box and the standard. He also admitted that if a box with a good top was provided next to one of his, the bluebirds would choose the roofed box every time. To my knowlege, no study has ever been done to refute Bauldry's findings during his study. Since the man is deceased, people seem to say things they wouldn't if he were alive. Does the box have a place in our repertoire of tools to insure better
bluebird survival? I wouldn't use it because I accept species competition as a
natural course of events. But somewhere there may be a person who has tried
everything else and failed. Perhaps the Bauldry box might be their final option. From: Lawrence Herbert [mailto:lherbert"at"4state.com] Larry H. from Joplin MO here; Ran into an old bluebird friend from long ago. We had a nice visit. Regarding HOSP he said that relinquishing territory is obvious. Another way he used to fight them passively was to put a hole in the top of the box, two inches, or so, covered with mesh. HOSP didn't seem to like these boxes and would not return to these boxes USUALLY. He either had quite a bit of success this way or was just lucky. So, anecdotal only, he agreed. What do you all think regarding a hole in the top if you have had that experience? Good birding, Larry H. Joplin MO. From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1"at"cox.net] I have seen some years ago in this area. When it rains the nests get soaking wet. Bluebird Bob, NE OK From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas On his boxes the hole in the roof was 3" in diameter and covered with 1/2" The hole in the top allowed light and rain into these nestboxes and seemed to cut down on the numbers of House Sparrows using these boxes back in the good old days of bluebirding. In the very first issue of Sialia Winter 1979 on page 37 this box is featured as EX-1 and gives more detailed building instructions. There is also EX-2 which is a similar House Sparrow Resistant nestbox that has a wire covered "hole in the top" but has a raised roof section above this to keep sunshine from directly hitting the nest at or around noon. EX-3 in this same issue is an adaptation of my 6" diameter PVC nestboxes that were pretty House Sparrow Resistant back in those days. NABS recommended 5" or 6" diameter PVC pipe for these boxes as the 4" diameter pipe had too small of a floor area. NABS recommended that you use a length of pipe 14" or greater to make these nestboxes. They also recommended that you add a 2"x4" wood block attached to the entrance hole to create a 1&3/4" One of the interesting quotes regarding these House Sparrow resistant experimental nestboxes concerns weather and losses of nestlings. I will quote that section since we are trying to determine how many bluebirds we can lose before we should remove nestboxes:-)) "In addition to attempting to determine how effective these nesting boxes are in deterring House Sparrows, there are other equally important research objectives involved. Foremost is obtaining the answer to the question. The interesting thing about the Bauldry nestbox used up there in Green Bay, Wisconsin is that during the spring and summer they have a lot of cloudy days that kept these boxes from getting too much sunshine down in them. Then again the angle of the sun was such that the extra depth of the box prevented the sun from shining on the nestcup most of the summer. What seemed to be a problem was in other areas of the country, excess rain, different angles of the sun different weather patterns led to higher losses AND most importantly it seems that most bluebirds in other areas of the country did not like these open topped boxes that well:-)) They still use them at the University of Wisconsin today. I believe Bonnie Boex visited there a few years ago and reported that nearly all of these Bauldry nestboxes on campus that she checked were filled with House Sparrows. It did not appear to her that the boxes were being cleaned or monitored. This may be a case where you need to keep any House Sparrows from using or at least fledging young from a nestbox and over time you end up training the House Sparrows to go elsewhere to nest. This early House Sparrow research that was done by NABS had instructions telling how to monitor and report the data. This was a long time ago but I recall that we were NOT supposed to interfere with House Sparrows that were staking a claim to a nestbox and we were supposed to allow House Sparrows to nest and even lay eggs in these experimental nestboxes. It was only by installing the boxes in House Sparrow prone areas and letting them nest freely could they determine which boxes proved the best for sparrow resistance. KK From: Duane Rice [mailto:drbirdsong4"at"hotmail.com] I too tried this with mixed results. http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/78948/ From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Most bird eggs can only take a few hours at temperatures above 108*F or so. If you drive around looking for House Sparrows nesting you will often see that they nest in very open very bright locations. They often nest in commercial buildings behind lighted sign letters right up against glowing fluorescent light bulbs. You could always experiment with installing some of those garden path LED lights in nestboxes as these don't heat up and they provide a lot of light for the size solar cell they use. KK rom: Peter Kwa [mailto:kwapeterca"at"yahoo.ca]
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 5:29 PM Subject: re: Plexiglass for nestbox roofs (or walls) Good cautious words on the greenhouse effect! Isn't the greenhouse effect already avoided by raising the roof of the box, similar to opening a roof flap of a greenhouse? Moreover, frosted plexiglass diffuses light, it does not let sun rays shine through as it does in a greenhouse. If you don't have a raised roof already, you could raise the roof with spacers. And if you raise the roof more than 1/2" or so, you could cover the open top of the box with hardware cloth too.
I don't think that you need to mount the experimental boxes in total shade. Someone mentioned off-list nestboxes with a plexiglass side wall, perhaps of the kind that you attach to windows with suction cups (and perhaps fall off, oy veh). Anyway, my measly nestbox is mounted a few feet from the back wall of my house and receives afternoon sun (yeah, better would be morning sun) from one direction only. Instead of a plexiglass roof, I could install a plexiglass side wall on the shadow side of the box, whereas the box itself is in the sun. Out in the field, a tree may function as the house wall. Such shadowed plexiglass side walls may not necessitate a roof raise. And a roof cam may stay where it is. Anyway, be creative!
LEDs and cams don't really work together when it comes to colour rendition. I like natural light for a somewhat decent colour rendition, sufficient to support some pretty pictures and some hobby scientific inquiries. ....
|
BEST OF BLUEBIRD_L CLASSIFIEDS HOME | Audubon Society of Omaha | The Bluebird Box | Bluebird FAQs | Search | Contact meAll material was originally posted on the Bluebird_L or Bluebird mailing list, and has been reposted here with slight modifications to make the posts more readable in an HTML format. In cases in which quoted material has been deleted to save space, this is indicated by an ellipsis (...)For more information about Bluebird_L, check out http://www.cit.corn.edu/cit-pubs/email/using-lists/index.htm. If you wish to contact the author of a post, you will need to edit the e-mail address, replacing "at" with the "at" symbol (above the number 2 on your keyboard). (This change was made to discourage spammers.)If you are the author of a posting and would like to see a particular post (or posts) removed from these web pages, please contact me with the web page address, title of post, and date and time of the post(s), and I will remove whatever material you like. If you have a different opinion from one posted here, you need not contact me, as often I will have a different opinion too. The intent is to try and provide both sides to the issues facing bluebirders, and to do so in an impartial and objective manner.If you have problems, encounter broken links (unless they are within an e-mail thread, as I do not maintain those links), or have suggestions on how the site can be improved to make it more useful, please contact the Best of Bluebird-L Classifieds webmaster.Website design by
Chimalis
|
