|
Welcome to
The Bluebird Box
since 1995 |
Boxes - When should they be put up?Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 10:25:19 -0400 Good morning! Is anyone familiar enough with the nesting habits/season of EABL in NW GA to tell me if putting up more boxes now would be a good idea or just waste of time? Doug From: "emcooper" emcooper"at"bayou.com I don't know about now, but I put one up in the middle of April and that is late for here and to my surprise a few days ago, it had 5 beautiful bluebird eggs in it!!! In fact, I have had 9 boxes in use this second nesting and 7 the first nesting cycle. Two more have partial nests in them, but were not finished. I think I am having a bluebird population explosion! I had 35 eggs first time and have 41 second. There is one pair on the third nesting cycle. They were three weeks ahead of all the others. Last year, I had 4 active nest boxes out of the 11 put up. Evelyn Cooper ... From: "MJShearer" eshearer"at"attbi.com Hi Doug and all, I'm in NW GA (metro Atlanta area), and the EABL's in my yard just began incubating their second nesting of 5 eggs. I think you could possibly have activity in a new box, but there's only one way to find out.... Try it and see what happens. MJ ----- Original Message ----- ... Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2002 10:02:00 -0500 At 10:25 AM 6/8/02 -0400, Doug Woodruff wrote: ... I put nestboxes up at any time of year. It gives the birds a place for a second or third nesting, and more places to choose from if they don't like the first choice. There may also be birds that didn't get a chance to nest yet, due to housing shortage, so they will have a chance this season if you put nestboxes up now. Kate Oschwald From: "Nancy C. Hebb" Fencroft"at"msn.com How late is too late to put up boxes (s. Mich.)? I think my pair has abandoned their box. Started nest, but yesterday I noticed them working hard to defend it . Today they were away more than near the box, although they ate mealworms nearby early in the day. You list members have been a great source of information! Thanks. N. Hebb From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"tds.net Nancy, et al, ... From: "Snoopy" snoopy"at"wmis.net I am up here in MI, too, but probably further north than you (I'm north of GR) I have put up boxes in May before and still had BB come and nest in them, so it's far from being too late. Maybe you could put another box up near the one you already have up, and some Swallows could come and help defend the area-- I have had a lot of success with box pairing and it really helps keep the sparrows at bay. HTH some!! 3Djoy in michigan joy ... ----- Original Message ----- ... From: "Randy Jones" randyj"at"enter.net I've had bluebirds start nests as late as the first week in August. Randy Jones ... Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 21:39:01 -0500 Haleya Priest Amherst MA The online Bluebird Reference Guide:
http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirds/ Over our heads will float the Bluebird singing beautiful and impossible
things, of things that are lovely and that never happen, of things that are not
and should be. ---------- ... Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:43:58 -0600 At 07:29 PM 3/30/03 -0500, Nancy C. Hebb wrote: ... It's never too late! Bluebirds nest several times each season and may choose the new boxes for their second or third nestings. Other cavity nesters who are without housing or have had a clutch fail or lost to predators may also be looking for a new nest site. Even if placed late in the year, nestboxes provide a place to roost in extremely cold weather, and they will already be in place when the season starts the following year. Kate Arnold From: Rob Hailey [mailto:hailey"at"taylortel.net] From: Brucemac1"at"aol.com Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2004 7:07 PM Subject: Re: Blue Bird house time Hello Rob, January or February is actually the best time to set up new boxes. But anytime during the nesting season is nearly as good. Pick your spot and setup your new box now. You may be very pleasantly surprised...!! Good Luck, Bruce Macdonald, SW Ontario, South of Detroit From: Bruce Burdett Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2004 9:40 PM Subject: Re: Blue Bird house time Rob, I agree with Bruce MacDonald, 100%. February is ideal, but if you can't make February, put them up any time, even in the fall. They sometimes locate houses in the fall, use them for roosting (keeping warm) in the winter, and finally nest in them in the spring. If the houses aren't out there, nothing interesting can happen. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: Bet Zimmerman From: ptom"at"austin.rr.com Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2004 5:49 PM Subject: Re: Blue Bird house time Rob, In Texas, where frozen ground is not an issue, any day is a good day to put out a nestbox. (Some of us encounter solid limestone, but unlike frozen soil, it never softens.) In Texas, bluebirds started claiming nestboxes in January and some eggs were laid in February. But, with 3 and 4 nestings in a season, you still have plenty of time to attract bluebirds this year. Other native cavity-nesting birds will continue to be nesting, too. If birds don't nest this year, some birds will see your nestbox and know of the possible nesting site for next year. Too, the nestbox may be used for roosting on cold winter nights. Pauline Tom Mountain City (no mountains) TX From: Burnham, Barbara, Barbara.Burnham"at"zzz.zzz ...In my opinion, it is never too late, and never too early. Bluebirds seem to always be scouting for nestboxes, and in my area, even in wintertime. They might remember your nestbox when the time comes for nesting, or they might need it after a failed nesting, predation, harassment, or if their box (or tree cavity) goes missing. They might use them to roost in bad weather or at night. Unless you have problems with other nestbox occupants (mice, etc.) in areas where bluebirds do not stay all year, I would keep nestboxes available, clean, and in good repair. Bluebirds may "claim" a nestbox at any time, and defend the territory until nesting time, when the competition really heats up. For example, our backyard nestbox was claimed in early February by a pair of bluebirds (ten minutes after I placed it!), but nesting does not begin until late March. Barbara Burnham, Ellicott City , MD |
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
|
