|
Welcome to
The Bluebird Box
since 1995 |
Fecal Glue/GlopDate: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 04:45:37 -0700 Dear Linda and friends, Linda wrote to me: "Holes in the floor would let nestling debris fall to the ground . . . a heads up for any ground crawler that can find a way up to the nest." "Nestling debris" falling "to the ground" could (and probably does) attract a "ground crawler", but I think to a lessor degree. My point was that it is the dead and decaying Bluebird inside the nest box that really attracts the "ground crawler", but despite the degree, if the Baby Blue gets stuck and dies in the muck or a snake gets in and eats the Baby Blues they are still dead. Bottom line is that cleanliness is next to Godliness so if the nest has out lived it's usefulness then just get rid of it and replace it with a new one. Your Baby Blues will thank you. Happy Bluebird Trails To You, Linda Violett wrote: Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Historically entrance holes were not drilled round but most were cut square from one of the upper corners of the box since a brace and bit was a real pain to drill a hole with in a relatively thin board! While cutting the board you simply cut a square corner off large enough for the birds to enter. This would create a nestbox with an off set entrance hole. When drills and better drill bits became more common then we also began centering the door in the front panel. The earliest mention of a "Starling Proof" entrance hole for bluebirds comes from a 1929 publication date which states, "A bluebird entrance hole should be no larger than a precisely cut 1&1/2" square hole to prevent the Starling from using the bluebird nestbox." OK we had some debate this past spring that building deeper/larger nestboxes would only create more work for bluebirds as they wanted to build their nest to where they could look out of the entrance hole. I decided to experiment some and went back to the "historic" style of drilling a hole in an upper corner right near a side. I have used some 5"x8" wide bottoms and now have another 15 boxes with 4&1/4"x8" bottoms. This allows the bluebirds the chance to build either in a "back" corner or build the nest right up to the entrance hole to look out! In limited tests NONE of the bluebirds built their nests up high enough to be able to "look out" of the box and over half built AWAY from the entrance in a back corner of the box. Nesting material in the larger nestboxes has just about matched the AMOUNT of material in my standard 4&3/4" square bottom nestboxes. Even with the deeper boxes 8" deep compared to 6&3/4" deep MOST of the eggs are within 1" of the bottom board. So you have this really wide looking nestbox with a hole in an upper corner of the wide front and it gives the bluebirds a chance to build their nest where ever they want and the young have a chance to really spread out, which they have done to flatten the entire nest area as in a normal "small" floored nestbox. We will never know if this is actually better for the health of the young but it is an excuse to build more nestboxes. When building nestboxes with limited tools pick out a simple design that contains all square cuts and wastes the least amount of wood! In my case I use scrap wood and cannot use all I receive. When using Joe Huber's wonderful sparrow trap the top of the entrance hole needs to be down about 1&1/8" from the roof of the box but with Floyd Van Ert's trap you can use slot openings right to the roof and still trap sparrows or you can now drill a round entrance hole very near the roof simulating a real woodpecker made cavity closer and still be able to trap out sparrows. Build and use several styles of nestboxes and try to encourage more species using your boxes next season! KK From: Linda Violett, lviolett"at"earthlink.net John, you had many good notes in your comments on floor size. For monitors trying to decide which is the best floor size to build, it might be helpful to visit my web page showing a Bluebird in comparison to various floor sizes: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/floorsize.html The size of the floor does not seem to affect the size of the clutch. I offer large (6"x5") floors based on my observations of Western Bluebird requirements. Fecal build-up on my trail can occur at any time during the season and seems to indicate birds under stress. Fecal build-up occurs, particularly, if a single parent is trying to feed a clutch. It could be caused by the adult trying to find food rather than cleaning the box and/or it could be caused by too much fruit being substituted for insects. Linda Violett - Yorba Linda & Big Bear, Calif. From: John Schuster, wildwingco"at"earthlink.net Dear Linda and friends, The fecal build up (or "FECAL GLUE" as I like to call it) only takes place at our vineyards during the second nesting only. All boxes have both parents foraging, insect food is abundant and fruit (vineyards are a mono culture environment) is not being eaten at all. Over the years, I've always noticed that the second nest is not as tall as the first nest. With less nesting material, the second nest tends to flatten out more rapidly underneath the baby birds, fecal matter builds up and the parent Bluebirds just do not seem to be able to get at or care to deal with the fecal matter at the bottom of the nest during this phase of the nesting season. Likeyou said it could be "stress" related, but in my opinion and though the parent Bluebirds are doing there parental duties, I believe they are less motivated during the second nesting and the smaller nest size in a good indication of this lack of motivation. During the second nesting, I've seen nests that were so flat that you would think there was no nest in the box at all and I've seen "FECAL GLUE" so thick that you would think an asphalt company came in and paved the bottom of the nest box with asphalt. YIKE! Cheers and as always... Happy Bluebird Trails To You, John Schuster... From: Judy Carver, njcarver"at"siu.edu This was my first year with bluebirds nesting in the very hot part of the summer, and I did have trouble with messy nestboxes in the second and third nesting, and the loss of several babies. It seemed to me that when the fecal sacs were normal, the parents were diligent about removing them. I noticed that the parents would go for long periods without feeding on very hot afternoons, and once it cooled off a bit, they would start feeding again...maybe even overfeeding. Then, it seemed to me , the babies would have diarrhea, and there would not be a sac that the parents could remove. I spent a lot of time observing...trying to figure out what was wrong. This was one of my theories. From: Bruce Burdett, blueburd"at"tds.net Judy, et al, In all these exchanges about fecal accumulation in nests and nestboxes, I'm assuming, perhaps wrongly, that old nests are always routinely emoved, - and the boxes cleaned thoroughly, - after each fledging. I keep running across people who clean out old nests just once a year, at the end of the summer nesting season. This practice, it seems to me, is asking for trouble. An old, used nest, left over after the babies have left, is a breeding ground for all sorts of unwanted conditions, including fecal accumulation. Some people even believe that the birds clean out their OWN boxes. I've never known this to happen. Bruce Burdett, SW NH (Sunapee) From: Judy Carver, njcarver"at"siu.edu Yes, I do remove old nests and clean the boxes. My bb's first nest was so clean after the babies fledged, that it was hard to believe it had been used at all. The next two nests were messy, although not as bad as some described here. J Judy Carver Carbondale, Il From: Bet Zimmerman Is this another myth? Has anyone EVER seen bluebirds clean out an old nest from a box? From: Bruce Burdett, blueburd"at"tds.net Bet, et al, I must not have made my point clearly enough. I have NEVER EVER seen Bluebirds clean out an old nest from a nestbox after a fledging. Unless the monitor cleans out the house, the old nest stays there, often loaded with glop, glue, and with infestations of various kinds. Occasionally, especially if the old nest is relatively clean and dry, Bluebirds will build a nest OVER the previous one, but not often, in my experience. They seem to prefer a clean, empty box. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: John Schuster, wildwingco"at"earthlink.net From: Dottie, Hickory Hollow, Brown County, Indiana I haven't seen any BB's here clean out their old nests. Dottie, Hickory Hollow Brown County, Indiana ... From: judymellin I agree with Bruce and always clean out the old nest after any brood, regardless of species, has fledged. I scrub the boxes only at the end of the season as I must have fastidious blues who leave the box just as they find it- clean and neat. Tree swallows are another matter but I will not address them here. What I do want to tell you about,though, is this information from the original Cornell Nest Box Network protocol published in 1997: Under Protocols and Nest Selection Studies, Cornell raises the question- is an empty nest preferred? Here is some information that they present: Should you remove old nesting material from your nest boxes before the next breeding season begins? The jury is still out on this question- we don't have enough data to answer it. One might think birds would avoid boxes containing old nests, which might be attractive to ectoparasites such as blowflies that feed on the blood of nestlings. ... In another recent study, in Kentucky, Davis and his colleagues reported that when Eastern bluebirds were given the choice of a nest box containing an old bluebird nest from the previous year or an empty nest, 93 percent of the nesting pairs chose boxes containing old nests. Part of their protocol was setting up paired boxes with a used nest in one and the other left empty. I'm not sure they ever got enough data to make any deductions but maybe someone at Cornell can speak to this issue. Judy Mellin NE IL. From: Gary Springer, springer"at"alltel.net I find this entire thread of "Fecal Glue" beyond amusing. Is the idea that an accumulation of feces will somehow glue the birds to the side of the box, cause them to be stuck to nesting material, or cause them to be imperiled in some other way? Really? You'all must have sloppier bluebirds than I. But, even if you'all do, the feces of these birds dries into a dry white powder. Hardly the property of something that should be called "glue". And, when it's wet it isn't sticky either. It seems something called glue should be sticky at some point. So, to term an accumulation of feces "Fecal Glue" sounds totally ridiculous to me. I observed Red-Headed Woodpeckers during the last ten days before fledge and the adults carried away no fecal sacs at all. Yet there was nothing that could be even remotely described as "Fecal Glue" in the box after they fledged. Please!!!!! Gary Springer From: Evelyn Cooper, emcooper"at"bayou.com I don't know if my Bluebirds do glue, but the sides of the nestbox and inside of the door is smeared with white stuff and the biggest mess you ever saw. Of course it is dry and the fine gritty stuff in the nest is there by the time they fledge. I have to take some water and a brush to clean the sides. The nest is not sticky, but the walls look like they have been painted. (not by a professional) Evelyn Cooper Delhi,LA. From: Bruce Burdett, blueburd"at"tds.net Gary, and others, I certainly did not invent this neologism "fecal glue," and I don't know who did. It has never been a problem for me here in NH. Yet I think I know why the phrase was invented, and what it refers to. If any kind of "glue" is formed in a nestbox, - any sticky substance that might interfere with the young birds, - it is likely to be the product of something OTHER than feces, which, as you say, normally dries to a whitish powder. I've seen the products of blowfly infestations, dead birds, broken eggs, etc., produce a potentially harmful sticky substance. Maybe it's more common in warmer climates. I have read on this List about nestlings that were adversely affected by some sort of sticky or adhesive substance in the nest, though I can't recall where it happened, or who reported it. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: KCBSP"at"aol.com, KCBSP"at"aol.com In a Message dated 11/20/2003 9:19:11 AM Eastern Standard Time, blueburd"at"tds.net writes:
It was I that reported it about 2 years ago for one. A woman asked me to come check on her nestling. It didn't fledge and the others in the nest had. When I went there and opened the box the baby bird looked of the right age to fledge and was healthy appearing. I shut it quickly and told her don't worry. She insisted I open the box and pick it up. Against what I thought I did this and when I did the nest came out along with the bird. The bird could not free itself as its foot was about 1/2 down in the nest material and was covered with sticky gook. So this bird was glued to the nest! We cleaned it off with some water and replaced the bird back in the box. The parents continued to feed it for a few more days. The woman went to check on it regularly. A few days later she opened the box and the bird flew out and went to the top of a tree where it was met by the bluebird pair. Fecal glue? I don't know. All I know it was the strangest thing I had seen. Honest injun Gary! Kathy Clark, New Cumberland, PA From: Judy Carver, njcarver"at"siu.edu I suspect that my bbs are NOT slackers during the second and third nesting, but the babies are not producing sacs that are removable because of the irregular feeding schedule, due to the heat. It sounds like Judy Mellin hasn't had messy nest boxes, but up in NE Illinois, her climate would not be anywhere near as hot as it is here in Southern Illinois, where we have high humidity and heat indexes up in the 100s. Judy M., am I remembering correctly that you do not feed mealworms? Judy Carver From: John Schuster, wildwingco"at"earthlink.net Dear Kathy, Gary, Bruce and friends, Though I've heard it called all kinds of things, I'm the one who coined the phases "Fecal Glue" and I once called it "Fecal Goo". So, I guess you guys are to busy toasting out my e-mails or you would known this (which is fine by me.) However, I just thought that most of the members on Bluebird-L would appreciate knowing about the phenomenon, even if some on the list find it humorous. "Fecal Glue" is a real challenge (in some area's of the country) and the threat is genuine during the second and possibly the third nesting too (points east.) I agree that fecal matter generally hardens or dries into a gray powder which is in no way a health threat (unless you breath it in) to the babies inside the nest box and that the removal of old dirty nests that the previous nestling fledged from is paramount for repeat nesting. All of this is the norm, but that's not what we are discussing here. "Fecal Glue" is a combination of accumulated feces (at the top of the nest not at the bottom of the nest next to floor board) mixed with nesting material (much like mixing straw with mud to make bricks) which turns into a deadly combination that literally glues (as Kathy observed sometime ago and which I've observed too) one of the baby birds to the top of the nest. Usually it's the runt, that gets pushed into the "Fecal Glue" by the larger siblings as they scramble around inside the nest box. Survival of the fittest at work. If not rectified, the baby dies, starts to decay, threatens the survival of the siblings and more important attracts predators (i.e. snakes that pick up particles in the air with their tongue and then place the particles to their "JACOB'S ORGAN" at the back of their mouth to triangulate the direction) to the nest box, so you may loss the lot if you do not have predator guards. All you really need to do is be a little more diligent during the second and third nesting, as proper monitoring is all that is needed to prevent the above disaster. Cheers and as always... Happy Bluebird Trails To You, John Schuster ... From: Maynard R Sumner, m-r-sumner"at"juno.com Some seal the box up too much and if the nest get wed it will make a glue. If it is raining and as the male and female go in and out of the box the nest will get wet. I think sometimes we seal the box up too much. Maynard From: John Schuster, wildwingco"at"earthlink.net Dearest Maynard and friends, My nest boxes are not sealed, are dry inside, and rain is a not an issue (as the second nesting is during the middle of the summer months. However, if it did rain, my Meadowood Bluebird nest boxes have dog eared cut corner (on the floor board) for superior drainage and an over hang roof that keep rain out. Some have suggested that this challenge could be stress or diet related? Cheers and as always... Happy Bluebird Trails To You, John Schuster ... From: Bet Zimmerman I thought there was some other study that said that a slightly higher percentage of bluebirds DID prefer a clean box....can't recall specifics though. According to http://members.aol.com/birdblowfly/lifecycle.htm: Blowfly...egg laying usually occurs shortly after nestlings hatch, but multiple infestations may occur in nestlings that spend several weeks in the nest. Fly eggs hatch within 24-48 hours after they are laid and the tiny larvae must feed immediately. In some species young larvae will crawl into nestlings' ears or nostrils and remain there until they get larger. ..Larvae attach firmly to nestlings with the aid of mouth hooks.... One species (P. braueri) burrows directly into the flesh of nestlings and spends its larval period in the nestling. After hatching, larvae go through two molts...as they grow larger and suck more blood. Larvae need at least 3 blood meals to reach maturity...Mature larvae pose the greatest hazard to nestlings, because they consume much more blood than when they are younger...Once larvae mature they spend several days in a non-feeding prepupal stage and then they pupate. The pupal period usually lasts 7-14 days or more depending on the ambient temperature, after which the adult fly emerges. In most species, pupation occurs shortly after nestlings fledge. After adult flies emerge from the pupa they mate and the female searches for a nest with young birds to infest. Adult flies that emerge toward the end of the nesting season will overwinter and infest nestlings the next spring. Adult flies overwinter in areas protected from the weather like under dead bark, in hollow trees or IN OLD BIRD NESTS (emphasis added). Bet From: judymellin, judymellin"at"netzero.net Hi Judy- From previous discussions, it seems that this is much more a phenomenon among the Western species of bluebirds. Many of us with the Eastern species had never even heard of this until someone brought it up about six months ago. And you are correct- I do not feed for a variety of reasons, the main one being that my trail is a 30 mile round trip from my home but, even if I had boxes nearby, I would not do it. Are you equating mealworms to digestive problems? I am always interested when folks talk about second and third nestings. Are you folks referring to this just because of the timing or are you saying that this is the second or third nesting by the same pair? Unless the birds are banded, I'm not sure how anyone would know what nesting a pair is on. Over the years, we have birds fledge as early as Earth Day and as late as Labor Day and I cannot say that I have ever seen a difference in nest hygiene based on fledging dates. And, Judy, you're right- my trail is 40 miles south of the WI. border and there is no comparison between your weather and ours! We have hot stretches (although none this summer when our warmest temp was 95) but I'm quite content here in NE IL! Judy Mellin From: Gary Springer, springer"at"alltel.net To those who wrote of nestlings being stuck in nests. Knowing the properties of bluebird feces and the source of it, and knowing of the properties of the woven cup of a bluebird nest, I would suggest that a far more reasonable explanation is that the chicks foot became entangled in the nest material, and, that the accumulation of feces was a result of the birds inability to move. Please consider that if a chick's foot did become tangled in the nest material making it impossible for the bird to move, its feces would end up piling up under the bird and mixing with the nest material causing it to appear that the bird became glued by the feces. Because healthy birds move around in the nest a lot, for me it is just too far a stretch to think that a chick's leg would stay in one spot long enough for the feces to pile up and dry causing the bird to become "glued" to the nest material. But, even if you prefer to believe feces is the culprit, doesn't feces remain a far more accurate term for this excrement than "fecal glue"? Gary Springer From: KCBSP"at"aol.com About what Gary just said... This nest didn't look very dirty.. It's foot was stuck in the nest material and whatever was on it was sticky and thick but not discolored. It was not in feces that I could see. I know what "bleep is" LOL Whatever it was also made its foot very sore and hurt. It looked raw when we washed it off. Next time I"ll take pics if I ever see this again! I have seen lots of nestlings never saw this before.. It was not white.. Go figure I don't know.. It was glued.. From: Kate Arnold, bbnestbox"at"1starnet.com When I have left nests in the nestbox (unused, abandoned--I remove old used nests) the nestbox has gone unoccupied. In every case, when I remove the old nest, a pair has started using the box in the next day or two. This has been the case even when there were no other unoccupied nestboxes--they waited until it was empty before moving in. Kate Arnold Paris, TX 100 mi NE of Dallas 33.6853N 95.6293W From: Paula, PaulaZ"at"columbus.rr.com I'm so glad diligent monitoring freed up the chick. Good work. Mystery though. What caused the chick to get stuck in the first place? I agree that it was unlikely the doo doo did. Possibly small seeping wound with bloody discharge clotting and sticking - or - major blowfly infestation causing bloody discharge and sticking? - or - although unlikely, pine sap from pine needle nest (lame hypothesis)? Regarding nest hygiene, I have seen major differences with different parents. I had two nestings going at same time with one bluebird pair in front yard and one in back. Backyard birds' nest was very clean after fledging, but I was scraping feces off sides and bottom of frontyard box after fledging. It was definitely the messiest aftermath I have yet seen. It seems likely that some birds would be better housekeepers than others due to experience or lack thereof. These birds are great multi-taskers, but if they have to do too much, it seems s*it might pile up. If they lose a mate, temperatures soar, have to range farther for food, or possibly look after previous batch of fledglings to some degree (all what I would consider stress related), it seems nest hygiene might suffer a bit. As this relates to the bluebirds I observed, I don't believe there were any stressors involved here. I just think the birds in the back kept house like my friend Jill and the birds in the front kept house like..... ME ...... (whoops, too much sharing). Paula Z Powell (Central) Ohio From: Linda Violett, lviolett"at"earthlink.net For Gary and others who have not personally witnessed tarry nests with nestlings caught in "fecal glue", please scroll to the last photo at: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/floorsize.html That photo shows a dead nestlings stuck in fecal debris. In a box with a small floor (such as a Gilbertson tube), the wet fecal mess cannot spread out into a thin layer. It builds up. A full clutch of five or six fledge-ready chicks cannot spread out in a small box and one or more eventually get stuck in nests with fecal buildup. The photo shows a fully feathered nestling stuck in the muck with fecal debris on top of its feathers . . . proof that its siblings were sitting on top of it in the tiny Gilbertson box. This is one of the reasons I started building boxes with larger floors. Linda Violett - Yorba Linda & Big Bear, Calif. From: Daniel Sparks, b4bluebirds"at"yahoo.com Hi all, I get a build up of "fecal glue"on the top of the nest after prolonged wet weather. The area of the floor doesn't seem to be a factor. It has been explained to me that the parents can't find adequate insects to feed the nestlings, so they feed earthworms ...this results in diarrea because the nestlings can't digest them properly. This is a real problem not only because the nestlings can get stuck in it, but also because of insufficient nutrition and possible dehydration. I have lost many nestlings during prolonged wet weather. Dean..I understand that you have had experience with this?...are you out there? Dan Sparks Brown County Bluebird Society Nashville, IN From: Judy Carver, njcarver"at"siu.edu Hi, Judy. I certainly can't say that any of my babies were "glued" to the nest. I did have one baby so encrusted under the tail that his belly was bloated with waste that he couldn't get rid of . I usually try to keep a low profile, but in this case I did dip the baby's tail-end into a warm bird bath until he was able to poop. Summer before last, I had two different bb pairs nest, one after the other, in the same box and both broods left a clean box...but they were done nesting by the end of June. I could tell that the second pair was different, partly because they didn't know how to use the worm feeder at first. This past summer, I had three nestings by the same pair...I'm reasonably sure. Nests #2 and #3, both used during brutally hot weather, were messy. So I guess the question is weather this is poor box hygiene on the part of the parents, or is there something going on with the babies digestive process during the hot weather? My bb parents wouldn't hunt during the hot afternoons, but they sure didn't mind visiting the worm feeder...I wonder if I'd be better off using the worm feeder only in the chilly spring months? Judy Carver From: judymellin, udymellin"at"netzero.net OK, it seems that we are pretty much in agreement (at least, as much as the folks on this list are ever in agreement!) that "fecal glue" seems to be much more of a phenomenon of Western bluebirds. But there are those in Eastern territory who see it from time to time. Now we might be able to speculate on what causes this. It seems that folks have discounted temperature, humidity and time of nesting. My first thought would be habitat/diet, that is manicured suburban backyards vs. more natural areas. My trail sits on a 125 acre grassland that is in the process of restoration. There are native grasses and forbs, dogwood clones, bramble patches, wet prairie areas, Eurasian vegetation, brush piles and nearby woodland patches that provide edge habitat. There are also many species of grassland birds like bobolinks, meadowlarks, willow flycatchers, song and field sparrows, sedge wrens and goldfinches that are all insect eaters and that seem to have no problem finding food. Because of the great variety of vegetation, there would likely be a much greater supply and variety of insects. Dean's comments on earthworms are interesting and, as always, enlightening but I will have to say that, in observing this trail for over 10 years, I have never seen blues carrying anything other than insects in and fecal sacs out. It would seem more likely that those with backyard boxes would feed mealworms than would those of us with distant trails. I had not really given this much thought before but it does seem that those of us with trails in an area that offers more variety of feeding opportunities are not seeing this happen to the extent that others may be. Judy Mellin NE IL. From: Pamela Ford, jpford"at"comcast.net My experience has been the opposite of Judy’s supposition. My suburban trail has never seen the “fecal glue” phenomenon, while I have seen it each of the last 2 years on the state park trail that I help monitor. Each time the nest mess has been accompanied by unusually large, inedible (at least for nestlings) insects in the nest, such as large grasshoppers and huge, hard shelled beetles. I always assumed that a cold or wet spell made hunting difficult for the blues and less desirable food was being offered by some parents. My suburban trail has mealworm supplementation and may not experience this type of food desperation. Interesting to note, however, that the glued nests in the state park could be fairly close to perfectly normal nests. They didn’t happen in a cluster. Just my observations…. Cheers, Pam in Harford County, Maryland From: Kate Arnold, bbnestbox"at"1starnet.com Texans (birds and humans alike) experience very high heat and humidity every summer, but I have never seen a nest such as the messy ones described in the earlier Message. Insects are very active in hot weather, so I'm not certain an "irregular feeding schedule" would be the culprit--that is more likely to occur in very cold weather when insects are scarce. Kate Arnold Paris, TX 100 mi NE of Dallas 33.6853N 95.6293W From: Gary Springer, springer"at" alltel.net Just to make sure we are all in agreement, have we discovered a new substance and have we named that new substance "fecal glue"? Or, are we coining a new name for feces? If "Fecal Glue" is in fact a new substance, given its similarity with feces, it seems before we use this new term, we should describe the difference in the two substances. If none exist, it seems we should continue to call that substance feces and abandon the term "fecal glue" forthwith. If we have not discovered a new substance, was "fecal glue" coined simply to make our conversation sound more sophisticated when we're actually just talking about excessive amounts of feces, the same way most people use the word feces instead of sh*t? :>) Gary Springer From: Evelyn Cooper, emcooper"at"bayou.com I don't know if this was a "newbie" that first called this fecal glue, but I don't see her post often. Personally, I think it was just a term that this person used and it means the same thing that "muck" was used for a few months ago. From what we are reading, there are some folks that do have a problem with this situation at some time during nesting season. On another personal note, I think we should keep it fecal. Evelyn Cooper Delhi, LA. From: Keith & Sandy Kridler, txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net I am just finishing reading a USDA Technical Bulletin #711 called ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN THE UNITED STATES by E. R. Kalmbach. It was issued June 1940. They killed over 8,000 English Sparrows and collected stomachs from over 5,000 adults and just under 3,000 nestlings to do stomach analysis on this species. Part of the research was to see if the English Sparrow could spread disease with their feces. It seems when they fed the House Sparrows Gypsy moth eggs that some would pass through their digestive system and still be able to hatch! So the House Sparrows could spread this moth from area to area. They did a test to see if a nematode that was turning up in wheat fields at this date were being spread by House Sparrows. It seems the nematodes moved up the stems of the wheat and formed egg masses in the wheat heads and House Sparrows, among other birds were eating these nematode egg masses. So they fed the sparrows these egg masses and timed them and then began checking their feces for the nematodes or remains of the nematodes. It took between 1&1/2 hours to 4 hours for the nematode eggs to completely go through the House sparrow digestive tract! They then fed more nematodes and killed the birds at ten minute intervals to see how fast the nematodes eggs moved through the birds digestive system.....They found that in just 10 minutes after feeding the house sparrow nematode egg masses, that the nematode eggs were ALL the WAY through the digestive system while some of the nematode cocoons were still in the stomach. They found live nematodes in the bird feces and nematode eggs in the feces that would hatch! So the house sparrow could spread this newly imported nematode from Europe through out our wheat fields. So if you think about baby bluebirds being fed earthworms that are about 90% water and filled with soil that these worms probably are going to pass through the baby bird in less than 30 minutes. They studied the stomach contents of these House Sparrows that were collected all across the country and found that these sparrows fed on just about any type of insect that was locally abundant and easy to catch. This leads me to believe that bluebirds in local situations that are feeding young will be feeding them a diet of whatever is easily available. There are many insects that might contribute to diarrhea in the young birds. A very sick bird before it dies will not be moving around and if there are 3 or 4 other birds in the nest that have parents that are not cleaning the nest then feces build up could be dramatic! There are MANY diseases that birds carry that would kill young birds and even the rolly polly pillbugs are carriers of intestinal parasites of birds! I think we ALL find perfectly normal looking dead baby bluebirds in nests that are spotlessly clean and to me this is a more perplexing problem than trying to save baby birds that have parents who obviously are trying to pass on evolution skills and genes from birds who have poor parenting skills or are nesting in a diseased or poisoned environment! Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas From: judymellin, judymellin"at"netzero.net Hi Pam- Well, as we all know, there are no rules when it comes to birds! Thanks for posting this as it is now something else to think about. I assume that you are seeing this only at times of cold wet conditions? And what kinds of numbers of these poorly maintained nests are you seeing? You mention you have seen this each of the last two years. How many years have you been monitoring? Have there been any significant changes in the area around the state park trail? I would assume that the weather conditions come and go as they do everywhere so, if this is something new, might there be other reasons for it? Since they seem to be scattered, maybe this is a phenomenon of either very young parents that are "finding their way" in taking care of nestlings or very old parents that don't have the stamina to keep up? I'll go out on a limb here and think that the presence of inedible insects might indicate inexperienced parents? Judy Mellin NE IL. From: Pamela Ford My experience has been the opposite of Judy’s supposition. My suburban trail has never seen the "fecal glue" phenomenon, while I have seen it each of the last 2 years on the state park trail that I help monitor. Each time the nest mess has been accompanied by unusually large, inedible (at least for nestlings) insects in the nest, such as large grasshoppers and huge, hard shelled beetles. I always assumed that a cold or wet spell made hunting difficult for the blues and less desirable food was being offered by some parents. My suburban trail has mealworm supplementation and may not experience this type of food desperation. Interesting to note, however, that the glued nests in the state park could be fairly close to perfectly normal nests. They didn’t happen in a cluster. Just my observations…. Cheers, Pam in Harford County, Maryland From: MJShearer, eshearer"at"comcast.net Hi Evelyn and all.... Not to confuse the issue, but "fecal
glue" is not a term coined on this list. It has been used to
describe other forms of fecal matter, such as that used by termites
in this example: MJ Mary Jane Shearer; Tucker, GA From: Bruce Burdett, blueburd"at"tds.net To the Constituency, Whoever coined this phrase "fecal glue" - and I believe we already have one claimant - was trying to describe " a sticky substance which forms in nestboxes, and which can sometimes interfere with nestlings' normal development." (I rarely find any here in NH.) By now, the guy who coined it probably wishes he hadn't. I've also seen it called "goo'" "crud," "muck," "ick," "stickum," etc, even "cement." I don't think that simply calling it "feces" solves the nomenclature problem, since it can apparently be caused by quite a number of things besides simple feces. (broken, rotted eggs; dead chicks; blowfly infestations; too much rain; dietary abnormalities; lazy adult birds; worm and insect cadavers; bleeding lesions on chicks; etc.) Whatever name we prefer to give it, the important thing is to learn how to prevent it and eliminate it. All this reminds me of the way certain nomenclatures come and go in our national slang. Note, for example, the current irritating popularity of the word "issue." Just about anything nowadays can be called an "issue." A couple of years ago an "issue" was called a "piece," and before that it was something else. (." Fecal glue is not an issue in my nestboxes. " and "I'm tired of discussing this piece.") But in November of 2003, "issue" can mean "problem," "matter," "subject," "situation," "condition," "deal," "question," etc. etc. etc., and, of course, "piece." Maybe some Greek scholar in our midst can come up with a neat, short word which describes this stuff once and for all, and can get it approved by the ornithological community. Meanwhile, if I see any, I will just call it by the generic term "glop." Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: Evelyn Cooper, emcooper"at"bayou.com I meant to say in my previous post that we should keep it "feces" as Keith did in his great post. I had a member to ask me if it would be alright to collect earthworms on a regular basis and feed the Bluebirds. I am glad I learned this is not a good practice. Evelyn From: Lawrence Herbert, lherbert"at"4state.com Over the years I have had EABL nestlings trapped in the box just a few times. The most recent experience was just a couple of seasons ago when two RTF nestlings were tied together, one leg each, by fishing line. Their three siblings had already fledged, probably a couple of days previous, and I was surprised to see a critter still trying to get out. Since a parent was present and close monitoring indicated about 19 days old I opened the box expecting a crippled nestling. No, it was two nestlings tied together. Untied them and they readily joined a very concerned parent. The fishing line was no doubt brought in from a parent as nesting material. These boxes have a 4" X 5.5" floor surface. The old nests are usually fairly dry here in the Missouri and Kansas trails that I have monitored. No supplemental feeding. Everyone's largely on their own. I just keep records and remove the old nests. Good birding, Larry H. Joplin, sw Missouri. From: Gary Springer, springer"at"alltel.net Mary Jane, You wrote:
Are you saying that bluebirds are eating termites and passing their "fecal glue"? Or, are you saying that since termites make "fecal glue" bluebirds must make it too? Otherwise, we have indeed coined the term "fecal glue" to describe a different substances found in nests of bluebirds. I have now read dozens of posts written by members of a list of bluebird experts referring to a substance found in bluebird nests as "fecal glue". Because I am intimately involved in the anecdotal study of bluebirds I want to know all I can about these birds. That is why I wrote asking for more information about this substance and peppered it with my recommendation as follows: Just to make sure we are all in agreement, have we discovered a new substance and have we named that new substance "fecal glue"? Or, are we coining a new name for feces? If "Fecal Glue" is in fact a new substance, given its similarity with feces, it seems before we use this new term, we should describe the difference in the two substances. If none exist, it seems we should continue to call that substance feces and abandon the term "fecal glue" forthwith. If we have not discovered a new substance, was "fecal glue" coined simply to make our conversation sound more sophisticated when we're actually just talking about excessive amounts of feces, the same way most people use the word feces instead of sh*t? :>) Before you move on, do you have answers to my questions? Gary Springer From: Pamela Ford, jpford"at"comcast.net Good point, Judy. Gave me something to think about. Although I don’t have all the data on hand right now to verify it, I believe the sloppy nests were more likely in first nestings, where it’s much more likely in this area to be cold and wet. I mention the past two years as I have only been monitoring at this state park for two years. I’ve been a bluebird trail landlord and monitor for five years total. The park is rather stable. There is an active nature center and quite good supervision of the facilities. Other than the occasional desire to fill every meadow with trees, they seem to be doing a good job of keeping people from interfering too much in the environment. And, yes, these messy boxes were quite scattered so maybe it was a case of inexperienced parents. Although not in the picture, one of the nests had a dead grasshopper that was at least 2 ½ inches long. Most books indicate that bluebirds feed on soft-bodied insects, but these beetles and grasshoppers were definitely not soft-bodied. Under the nesting materials was a thick layer of gray-brown muck that had to be scooped out. Well, I’ve not seen a dead bird in one of these nests, so they must be getting past the problem. Just remembered that I photographed one of the boxes in 2002. You can see it at http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288518753 Interesting to see the variety in nature…. Pam in Harford County, Maryland From: judymellin Hi Pam- Well, as we all know, there are no rules when it comes to birds! Thanks for posting this as it is now something else to think about. I assume that you are seeing this only at times of cold wet conditions? And what kinds of numbers of these poorly maintained nests are you seeing? You mention you have seen this each of the last two years. How many years have you been monitoring? Have there been any significant changes in the area around the state park trail? I would assume that the weather conditions come and go as they do everywhere so, if this is something new, might there be other reasons for it? Since they seem to be scattered, maybe this is a phenomenon of either very young parents that are "finding their way" in taking care of nestlings or very old parents that don't have the stamina to keep up? I'll go out on a limb here and think that the presence of inedible insects might indicate inexperienced parents? Judy Mellin NE IL. From: Dan Sparks Hi all, I get a build up of "fecal glue"on the top of the nest after prolonged wet weather. The area of the floor doesn't seem to be a factor. It has been explained to me that the parents can't find adequate insects to feed the nestlings, so they feed earthworms ...this results in diarrea because the nestlings can't digest them properly. This is a real problem not only because the nestlings can get stuck in it, but also because of insufficient nutrition and possible dehydration. I have lost many nestlings during prolonged wet weather. Dean..I understand that you have had experience with this?...are you out there? Dan Sparks, Brown County Bluebird Society, Nashville, IN From: Dean Sheldon I remember the first time I saw this. It was dreadful. And then I called Dick Tuttle in Delaware and he set me straight.. Basically, the nestlings sh*t themselves, clean out and then the moisture from that causes such wetness that hypothermia sets in. SUMMARY: the birds in the nest die from ingestion of >the earthworms which the parents bring in as a food source during bad weather...when insects are in short supply. They die from a combination of starvation, dehydration and hypothermia. Dean Sheldon, Greenwich, Ohio From: Linda Violett, lviolett"at"earthlink.net Keith and All, As previously mentioned, I tend to think mucky nests are caused by stressed conditions rather than " . . . poor parenting skills or are nesting in a diseased or poisoned environment." Stressed conditions can be caused by loss of a parent, for example. The remaining parent is trying to feed the clutch and keep the nest clean. A single parent trying to keep the chicks alive may have to resort to poorer food as an emergency measure, not by choice or genetic patterns. A greater percentage of fruit rather than insects, for example. Some are blaming mucky nests on mealworms. I can state emphatically that mealworms are not the cause. On my trail where a nestbox neighbor is able to consistently supply mealworms to single parent Bluebird families, the chicks are healthy and the nests are kept clean. Dean Sheldon says "SUMMARY: the birds in the nest die from ingestion of the earthworms which the parents bring in as a food source during bad weather...when insects are in short supply. They die from a combination of starvation, dehydration and hypothermia." "Bad" weather in Dean's post is assumed to be cold weather. Yet, John Schuster says he only sees mucky nests during 2nd nestings (warmer weather) and I have seen mucky nests occur at any time. A photo of a mucky nest during warm weather can be seen (last photo) at: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/NestPics.html That nesting had both parents in attendance and I didn't know they were having difficulty feeding their large clutch. Around the fledge date, all but one had fledged. When I decided to open the box to make sure the chick wasn't in trouble, I saw the muck layer. Even though the box had a 5" x 6" space, the muck had formed over the entire nest surface and even up the box at the corners forming a mucky bowl inside the box. The ends of the chick's feathers were moist and slightly soiled so I flipped the nest over to provide a dry clean surface. (The photo shows the muck corners turned downward because it had been flipped over while still wet.) The chick stayed calm, the parents continued to care for it and it fledged by the next day. If this had been a small sized box, this chick probably would have been smashed into the muck and died under its siblings. SUMMARY: The best solution to prevent mucky nests on my trail is to offer extra food (mealworms) at stressed sites and, of course, provide large boxes. Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. From: Haleya Priest, mablue"at"gis.net Dean first taught me about this thick mess in the bluebird's nest and sure enough one cold wet spring I found the top of a nest with about 1/4" of caked earthwormed diarrhea. But fortunately, all chicks fledged successfully - nothing like a little luck. :-) Haleya Priest Amherst MA ... From: charlene anchor, charleneanchor"at"msn.com I understand the desire for determining what this "fecal glue" is, what to call it, etc. etc. But from the posts, it appears to be showing up in various climate conditions, times, diets and geographic locations. I don't think it is something we can decide without some type of scientific controls. But what are the recommendations for handling the situation if you come upon a badly "fecal filled" (a new phrase?) nest? It would seem to make sense, if the nest would appear to be harmful to the nestlings, to replace it with a clean one and then watch it a little closer than usual. Do I assume this is what the monitors are doing? Several people have related actually saving a nestling by intervening. Is this the proper procedure (for those of us who have not seen this or have little experience) or do we just let it go? Charlene Anchor, Illinois From: judymellin, judymellin"at"netzero.net Hi Pam- I enjoyed the title of your file on this! Maybe there is something to this since you are seeing them on a scattered basis and usually on first nestings. I'm not sure what the "learning curve" is for first-time parents in the bird world but, hopefully, they learn after the first one. And, of course, without banding, we could never know for sure but it does seem to be logical. To me, though, the interesting thing is that, here in NE. IL., our nesting weather through Memorial Day is much cooler and wetter that yours would be in MD. The only nests we have lost have been over Memorial Day weekend as our holidays tend to be quite miserable, weather-wise. However, what I have found when opening the boxes are tiny, partially feathered-out young that seem to be sleeping, with no signs of distress. And the nests they are in are perfectly clean. I'll be interested to know, if you have a chance to check, how many of these nests you have found and what percentage of total nests they may be. Thanks for the research. This is what I find so interesting about what we are doing. Judy Mellin NE IL From: John Schuster, wildwingco"at"earthlink.net Dear linda, and friends, Thank you Linda and though the "Fecal Glue" phenomenon may only be a Western Bluebird challenge, it is important that we Westerners share our knowledge with those points East that may not have the same challenges as that we have out west. Cheers and as always... John Schuster,... From: Evelyn Cooper, emcooper"at"bayou.com Linda said she flipped the nest. I have never had this problem, but if I did, I would put a clean nest in there for them. Evelyn Cooper Delhi, La. ... From: Linda Violett, lviolett"at"earthlink.net Evelyn, if a mucky nest is found in a nestbox of younger chicks, then yes, providing a clean nest is an excellent choice. The nest in the photo was flipped over during field expediency in a tricky situation. The chick was overdue to fledge. Even the decision to quickly flip over the dirty nest could have caused the chick to bolt from the nestbox. And if the chick had bolted while its feather tips were still damp from the filth, it would have been at a disadvantage. Linda Violett - Yorba Linda & Big Bear, Calif. E From: charlene anchor But what are the recommendations for handling the situation if you come upon a badly "fecal filled" (a new phrase?) nest? It would seem to make sense, if the nest would appear to be harmful to the nestlings, to replace it with a clean one and then watch it a little closer than usual. Do I assume this is what the monitors are doing? Several people have related actually saving a nestling by intervening. Is this the proper procedure (for those of us who have not seen this or have little experience) or do we just let it go? Charlene Anchor, Illinois From: Evelyn Cooper, emcooper"at"bayou.com Yes, I read where the chick was past due fledging. In a case where the chicks are 13 days old, I guess you would just have to hope for the best. I would be afraid it would be certain premature fledging to attempt something at this time. Evelyn Cooper Delhi, LA. ... From: Keith & Sandy Kridler, txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net We went from 70*F to 27*F in 24 hours and this is the first frost/freeze of the year in Northeast Texas. The photo that Pamela took is pretty typical of Eastern Bluebirds and is what I HOPE to see in an old nest. It shows some adult June bugs that the young spit back out but bluebirds often feed beetles as the young get older. There are often large insects or rarely even small reptiles left in the nest after the young fledge. You can clearly see large dried fecal sacks and a few that have been flattened by the feet of the young birds. I would bet that these young birds could easily stand on top of the nest & stick their heads out the entrance hole and the adults were just coming to the box front and stuffing insects into gapping mouths. They were not entering the box and carrying out fecal sacks. Fecal glue: OK bird feces from a normal diet is NOT dangerously sticky! Yucky yes but sticky like glue no! With adequate ventilation and low humidity these droppings will dry in a day or so. Bluebirds and MANY other bird young will back up to the outside of the nest and try to deposit their droppings over the edge of the nest and this is why you often see the droppings smeared down the sides of the nestbox (the inside of the box is white washed.) So once again it is not normal for these bluebirds to be sitting in a thick wet layer of feces in the nestcup. If for some reason the box is not cleaned by the adults and the layer stays wet these droppings do NOT set up like concrete in a couple of hours. A healthy young bird is constantly moving and should never become "glued" or stuck in this layer of feces. For the layer to remain wet long enough and get thick enough for bluebirds to get "stuck" then this layer will NOT dry out quick enough to catch young, active healthy birds. IF these are inexperienced bluebirds that are evolving to not clean out their young's nests then in most parts of the country they would be selected by predators and they would become the "weakest link" and be eliminated. Even after the young left the nest their feathers would be "scented" with this stench and this would lead hungry predators to them just as strong perfume will turn a man's head on a crowded street. Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas From: ke4fej1, ke4fej1"at"email.msn.com Hi All, I am still here haven't missed an e-mail. I can only put my vote in... I like the name "Fecal Glue." We are not writing the books, but I think using words that make people aware is just fine. So between "Sticky Goo" and "Fecal Glue" I think the later is a step up and sounds a little more technical but not too much. ... I still have my 200 ft of wood to cut for new BB houses. Just finished writing the Bluebird Update for the Myakka Livin' magazine like I have each month this year. We had a report of 50 BBs in one of my Monitor's yard...going in and out of the boxes and sitting everywhere. They are just checking out places around the area. Christy Sarasota, FL web site: http://ke4fej1.tripod.com/ From: BOBFRANZ13"at"aol.com Count me in as preferring "fecal glue" to describe nest goop that sometimes ensnares bluebird's feet. Bob, Placentia From: Evelyn Cooper, emcooper"at"bayou.com If I had experienced feet glued together and knew for sure it was not a broken egg or any other reason, I would label it the same way. We all need to understand that we do not all have the same problems on our trails. This thread started out with a person asking about the "fecal glue" as she described it and there have been several that seem to have this problem and have given good answers. Some have not wanted to discuss it, but hey, that's what the delete key is for! Evelyn Cooper Delhi, LA... From: Wendell Long, mrsimple33"at"go-concepts.com Though Henry David Thoreau said, The bluebird carries the sky on his back. My bluebird did not know, since he was very busy, carrying out the fecal sac. He may be seen hard at work at the following link: http://www2.go-concepts.com/~mrsimple33 Wendell Long Waynesville, Ohio From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 11:47 AM Subject: Re: female gone / questions Beverly, congratulations on the three Bluebirds that fledged from the single-mom box. As to the two that died in the nest, perhaps the old nest There is a photo of a dead nestlings stuck in a gluey layer of fecal muck of a tiny 4" Gilbertson tube at the bottom of: That web page might help you with your question on which box size to use. The above photo of the larger floored box had a large clutch (like yours). Beverly, you did a great job in helping the single mom fledge the majority of her clutch. I particularly was impressed that you notice past clutches with no problems in the box spent 20 to 21 days in the box prior to fledge compared to this troubled box with an ammonia smell, two dead chicks that fledged much earlier (about 17 days). Your post was packed with observations and possibilities. If all your questions weren't fully covered, please ask again. Linda Violett From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 5:18 PM Subject: fecal glue photo I have company coming for the weekend and need to do some cooking and clean my house, so I figured what better time to procrastinate by working on a webpage on fecal glue! I have a lovely photo for those who don't believe in it, along with a summary of what happened and info I gleaned from the Best of Bluebird_L archives. Bet from CT Fecal Glue: http://www.sialis.org/fecalglue.htm Preventing Hypothermia: http://www.sialis.org/hypo.htm Great shot of parent removing a fecal sac in Cher's video clip of the fledging process: PS I saw a female blue take a fecal sac out of a nest the other day, fly off onto a fallen broken branch and stick the sac on the end of the branch. Reminded me of a kid sticking some used gum on a bed post. At NABS 2006, Keith showed a neat photo of a fecal sac dumping area where they were all dropped in one spot. Some birds like tree swallows drop fecal sacs in bodies of water, perhaps to avoid attracting predators. From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 6:44 PM Subject: Re: fecal glue photo Hi Bet, Weird. I had several nests look just like that (minus the mealworms). This is the first time i'd seen that, so i'm blaming the weather. This Wednesday i found a baby bluebird in a box with a huge build up of poop stuck to its tail feathers. So i carefully picked the poop off of the tail & cleaned the feet with my drinking water. It was cool enough that i didn't want to rinse off the poor guy's tummy, so i left that little bit of poop there. I put him in the grape vines with his parents flying around & tossed the gunky nest. 4 birds hatched in that nest, but 2 were dead last week. I'm assuming the other survivor wasn't weighed down with a big poop lump & fledged just fine. No pictures, tho -- I was more concerned with keeping the poor guy cleaned off. I couldn't even read the band numbers, the poop was so thick. Yuck. yours, Torrey Torrey Wenger From: Linda Ruth [mailto:lindaruth"at"earthlink.net] Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 7:20 PM Subject: RE: fecal glue photo Thanks Bet for that lovely picture to view with dinner. In all seriousness, I have seen this in my budgie nestlings when I accidently add too much water to their mother's pellets (Budgies feed their young by regurgitating food for them). Budgies do not clean their nest boxes at all, so the result is not pretty. It takes lots of warm water, lots of Q-tips and lots of patience to get all the little toes out of their fecal "casts". Linda Ruth From: EHDerry"at"aol.com [mailto:EHDerry"at"aol.com] Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 10:52 PM Subject: Re: fecal glue photo I just found the same thing yesterday. It looked just like Bet's photo, minus the mealworms, but with dead chicks in it. Originally a nest of five, due to fledge this past Sunday when it was so cold and wet. I took mealworms to them on Sunday and found the parents were calling them out of the box. When I checked on Wednesday, three were dead in the box with all this fecal glue around them and under them. I had banded them on Mother's Day and could not read the band numbers when I found the dead ones. What a mess. I also found another nest on my trail with 5 dead chicks in it on the same day. Weather I am sure was to blame. Subject: Re: broken eggs Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 13:43:22 -0500 From: elizabeth.young"at"spotplus.com This is my first year to get birds to nest in my yard even though I've tried for 6 years. After reading what everyone else does (for 6 years!), I guess everyone has their own way, but this is what I decided to do. With my first nesting, I took out the nest to save in case of an emergency, but they seemed upset so I microwaved the nest and put it back. It was clean in appearance and they added a little to it. 1st nesting had 5 eggs, 2 hatched. I removed the unhatched eggs after a week or so and checked them. They looked like eggs! We have a real problem with fire ants and rat snakes, so I didn't want any extra scent. Near Dallas, TX |
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
|
