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Results from Bluebirders (Part 2)Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 12:57:29 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Of 34 nest boxes reporting (includes one natural cavity!) EABL: TRES: HOSP: UNOCCUPIED:
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 10:26:40 -0600 Hi All; Bob Wilson Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:04:22 -0400 The story begins here: Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 18:51:39 -0500 This year as an experiment, I have tried Van Ernt and Gilbertson boxes along with my NABS boxes. Here is the info on my 26 box trail around our 75 acres: Eastern Bluebirds Tree Swallows House Wrens I have 20 NABS boxes, 4 Van Ernt boxes, and 2 Gilbertson boxes. I have one interesting observation from a non-cavity nester. I have House Finches that pop off the yellow flowers from my hummingbird feeders so they can drink the nectar easier. They drain my feeders in one day this way. I tried using "Funtack" to stick the flowers more firmly to the feeders, and it has helped some, but they still pop them off. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Mary Roen, River Falls, WI Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 08:44:37 -0700 (PDT) Billi Ashby Good morning all. Just thought I would give a short report on my 6 NABS boxes mounted in my 6 acre yard. Also I am very excited as I have Tree Swallows that have decided to nest. I had never seen one before until last year and they only stayed for three days. 1. Five Eastern Bluebird nestlings 6 days old. Two of my boxes are empty at the moment. I also have four 3 day old House Finch nestlings in a fern on my front porch (so it may get a little puney looking). Barn Swallows are building in my tool shed, also a first. I always had them on the farm and just couln't figure out why they didn't nest. I also have 10 additional boxes on our farm with plans to add more this fall. Will report on them another time. A short note to Wendell, I didn't drop off the face of the earth. Had to leave for a while due to illness in the family. Also thanks to Pauline for pictures. They convinced 30 men
in a welding shop that the cute little bird that built a nest
in an empty ear plug box was not so Happy Birding Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 13:56:13 -0400 To: The Constituency, Bruce Burdett, NH Bluebird Conspiracy, Sunapee NH Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2001 15:29:02 -0400 Hi all, Yes, we're having a tough year, too. Lost 42 eggs/young; 27 eggs; 1, 1, 4, 5, 1, 5, 5, 5, and 15 youngsters: 3, 5, 5, 2. 11 broods have fledged as of June 5 totalling 44 baby eastern blues. We have 95 boxes, 22-23 of which are EABL-claimed. It's been really cold and wet; actually heard peepers singing the evening of June 4. Unbelievable. Hope the rest of the season is better. Dot; Acton, Mass Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 18:08:35 +0000 One this I forgot to mention in the results. THERE WERE NO HOUSE SPARROWS YET ON THIS TRAIL. GREETINGS FROM COLORADO Report from the Unaweep Trail (Ute word "canyon with two mouths") 59 nesting boxes---------31 Wilson PVC type 28 Wood NAB's type ALL predation occurred in boxes on wooden post. We just did not get them changed to EMT pipe this spring because of too much snow in April. We use "T" post when possible and place the hole at about 60". Some volunteers have to use a mirror to monitor the nest. The last few years have been better producers with almost the same number of boxes. (2000) 193 MOBL 13 ATFL, (1999) 123 MOBL 40 ATFL (1998) 70
MOBL 20 ATFL Bob Wilson
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 11:33:48 -0500 These are the totals for my Bluebird year: # EGGS NOT HATCHED: 15 # FLEDGED: 30 Bluebirds Plus FIVE (5) Chickadees that fledged DOTTIE Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 13:15:18 -0500 Dottie, How many boxes do you have? I think it is a good idea to post the totals for the year. I have 11 boxes (with plans next year for 100) on a golf course and fledged 34 babies (EABL)this year, and about 8 sterile eggs. Phil Berry ----- Original Message ----- ... Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 14:47:22 -0500 Hi Phil, I think I was in your part of the world last week. I was in Port Richey. I have four BB boxes myself but I monitor two BB boxes down the road from me which was part of my count. Wow! You are really going to be busy next year with 100 BB boxes. 11 boxes is quite a goodly amount. You did good, too, with your BB babies this year. I thought I had too many BB eggs that didn't hatch but five of them was from the tractor accident I had during the first nesting. I'm going to be pairing two of my BB boxes for Tree Swallows next year. I had a Tree Swallow scare off BB mom who left four eggs. I'm also going to be putting up two supergourds for Purple Martins. I'm thinking about getting a supergourd for the Bluebirds also. PMCA sells the BB one. You put it on a shepherds hook. Good Birding!
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 21:03:35 -0500 Hi all! I made the rounds of my trail this weekend and cleaned out the last two nests. My totals for the year out of 26 nestboxes are as follows: Eastern Bluebirds Tree Swallows House Wrens The EABL count is up from 34 in 2000, and 45 in 1999. Last
fall I moved 9 of my nestboxes into better habitat, and it paid
off. I had my first nest of Mary Roen, River Falls, WI Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 11:12:52 -0700 Here are my Bluebird totals for 2001 # Nestboxes: 8 (7 in new locations) # Eggs laid: 14 # Eggs not hatched: 2 # FLEDGED: 12 Bluebirds # Other species: 0 Had some Tree Swallow interest, but nothing happened, maybe next year? # Nestboxes occupied by HOSP: 2 Note: These 2 nest boxes were an experiment to find out more about HOSP behavior. These 2 nest boxes will be relocated (for the 2002-nesting season) 100 yards away from the building that they were near (20 feet away). The new mounting height will be 5 feet from the base of the entry hole to the ground (like all my other BB nest boxes) instead of the over 6+ feet at the previous location. # HOSP eggs laid: 0 # HOSP nests removed: 15 Happy Bluebird Trails To You, Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 15:12:04 -0400 5 boxes in all, 1 occupied by Tufted Titmice, 4 by Eastern American Bluebirds: EABL's: Nesting attempts: 6 (2 boxes had 2 nests each) Eggs laid: 28 Nestlings: 21 Fledglings: 21 Unhatched eggs: 7 (25% of eggs laid) TUTI box: Nesting attempt: 1 Eggs laid: 6 Nesltings: 6 Fledglings: 4 Unhatched eggs: 0 (2 very weak nestlings must have died and been removed from the nest (by parents) on about day 7) Diane Seward Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 18:34:59 -0500 Year Species # Eggs #Chicks # Fledged 2001 Eastern 57 43 37 I had 3 active boxes in 2000 and 5 active boxes in 2001. I have a total of 11 boxes and I enter my data on the Transcontinental Bluebird Trail. Evelyn Cooper Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2001 18:08:08 -0700 (PDT) Hi All, I've been wanting to post my year end totals, but I'm still waiting. I checked my "last" active box on July 29 expecting to find the five bluebirds had fledged. Somewhere between the 10th and 29th they did and another nest was built and contained the fist two of four eggs. Today there are still four healthy bluebirds yet to fledge. All the tree swallows have left the park. A mile away, along the river, they can be seen in the hundreds feeding and sitting on the power lines. Bluebirds are abundant throughout the park. Totals (brief) I hope to soon have my year end report completed. If I could keep away from migrating shorebirds and raptors or just stay out of the woods it would probably be sooner. But hey, its 9:00 on a beautiful clear night with a full moon and 57 degrees, what's a boy to do? J E Elliot ===== Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 18:30:57 -0400 This is what I had for this year. 46 boxes 2-hole hanging box 1 box NABS boxes 32 boxes Clear View 2 boxes PVC Round 5 boxes PVC Sq. 1 box Slant 1 box Chickadee box 1 box Peterson 3 boxes Maynard Sumner P. S. All Michigan Bluebirders, do not forget about the Michigan Bluebird Society meeting Sept. 15 at Lansing, Michigan. If anyone needs a map let me know and I will send one. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. From: "Pamela Ford" jpford"at"home.com As this is only my second year with bluebird nest boxes, I'd like some more experienced interpretation of my results. (They've been posted to the TBT site.) With one set of paired boxes in my backyard, I had three nestings from the same bluebird pair. The first nesting contained 4 eggs, 2 hatched, 1 chick killed by HOSP, 1 fledged, never saw it again and both parents started immediate new nest. The second nesting contained 4 eggs, 4 hatched, HOSPs trapped, 4 fledged, after two weeks saw all 4 fledglings, after the third week 1 disappeared, still see 3. The third nesting contained 4 eggs, 2 hatched, 2 fledged, after two weeks I now see one of the fledglings with the parents and 2 second-nesting siblings. My questions... isn't this a high number of unhatched eggs - (4 of 12) 33%? When the fledglings "disappear" so soon after fledging, are they moving on or is it more likely that they've died? For the birds that have fledged, 43% were never seen again. If that is a mortality rate, it seems high. Assuming that the disappeared birds are dead, the mortality rate from egg to fledgling is (4 of 12) 67%, from hatchling to fledgling it's (4 of 8) 50%. Are these numbers normal? Are my assumptions off? The happy news is that I have a "gaggle" of bluebirds in my backyard twice each day, morning and evening, as they sit on the nestboxes to hunt and frequent the birdbath. With all six of them here, they seem to do a constant ballet of one flying to a vantage point, the displaced bird then moving to the next perching spot and displacing another, and so on. They rarely sit still. As always, thanks in advance for your insight and knowledge. Pam in Abingdon, Harford County, Maryland From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"srnet.com Pamela, et al, I'm convinced that these fledglings simply go somewhere else for awhile, maybe back into the woods where the cover is better and some seeds and berries are available, and possibly even some shade-loving insects, - both winged and earthbound. It is normal and routine here in SW NH for the fledglings to 'disappear' in late Aug. and early Sep., and then reappear later on in little family flocks which often stay around at least through all of Oct. Indeed, in extreme southern NH these flocks are now overwintering
here and there. They overwinter routinely in MA and CT, especially
adjacent to rivers I'm doing a lot of conjecturing here, but I've heard others
make similar conjectures. Often we find ourselves making our
field observations and then trying to figure out what they mean.
33% of eggs not hatching may be just a little high, but not
alarmingly so. 25% is closer to what I get, year in and year
out. (My estimates are based on monitoring of my 62 houses.)
As Keith has so lucidly explained, attrition is high in most
biological species. It's astronomically high in Bruce Burdett, Sunapee NH From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"srnet.com Pam, et al, When I speak of "the fledgings" I don't mean that they go alone. They go wherever they go under the guidance, leadership, and tutelage of the parent birds, who are usually seen along with their young ones, keeping an eye on things. Bruce Burdett SW NH From: "Maynard Sumner" msumner6"at"home.com Out of 46 boxes, I get 25% Maynard Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ----- Original Message ----- ... Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 17:55:34 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA In terms of "missing" fledged babies - I think you have great numbers on that end as well. A good 50% of fledglings succumb to predators or untimely death of one kind or another. I've witnessed more than one new fledging get nabbed by a crow having JUST left the box! This is really the normal dog eat dog world. Even still, the "missing" fledglings aren't necessarily gone, just off on their own. Once it gets colder, you might see more of them return and then spend the winter in their family group. I have so often decided some must be dead, and then sure enough they all show up at once. But you will find that each year you will have different results. Next year all of your eggs might hatch! You've done a terrific job saving your EABL from the HOSP -
your numbers are great all the way around. Perhaps you want
to continue putting up more Pamela Ford wrote: As this is only my second year with bluebird nest boxes, I'd like some more ... Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 11:06:08 -0800 As this List knows, western bluebirds have had an advantage using 2-hole mansions against house sparrows on my established trail since 1999. I am trying to identify which feature(s) of the 2-holed boxes provides the advantage. Not a single adult bluebird has been killed/mutilated in any of my 2-holed mansions. Sparrows killed one clutch of bluebird babies in a 2-holed mansion during the 1999 conversion of my established trail; and sparrows killed bluebird babies during the 2001 conversion of the golf course trail this year; http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/conversion.html. Our local area coordinator, Dick Purvis, thinks my good results might be the results of a larger box rather than the 2 holes. Therefore, at the end of the 1999 season, I provided him 3 of my older 1-holed large boxes and 3 of my 2-holed larger boxes to try at his sparrow problem sites. Below is a report from him using the mix of large boxes. There are not enough details provided for me to zero in on whether his mixed results might be due to the 1-hole vs. 2-hole feature nor whether there was active bluebird/sparrow competition in some instances (both success and failures). If anyone has any questions on his report, you may contact him directly at Dickersly"at"aol.com. DICK PURVIS REPORT BELOW: Koch Park, 3 boxes with previous history of HOSP problems 2000 3 large boxes replaced standard boxes. 5 nests. No HOSP problems 2001 3 standard boxes replaced large ones. 6 nests. Probably no HOSP problems. 2 nests - all young dead. 1 nest bad eggs. Oak Knoll, 1 box 2000 standard box, HOSP problems. Paired box. WEBL OK in one HOSP in other. 2001 replaced with large 1-holer. HOSP and WEBL fighting. HOSP won. paired with standard box. HOSP took both. Took all down. Boysen Park, 1 box 2000 standard box. HOSP nest over WEBL nest. Moved box. HOSP nest. took down. 2001 put up large 2-holer. HOSP nest. Took down. Juarez Park, 1 box 2000 standard box. HOSP problems. Took down. 2001 large 1-holer put up. HOSP nest over WEBL nest. Cleaned. Box stolen Schweitzer Park, 1 box 2001 standard box. HOSP nest with egg. HOSP WEBL fighting. Replaced with 2-holer. WEBL nest - fledged OK. HOSP nest with eggs. Emptied. 1/2 WEBL nest. No further activity. Hart Park, 3 boxes 2000 HOSP problems at 2 boxes. 2001 replaced 2 boxes with 1-holer and 2-holer. 5 successful WEBL nests. Amerige Park, 1 box 1999 severe HOSP problems 2000 replaced with 2-holer. 2 successful WEBL nests. 2001 replaced with standard box. 2 WEBL nests. No problems Ford Park, 1 box 1999 severe HOSP problems. 2000 replaced with 2-holer. 2 successful WEBL nests 2001 HOSP nest. Took down 2-holer. Put up standard box 1 block away. one WEBL nest fledged. Then HOSP nest. Took down box. Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 16:09:28 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Linda, I am pleased that the question of whether the 2-holer is successful because of the 2 holes and size or simply the size of the box is in process. With a small study such as yours I believe other factors enter in on the picture. For instance, I believe a bluebird's temperament and experience can make a significant difference AT LEAST SOME OF THE TIME, to whether a HOSP can take over a nest or not. I've witnessed my backyard blue as the Arnold Shwartz. of the neighborhood. Man, don't mess with his box or else. However, I can't say he could protect it if a rogue HOSP was on the loose - as I've witnessed rogues on the loose and they are nothing short of viscous. Linda, I wonder what would happen if you replaced some of your 2-holers ON YOUR TRAIL with same sized one holers. That might give you more accurate information more quickly - at least on your trail. You know your blues and which ones are 1st year nesters, which ones are experienced, etc. Meanwhile it is great to have others experiment - but I think your trail should be a central focus for starters -since your trail has been the spotlight of success for the 2-holer. Just a thought. :-) H Linda Violett wrote: ... Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 12:42:07 -0800 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Haleya, you asked why I didn't do a reverse test on my own trail to 1-holed large boxes. It is because the 2-holers have worked 100% of the time (regardless of bluebird temperament) on my established trail and I didn't have the heart to do a reverse test with my birds. With Dick's trail, there was nothing to lose. That's why I asked him to do 1-hole vs. 2-hole test on his own trail. Dick also agreed to revert back to standard boxes after success with larger boxes (again at my request) because I couldn't bring myself to do it on my own trail. Another local monitor, Bob Franz, has sparrow problems and we just hung three 2-holers where he had removed standard 1-holers because of sparrow problems; and Fawzi Emad (Maryland) will test them next year with his eastern bluebirds. Both Bob Franz and Fawzi Emad have agreed to report their weekly results which will be tracked on line during 2002 at: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/test2002.html Fawzi Emad's test with eastern blues should provide details we need because he will have his 2-holers placed where he can view the daily action from his house. Haleya Priest wrote: Haleya Priest Amherst MA ... Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 17:35:11 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Hi Linda - I can only imagine how hard it would be to do ANYTHING DIFFERENT on your trail since you've got 100% success, but still, it might be something to consider. :-) And that is great that Fawzi will be able to keep a check on the 2-holer this coming nesting season. :-) H Linda Violett wrote: Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. ... From: Jgandy8580"at"aol.com Titmice fledged today, but EABB's still in box - maybe tomorrow. Yard is full of baby robins, being fed by adults, and one blue jay who appears even more immature than the robins. Still waiting for a hummingbird to show. From: Jgandy8580"at"aol.com Bluebirds should fledge today or tomorrow. Male very testy now. Buzzes me with clicking beak if I pass within 20' of house. Used to do this only when I opened box to check on young (which I haven't done for several days, now they might get scared out too soon). Have live-trapped and released elsewhere 6 squirrels in 5 days (on one little acre). This morning there was a cat in the trap, and me with a yard awash in baby robins and even a flightless baby blue jay. An hour's futile calling only revealed there's no place around here to take a cat on Sunday. I prefer to do the responsible thing, but there are limits, and holding on to a cat for 24 hours is beyond my limit, so I released it far away where release the squirrels. Date: Sun, 9 Jun 2002 09:15:24 -0700 (PDT) From Samuel S. Lewis State Park, Hi all, Last week proved to hectic to submit a trail report. My daughter's high school graduation on Friday and the party on Saturday kept me quite busy. A lot of my business was in the yard, so I had the chance for observations that don't usually have. It took at least two full days for the four bluebirds to fledge. The parents flew from perch to perch calling, sometimes in full view of the box, other times from farther away. The young popped their heads out, but were reluctant to leave. I witnessed the most impressive flight of a bluebird as he guarded the box. At one point when the pair were far from the box a number of robins and grackles were working the lawn in front of the box. From around the pool and through the trees he buzzed the area until all was secure. Two days later I knew the young had fledged as a mockingbird perched atop the box unmolested. I watched a pair of Carolina wrens spending a lot of time at a garden shelf and thought they were nesting. When I checked it seemed more likely that they were gathering material from a dead plant on the shelf. Last night while cleaning up I again saw a wren fly from the shelf. Instead of one of the empty nestboxes available they decided a plastic cup behind a few empty planters was a better spot. Three beautiful eggs in a soft grass nest. Things were busy as well at the park on my last check. Three of the four eastern bluebirds' nesting fledged eleven birds. The fourth still has four nestlings. The first box with a second brood has five eggs. The Carolina chickadees fledge seven birds from two of the three nests with one box still holding six nestlings. In the one box I found two two dead nestlings in the box, last weeks unaccounted missing. In the other box, where three fledged I found an active ant colony in the back corner of the box. This is the first problem I've had with ants. I'm not sure how this affected the nesting as I found no dead nestlings or eggs when I cleaned the box. They started with six eggs and then five nestlings. The tree swallows have nine active nests with most containing six eggs. One has six nestlings and there are two that I'm having trouble with. The number of eggs have gone up and down in one box and another has only two eggs. I'm not sure if it's my mistakes or there is something I'm missing. Hopefully today's check will help me figure it out. Only one box out of the usual four or five has six hatchlings. The others are unoccupied with one dummy nest and another which looks like it may be used yet. The house sparrows are sharing a sight with tree swallows. I'll be walking the wire until after the swallows fledge. See ya there, ===== From: "BONNIE A. YEAGER" dement"at"frognet.net A TRES nest was completed as of 5/11 in a PVC nest box. There
were no eggs in the nest on 6/01. On 6/07 there were five eggs.
The female probably laid the first egg on either 6/02 or 6/03.
That is about 22- 23 days after the nest was completed. Patience
is apparently a necessity with TRES. No sign of the HOSP that tried to take over a vacated PVC nest box on 5/16 (box that fledged four bluebirds on 5/15). This box is empty today, but has been prime bluebird real estate for the past three years. It has had two successful fledges of four bluebirds each year for the past two years and one fledge of four this spring. I don't understand why the bluebirds have not started a second nest in this box. Maybe it was the encounter with the HOSP on 6/16, or maybe it was the translucent top I put on the nest box to deter the HOSP, or the Mocking Bird that owns the general vicinity around this nest box - who knows! Anyway, I removed the translucent top and put back the opaque top on 5/31. Today (6/09) I observed a female bluebird building a nest in another PVC box. This box is in partial shade throughout the day, so it is in an excellent location for a summer nest site. This is a new nest box this year and has been vacant until today. This box had a translucent top until 6/07 when it was replaced with an opaque one. I sent one bluebird nest to Terry Whitworth for a blowfly pupae
count. This nest contained ~ 30 blowfly pupae. The PVC nest
box from which I removed the nest was "protected"
by fly repellant. The fly repellant was not located inside of
the nest box. The fly repellant is of a mixture of cedar and
citronella oils. Without going into the excruciating details
of this experiment, just let me say that the fly repellant obviously
did not work. I have another blowfly experiment planned for
this year, but everything depends on whether or not the From: "Ervin Davis" ervdavis"at"blackfoot.net Thought I'd bring you up-to-date. From: "Cheryl Rindfleisch" rindfleisch12"at"hotmail.com I dont' know if we'll have any more nests, but here's the known score... Nestbox count... Have a large wren population. Known to destroy 8 EABL eggs. Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 18:21:37 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda 2001 History: July 2002: OVERALL ON THE GOLF COURSE: NOTEWORTHY: No bluebirds were killed by HOSP on the golf course trail this year. A record will be set this year for total bluebirds fledged from golf course boxes. Again, I do not know which feature(s) of the 2-holed mansion, and/or my monitoring techniques enable bluebirds to hold nesting sites in competition with house sparrows. Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 18:40:07 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. 2001 History: July 2002: Only one test site has had HOSP all season (temporarily interrupted
by a swarm of bees). And, two adult female bluebirds were killed
in that box. The only difference I can see at this continuing
problem site is nearby homeowner boxes interfering with the
test site and LOTS of millet seed mixes. OVERALL: Again, I do not know which feature(s) of the 2-holed mansion (and/or my monitoring techniques) allow bluebirds to hold nesting sites in competition with house sparrows. Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 19:32:13 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. This is the last monthly comparison possible for La Mirada between 2000 and 2002 because the historical logs stopped with July. July 2000 History (monitor using 1-holers): Year 2001, only 13 bluebirds fledged. Audubon society gave
up park, took down all boxes at season's end because of the
intensity of house sparrow problems. July 2002 (Susan Bulgar and I using 2-holers): OVERALL: This year's fledgling gain, coupled with the inactive (non-HOSP) boxes during July, prompted Susan and I to open up more areas within the park for the 2003 season. Again, I do not know which features(s) of the 2-holed mansion (and/or monitoring techniques) allow bluebirds to hold nesting sites in competition with house sparrows. From: "Dottie, Hickory Hollow, Brown County, Indiana"
yumyumkatts"at"voyager.net Attached are my Bluebird Totals for this season. These totals are only for the first and second nestings. So far I haven't got any third nestings and don't think I will now. It's getting late. Most likely our unusual awful hot weather is the cause. #Eggs: 39 Two BB babies missing from nest I did end up with three more BB babies than I had last season. I'm hoping to put up two more boxes next season. Dottie, Hickory Hollow From: "Dottie, Hickory Hollow, Brown County, Indiana"
yumyumkatts"at"voyager.net "Dottie, Fred and all, Please see my BB totals post to BB-L. If I did it right (math was not my best subject) I come out with 92% survival rate. 36 eggs and 33 fledged We had an awfully long, wet, cold and downright nasty Spring;
however, I did not have any trouble with any of my nestings
then. I had 19 BB eggs and fledged 19 BB babies on the first
nesting. I believe my keeping my boxes winterized until after
the first nesting is what kept me from loosing any BB Dottie, Hickory Hollow Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 21:11:55 -0700 (PDT) Hello all, Koby Prater (16)
From: "BONNIE A. YEAGER" dement"at"frognet.net The corn and cucumbers are gone. I'm cutting the sweet corn stalks and feeding them to the horses. The tomatoes are still going strong. The grape vines got frosted in May, eaten by Japanese beetles in July, and the fruit was eaten by the birds in August. The garden is overrun with weeds. We haven't had a decent rain for about a month, so things are looking a bit distressed. That's all for the garden this year. It's raining now, but it isn't much. The black walnut trees don't have many nuts this year, due to the late frost, so the squirrels will have a tough winter unless the oak trees have acorns. Seeing lots of deer, but very few wild turkeys. It's about time to start brush hogging the pasture field, but the weather has been too hot for the tractor let alone the old fart behind the wheel! The barn swallows produced in abundance this year - lots of insects. In fact, there are still two nests in the barn with nestlings. This is very late for barn swallow nestlings. Barn swallows usually leave SE-OH around the last week of August. The hummingbirds are still very active on the feeders. The males seem to be protecting the feeders - not seeing a lot of females. Nectar consumption has been increasing during the last couple of weeks. My dog died. She was an Old English Mastiff. Her name was Babe and she was 12 years old. She weighed in at about 190 lbs. I buried her next to her mate who died last year. We have raised English Mastiffs for the past 25 years, so her death was the end of a long line of dogs. We replaced her, if you can replace a friend, with two dogs from the pound. One is a female St. Bernard, the other is a St. Bernard/Mastiff cross. So far they have settled in and I like both of their personalities. I think they got a good home. The last four EABL nestlings of 2002 fledged on 7/31 - 8/01. That was a few days earlier than I anticipated, so I did not see them go. I sent the nest to Terry Whitworth for a blowfly pupae count on 8/2. My cursory examination of the nest showed there were blowfly pupae present. Terry counted 55 blowfly pupae in this nest. This EABL nest box was "protected" by a Farnum flytrap. The flytrap was placed about 1 foot in front of the nest box, about 18 inches high, and downwind from the nest box. The flytrap was set up a few days before the eggs hatched. The idea was to lure the blowflies away from the nest and contain them in the trap. Needles to say, the trap caught lots and lots of flies, but apparently not the one(s) that laid the eggs. All it takes is one fly. Possibly the trap was too close to the nest box. Need to try a different approach next year. The HOWR nest I sent to Terry Whitworth contained NO blowfly pupae - an unexpected result! This is the first nest in the past two years that was absolutely free of blowfly pupae. Terry stated that HOWR nests, possibly due to materials of construction, are know to have lower infestation rates than the nests of other cavity nesting birds. If memory serves me correctly, the HOWR nest was constructed mainly of last year's leaf petioles from a black walnut tree. Fred Yeager, From: "Lawrence Herbert" lherbert"at"4state.com Cherokee Co., KS Bluebird trail, 2002 # boxes monitored.......................................30 # eggs from successful nests..........................107 # white egg clutches (one successful)................2 From: "KimMarie Markel" auroramn"at"duranetweb.com Hi All, Just wanted to share some observations from my first year with EABLs. We had our first pair show up in mid-May. After talking to local experts the consensus was that they probably had an unsuccessful first nesting due to weather conditions in our area and moved on to find us. They built a nest and hatched 5 the second week of June. All went well (ok, there was a yellow jacket invasion, but we took care of that) and to make a long story short, my last confirmed sighting of the fledges was 3. This pair went onto nest again mid August with 4 eggs, 4 hatches, and 2 confirmed fledges 3 weeks ago (both juveniles appeared to be female). Our second pair of EABL came to the front yard box right before Memorial Day. They didn't appear to be in a hurry and they hatched 5 eggs around July 4. The female "disappeared" a week later (probably a victim of a Cooper's Hawk that has taken up residence in the area) and the male continued to take care of the brood on his own/with our assistance of mealworms. All 5 hatchlings were alert and appeared healthy just a short time prior to hatching, but suddenly disappeared. There was no sign of a 4 footed predator and there was a guard on the entrance. I have to make an educated guess that all 5 fell victims to crows based on circumstances and events in the yard at the time.(crows have been very aggressive to other birds in this area over the summer). I won't get into all the details, but this has been a very strange summer. I also had a nest of robin hatchlings disappear from a nest not far from the EABLs nestbox. My "mr. mom, lone male" (who, by the way earned the awe and respect of many) stayed with us for a couple of weeks, but I haven't seen him in over a month and a half ago. I haven't seen my "back meadow" blues in 3 weeks. I miss them, but I'm hoping they will be back next year. The biggest challenge for us this summer was WATER and food supply. With almost no rain from June through August, the ground has dried up, creeks have dried up and keeping water in a bird bath has been almost impossible (in fact even now, the chickadees and goldfinches spend more time getting water from the bath than black oil sunflower seed from the feeder). At one point I watched the male Bluebird in the front, pulling up earthworms for his hungry brood because he couldn't find anything else. Trying to till the soil to prepare for next year's gardens is almost impossible - everything is so dry! (And for the record, we have a well which is also at risk of running low_ Yes, it's been an exciting, sad, and strange summer.... we are starting to examine/clean out nestboxes and are finding "weird" things - we found a dead bat in the entrance of a chalet style house (rabies??? west Nile??? anybody have any theories or ideas on this one???)... house wrens have been using very colorful and unusual feathers in their nests (some I can't even identify)... a pair of Yellow bellied sapsuckers abandoned/lost their nest to a flying squirrel. We haven't heard any Eastern Screech or Great Horned Owls this year (usually we hear them every night in the summer)... the Tree Swallows left over a month ago (we had two successful nestlings this year). All of a sudden I'm seeing Red Breasted Nuthatches but very few Downy or Hairy Woodpeckers (as compared to last year at the same time). Overall, it's been very quiet these days. I hear more crickets than birds. I don't know if it's our weather conditions or what - it just doesn't feel right. There is a "Plus" side to all of this! EABLs have been seen and heard on our rural road and THEY have gotten the attention of the neighbors. I've had 3 neighbors offer to put up boxes for their return in the spring. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU! I may not participate as much as I could/should, but I read the posts and learn and share what I read and learn from all of you. Well I guess I should go back to getting ready for fall and the colder days ahead. Wishing you all the best, kimmarie :) Varysburg, Western New York Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 20:53:52 -0500 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Let's keep our fingers crossed for better weather next spring.I hope everyone is entering data on the new and updated TBT and don't forget you've got a few more days to enter data with the TBN!!! Only a few more days till Solstice. :-) H Haleya Priest mablue"at"gis.net From: "Jim McLochlin" bluebirdbox"at"cox.net The worst of times... It appears this year will be my trails worst year ever for bluebirds. So far I don't have a single bluebird nest (therefore I also don't have any eggs). I saw my first bluebird this year in early April, right after our late season snow storm. The male bluebird was found dead in the box. The week before the box was empty. Afterwards and until this weekend I would see or hear at least an occasional bluebird on my trail. Last weekend's trip resulted in no bluebird sightings and I did not hear a single bluebird singing. I saw a lot more house sparrow activity on the trail than I have seen in the past five years combined. The best of times... I have more tree swallows nests and eggs than ever before (yes I do pair boxes where needed). I have my first ever chickadee nest on this trail. I am seeing possibly the largest variety of other migrating and resident birds that I have seen on my trail. The house sparrows seemed to have decided this might not be a good place to set up a home. I became pretty distraught over all of this and have analyzed why this is happening. Many of the answers are pretty obvious, others are not: 1) A lot of new residential construction adjacent to the trail
perimeter. Other monitors in the area have told me they are having a great year (now I know where my birds are at). So what is to become of this trail? I briefly considered pulling up stakes and moving elsewhere. Instead I believe I will stick it out for at least another year or two at this location. This location is great exposure for bluebirds, it is in a city park in the suburban part of Omaha. People who have never seen a bluebird often do at this park. Last year one of the residents near my trail told me he saw a fall migrating flock of bluebirds that numbered in the hundreds. If I do decide to relocate I will most likely remain in the park, just move a little further from the residential areas. The only problem with that is it will place me closer to the recreational (fishing, camping, picnic, hiking, etc) areas, which we all know what that brings. I am not looking for answers here, other than to wonder if
a NABS board member can remain a board member if he doesn't
fledge any bluebirds - just Jim McLochlin NABS Director, TBT Chairperson, and NABS Web Site Co-chairperson The Audubon Society of Omaha
http://audubon-omaha.org/ |
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