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Bluebirds and RobinsDate: Wed, 2 May 2001 16:59:16 -0500 Hi all you fellow bluebird fanatics, I'm a rookie landlord from Missouri where our state bird is the Eastern Bluebird. I'm a first year fledgling with a pair of bluebirds nesting on my back fence. The mama has laid and hatched 5 little ones and I think she is in her second week of brooding. I keep them well-fed daily with a saucer filled with mealworms. Lately, I've noticed the consumption of mealworms is on the decline. Could this be a reason for concern? I peeked in twice a week ago and don't have the nerve to try again. They're doing fine so far. The reason I'm writing is that I have noticed a couple of robins hanging out in our back yard and it seems often they have come to the aid of the bb's by chasing away the house sparrows when they come close to the nesting box. Sometimes, the robin will perch on top of the bb house with the mom inside and the male bluebird perched a short distance away. Has anyone ever observed robins being allies to the bluebirds? Are they a blessing or a curse? I'd be thankful for any insight you might have. Thanks, Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 10:24:25 -0400 Good Morning to one and all The 5 Baby EABB I have in the nest box in my front yard are doing great. he weather here is very hot . But when I put the meal worms out I have 2 or 3 robbins comming aroud to get them HOW CAN I STOP THIS ??? The Moma And the popa EABB are trying there best to keep the Robbins away and to feed the babies but that is a hard job. I use a bb gun to help them but that is a never ending task. But it helps. But they also come right back . Is there any other way of keeping them away other than killing our state bird. Peggy in South East Lower Michigan Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 13:03:17 -0400 (EDT) Hi Peggy, You don't kill protected song birds because they are competing for meal worms. You need to get the Bluebirds to start going into a feeder that Robins can't get into. these birds eat the same food so competition for food is normal. It's the feeding that isn't normal. You need to find another way to control the Robins. Joe Huber Venice,Fl. Charter member NABS, Charter member OBS, Life member OBS Joe
Huber http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/HOUSESPARROWCONTROL http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/RoostingBluebirds Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 12:59:33 -0400 Get yourself an enclosed feeder from a Wild Bird Center. Fawzi also has plans for one he'd probably be glad to share with you. Watch for his next post and write him. I'll also copy this to him, and maybe he'll contact you. Robins, mockers, catbirds and many other birds (starlings, blackbirds, grackles) love mealworms. Put your enclosed feeder about 30-50 feet from the nestbox, leaving one side open (it comes with one removable plastic side) until the bluebirds discover it and begin using it, then install the second plastic side, after putting a cross of masking tape on it so the birds know they can't exit there. There are 1 1/2" entry holes in both ends of the feeder, and the bluebirds soon learn to use them, but the bigger birds cannot get in. Randy Jones ----- Original Message ----- ... Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 13:28:06 -0400 Hi Randy and Peggy. Click on the following link to see the feeder plans. http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirdsfawzifeeder.htm To print a good looking copy, go to the end of the page and download the "PDF" version which prints much better using the "acrobat reader." If you have any questions, please let me know... Both Haleya and I have tested this feeder for over a year now, we think it is really great, worth the time it takes to make one. Fawzi Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 12:27:15 -0500
Specialty bird feeding stores (like Wild Birds Unlimited) usually carry bluebird feeders. Remember, it is not legal to harm robins (any bird other than pigeon, starling or House Sparrow is protected by federal law). Alicia Craig Be a Citizen Scientist, visit http://birds.cornell.edu/citsci/ Watch BirdWatch on PBS, visit http://www http://www/ .pbs.org/birdwatch -----Original Message----- ... Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 13:38:31 -0400 To this day, Robins are still my favorite bird. Here is a link to purchase an enclose Bluebird feeder = http://www.grubco.com/products/birdfeeder.htm You can also buy meal worms, etc from this site. Robert From: Peggy Olinger ... Date: 12 Jun 2001 23:00:41 -0000 Hi Peggy and EveryBIRDie! I'll Post this to the list (having not read yet all the other responses, so there could be duplication), in case anyone else has this problem. Feeding mealworms in a WBU (Wild Birds Unlimited) bluebird meal worm feeder (the "fly-through" style, with plexiglass sides and a hole at each end) to our black-capped chickadees, lo and behold, there was a grackle helping himself/herself to the mealworms. Solution? I taped a plastic lid over one hole, sketching diagonal cross-marks with a magic marker, to minimize chickadees' trying to enter/exit this entrance/exit. Put mealworms in a 3-inch flower pot saucer at this end, so grackle could no longer reach the mealworms. The chickadees and I are happy with this arrangement. Also, enjoy feeding mealworms from my hand holding a 3-inch flower pot saucer with mealworms. Happy meal worm feeding your BB! Stan Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 10:51:12 -0400 "Stan, St. Paul, MN [444355N -- 0931303W]" wrote: Feeding mealworms in a WBU (Wild Birds Unlimited) bluebird meal worm feeder (the "fly-through" style, with plexiglass sides and a hole at each end) to our black-capped chickadees, lo and behold, there was a grackle helping himself/herself to the mealworms. Stan, I know I must be dense, but could you explain how the grackle could get in, to get to the mealworms? Were the holes big enough? I thought the holes were small enough to prevent a bird as large as a grackle from entering. VMS From: "Cameron" cscott5"at"charter.net i have a male and a female daily checking my 2 backyard boxes out. and i have a robin chasing them away and they werent even bothering himthis morning they were on the nestbox mono peaking inside the nestbox the robin scared them away. i took care of the robin if you know what i mean but has any other person had this problem From: "Bill & Dot Forrester" forreste"at"ptdprolog.net I can't believe this post! Is our list turning into a hunting magazine? All native birds are protected by law. (The house sparrow and starling are not native to the US). Even if an individual has "difficulty" with laws, his conscience should tell him that it is *wrong wrong wrong* to "take care of" any of the harmless creatures who share the earth with us. This is not the kind of thing I want to be reading on this list. Dot Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 08:38:52 -0600 Not hunting, POACHING. If I "know what you mean," then I find it very disgusting. What kind of person would even consider killing a robin, or mockingbird, or any other native bird because they think it is interfering with nesting in one of our boxes?!? Do we place THAT much value on having bluebirds in our nestboxes? Tracy Powell
From: "Robt Rager" rerager"at"bright.net ` Was bothered the same way few years ago. They would not let EABL use the box. Would use everything I could think of to scare the Robin away. It ended as you said and now have EA BL using the box. Rager N/W Ohio ----- Original Message ----- Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 10:06:45 -0500 Hey Dot: I am equally appalled by the aggregious ignorance being displayed here! It is illegal, by both state and federal regulation, to so much as touch a nest or even stray feather of a native bird. The feds are being truly lenient in letting us work around bluebirds -- and if they read that ill-informed "bluebirders" are SHOOTING native birds, they could close us ALL down in the snap of a finger! Bluebirds are not "yours" -- and competition is how it WORKS out there; that's how it's set up: predator and prey and the back and forth of competition. It's designed to be like that. And to those of you who are blithely shooting white-throated sparrows, tree sparrows, house finches et al., again, you could end this program and all the grand good it has done, the education, the bluebird recovery work -- and all the pure pleasure it brings to thousands of people. It is manditory that you learn difference between our native sparrows and the house sparrow! There is no excuse; there are endless field guides/ websites/recordings to help you with this task. The house sparrow is utterly distinctive, by voice if by no other fieldmark -- but also by plumage, in all plumages. As Dot recommends, go to your nearest stable or mall with binocs and study this bird until you know it cold -- and kindly remain passive in your "control" until you actually know what it is you're "controlling". Dorothy Rogers Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 09:11:44 -0600 At 06:50 AM 4/4/02 -0600, Cameron wrote: ... While other birds such as robins may harass bluebirds briefly, they rarely cause them a great deal of concern or cause them to abandon their nests. Brief interactions between different bird species are a part of nature, and not automatically something to get concerned about! I hope you do not mean you killed the robin! A robin would not have harmed the bluebirds and are a protected native species. If I leaped to a wrong conclusion, I apologize. Kate Oschwald From: " Emily Smith" emilys7"at"earthlink.net
Dot, I totally agree with you. I cringed when I read that first post about the unlucky robin. Emily ----- Original Message ----- ... -- From: "Bruce Burdett" blueburd"at"srnet.com
Cameron, et al, I wish there were some light-hearted, good-natured, civil way to remind you that if you go around shooting native song-birds you might just end up having to pay a fine......or do some time. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: "Bill Darnell" bdarnel3"at"bellsouth.net
I see lots of posts about Robins and Mockers vs. Bluebirds. Some purely despise the Mockingbird, one of my favorites. Here in my yard, the story plays out every year. The blues, early on, take to two boxes, much closer than they usually tolerate each other. Then the Mocker's move in a little later, one in a big Red Oak, and another pair in a Bradford Pear some 60 yards or so away, on the other side of my Purple Martin colony. Complete bedlam! While one is fighting or running, another is building or feeding. And the Martins are oblivious to it all, except when a Sharp Shinned hawk visits. No one has been killed (except by the Sharpie) and no one has left. And very soon, the Eastern Kingbird will show up, and everyone, including the Martins, will dread this, because he lives up to his name, a real tyrant! Better than any TV or movie. So folks, let's get a handle on it, and have fun. And Bruce is right. Bill Darnell Cameron, et al, ... From: "Cameron" cscott5"at"charter.net i didnt say that i killed it but i took care of it so why do u got to jump to conclushions(spellin) is that all u guys do is wait for someone to say somthing so u can jump down there throat u sould be a little nicer to people and dont chew there butt untill u know what they did To: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu (BLUEBIRD-L) On Thu, 4 Apr 2002 15:11:03 -0600 "Cameron" cscott5"at"charter.net
writes: ... I think you did this so we would jump to conclusions. Maynard Sumner NABS MBS GAS OBS OBC NAHC
NAFC Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. From: "Karen Louise Lippy" brdbrain"at"superpa.net
Cameron, I once wrote an article for Sialia magazine detailing how we saved the eggs in a nest that had been abandoned by a bluebird hen after a raccoon raid. We removed some tree swallow eggs and placed the bluebird eggs in their nest. When the article was printed, they published a note with it saying that what we did was illegal. I was mortified!! I now totally agree with that statement and am GLAD it was included. I was a beginning bluebirder and bluebirds were rare in my area. What I did was wrong!! I would not do it today. I now appreciate NABS pointing out the error of my ways. I hope that in the future, you will also realize that each person who responded did so because they thought you had performed an illegal act and they were hoping to discourage others from repeating your mistake. Please don't let this exchange diminish
the joy you have in your birds and the camaraderie of others
on this list. .
----- Original Message ----- i didnt say that i killed it but i took care of it so why do u got to jump to conclushions(spellin) is that all u guys do is wait for someone to say somthing so u can jump down there throat u sould be a little nicer to people and dont chew there butt untill u know what they did From: "Ron Kingston" kingston"at"cstone.net
Cameron, if you didn't kill the Robin, then how did you get rid of it legally? Hope all is going well now with your bluebirds. Thank U The Kingston's -----Original Message----- ... From: "Cameron" cscott5"at"charter.net How i got rid of the problem robin i shot my shot gun in the air when no bluebirds were around scared him silly he flew off and i put all the fishing worms i bought out another robin im suposing a male clamed my back yard as his turf now b/c of all the food(worms) i woke up this morning to see the problem robin and the new huge male robin fighting Thank God the new robin won the fight no more problem robin P.S. my bluebird female is caryin nest materail in a out of the box i made a huge discovery i have two bluebird boxes in my back yard one with mono one without B/c i had a sparrow trap in it untill i caught him then i took it out the blues are using the box without mono maybe they prefer the box without mono From: Nancy Fish, nancyfish"at"alltel.net Nancy Fish, Nuckolls County Nebraska I have a pair of Eastern Bluebirds that are well into the building of a nest in one of our boxes. It is set in an area with Austrian pines around it. The problem now seems to be that the Robins are trying to claim all of the territory around the trees. They are sitting on top of the box and chasing away the female bluebird when she comes with nesting material. My question is this....Will the bluebirds give up the box? Has anyone else ever had robins and bluebirds nest in close proximity? From: Pamela Ford, jpford"at"comcast.net Yes, I am having the typical spring territory battles involving Robins and Bluebirds right now. It seems that each year a male Robin starts acting aggressively. This morning he has been guarding the mealworm feeder even though he can't figure out how to get into it! The Bluebirds don't seem fazed by him and just fly away briefly when he chases them. I've never had a Robin do any long term damage, or succeed in chasing the blues away. This behavior seems to last only a short time. Pam in Harford county, Maryland From: Dottie, Hickory Hollow, Brown County, Indiana, yumyumkatts"at"voyager.net A friend of mine saw a robin chase off one of her bluebirds. Dan, this was Jenny. Dottie, Hickory Hollow, Brown County, Indiana ... From: Bruce Burdett In answer to your question, no, I've never had Robins show any interest whatever in a Bluebird house, or bother the Bluebirds, or interfere with a Bluebird nesting. In fact, I can't recall noticing Robins anywhere near my Bluebird houses. My guess is that your Bluebirds will pretty much ignore the Robins and go about their business. Robins are certainly not interested in the Bluebird house as a nesting site. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: Bruce Burdett, blueburd"at"tds.net Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 3:20 PM Subject: Re: Robins & BB's Dottie, et al, No, I've never seen any sign of territoriality over worms. In my own experience, here where I am, the two species have no conflicting or overlapping wants or needs. Bluebirds have no interest in earthworms, which are just about the Robins' sole food (no pun intended) And Robins have no interest in the cavities or boxes which the Bluebirds require. About the only thing they have in common is that they're both thrushes. It's sort of like me and my neighbor.... I have no interest in NASCAR races or pro wrestling, and he has no interest in Mozart or Joseph Conrad. Bruce Burdett, SW NH From: Paula, PaulaZ"at"columbus.rr.com Nancy, I had a similar situation last year. EABL in back box and Mr. Robin kept flying on top of their box and would just sit there trying to intimidate them. The robins were building a nest in my trumpet vine arbor on our deck (great location for their nest BTW) about 10' up from the ground and about 25' from the EABL nestbox. The posturing and chasing of the bigger robin was met with a bit of counterattack by the two EABL, however, and the dispute soon died down. It was always only one robin making a stand, and two on one soon stopped problem. It was never a very aggressive threat any way - he would just sit there and try not to budge. As mentioned before, robins have no interest in the EABL nestbox. They just wanted my backyard to themselves, I imagine. Once both pairs got more involved with the incubation process, there was no trouble at all and I never saw the EABL make an aggressive move toward the robins unless the robin was sitting on their nestbox. Both families fledged all their young with no problems. So, to answer your question, I don't think your EABL will give up their box. The robins should soon calm down, and Papa Blue is a formidable force when it comes to defending his box. This spring, the EABL are back and have decided that they like the back box again. There is a EUST interested in their box too. He will never fit in there, but he cocks his head and looks inside that hole longingly. Then mom and dad swoop in and let him have it from two different directions - great to see. They have not started nest building yet, but this is definitely "their box" for the first nesting this year. As I write this, the two are sitting on top of it, ready to defend it. They know that spring is upon us and others would love their box. Paula Z From: George Kane [mailto:gwkane"at"nc.rr.com] From: musher"at"justfurfun.org [mailto:musher"at"justfurfun.org] Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 10:04 AM Subject: Robins harassing bluebirds Marilyn Slaton, SW Missouri For the last few days we have had lots of robins here. I have noticed that the robins like to chase the bluebirds to the point of apparently seeking them out to go after. If the BB are sitting on a nestbox or on the fence, the robins will fly up and make them leave. Then the BB chase the robins and the robins chase back. I have seen this many times over the past week. I don't think I have ever noticed this behavior before. Just thought it was interesting.... Marilyn Marilyn Slaton, SW Missouri From: cflindberg"at"bellsouth.net [mailto:cflindberg"at"bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 11:12 AM Subject: Strange Happenings Was sitting on back porch yesterday afternoon when I saw something that seemed strange to me. I'm new at this, but a Robin kept chaseing a Bluebird know matter where it landed. Has anyone else ever seen this. Just curious. Cal Lindberg, Lawrenceville, Ga. From: Sara Ann [mailto:sawright"at"direcway.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 11:37 AM Subject: Re: Strange Happenings Just all that raging testosterone right now. "MY yard, MY bugs, MY nest." Sara Ann Wright |
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