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Titmice (Part 2)Subject: Re: Titmouse vs. Bluebirds Unless you can put a predator guard, or somehow mount the house on a pole attached to the tree, don't mount on a tree if you have cats or 'coons. My husband insisted we mount a couple on trees last year, and 'coons got the eggs in both boxes, even with a Noel guard. Broke my heart. All our boxes are now mounted on metal conduit with predator guards! Shawn in Sevierville, TN Subject: RE: Titmouse vs. Bluebirds Mine nest in natural cavities in the wooded area surrounding my house. They I believe that natural cavities are safer than a box hanging from a tree or I am loaded with snakes, coons, possums, squirrels, along with Starlings and Evelyn Subject: Re: Titmouse vs. Bluebirds Shawn, From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 3:36 PM Subject: Titmouse video online If you have 9 minutes and a broadband connection, check this out! Bet From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
I've been emailing Paul Murray who made this video with his 13 year old son. One interesting thing is that they used a regular webcam (not a nestcam). See their story and more info on the set up, and link to video here:
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:00 AM Subject: Titmouse video - more info http://www.sialis.org/video.htm I'm sure some people are freaking out over the fact that their boxes are mounted on trees. Unfortunately, titmice and nuthatches appear to prefer boxes mounted on trees. I've got some info on making things safer here: http://www.sialis.org/tree.htm which I shared with Paul. This year I'm going to be trying the new version of the Bird Guardian (see picture on the tree link) that looks like a natural cavity and screws onto the outside of the box. Bet from CT From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 1:46 AM Subject: Re: Hole Reducers / Titmice Bet, are you planning on putting a hole reducer on the 2-holer that is being used by Tufted Titmice?
It goes without saying that nests of small birds can and should be protected from House Sparrows by using hole reducers.
Linda Violett
Yorba Linda, Calif. From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Linda and I discussed this offlist a bit. The concern I had was that Frank Navratil found that HOSP would enter a 1.25" hole (if they had a nest Linda noted something very interesting from the La Mirada, CA trail logs - while a 1.25" holed box did not stop all HOSP action, it significantly reduced HOSP activity/interest. This may be why I never catch HOSP in Van Ert's Urban Sparrow Trap, which has a 1.25" reducer on it to prevent bluebird trapping. (I have GREAT luck using the insert Van Ert trap on a nestbox HOSP have tried to claim.) I am going to put hole reducers on the INSIDE of the holes on this box (since Titmice tend to be kind of spooky about change) to help protect the Titmice on this no-trap test trail. Bet From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Thank you, Bet, for deciding to add the hole reducer. My experience shows that only one box out of about seven with 1.25" holes Sources on the internet recommend 1.25" round holes for Tufted Titmice http://www.alaweb.com/~kenwood/saba/birdinfo/birdhouse.htm#Tufted%20Titmouse And, does anyone on the List have any first-hand insight on the best hole size for Tufted Titmice? Linda Violett From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 12:41 PM Subject: Proper size for titmouse hole Now I'm starting to question part of my webpage on nestbox specs… I can't remember the source for a 1 3/8" minimum hole size for Tufted Titmice. Is it really 1.25"? I'm thinking the 1 1/8" for Black-capped Chickadees is too small. Can anyone help? Bet from CT From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1"at"cox.net]
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 1:41 PM Subject: Re: Mystery Nests Feel deep under the cotton material. Chickadees and Titmice bury their first eggs deep until the last egg is laid and incubation starts. Bluebird Bob.
Note from Webmaster: Chickadee eggs are VERY fragile and can break even if touched lightly. From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] No one has yet responded to the question of the correct hole size for Tufted Titmice so the question is being presented again. Tufted Titmice are nesting on Bet's experimental no-trapping trail this year and I have recommended that a hole reducer be placed on the holes. Internet sources state 1.25" as the size to use for Tufted Titmouse nestboxes and, if that is correct, 1.25" Bet is wanting to use reducers closer to 1 & 3/8" and if that is done, the effectiveness of the hole reducer as protection from House Sparrows would be negligible. Anyone know the correct hole size for Tufted Titmice? Keith? Linda Violett From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas I don't think a 1&3/8" round hole will stop many if any House Sparrows from entering a nestbox. ONCE you have Tufted Titmice using a nestbox I feel certain that they could enter a 1&1/4" round hole and if you add a 3/4" thick board with this size entrance hole to the nestbox they are already using then they should accept this. Bet is actually the first person I heard of that plans on adding the extra guard on the INSIDE of the nestbox. This is a BRILLIANT idea as the birds SHOULD accept this a lot easier or quicker than changing the outside of the nestbox by adding the guard to the outside front when you already have smaller cavity nesters using a "bluebird" nestbox. You would want to be CAREFUL you did not drop something and crush the eggs though. The areas where I have had House Sparrows using 1&1/4" holes was where we were using double compartment nestboxes. One with a 1&9/16" round hole and then a second box above the bluebird sized compartment that had 1&1/4" We placed about 10 of these double boxes in the park in 1988 I believe. I do not recall EVER having the chickadees or titmice chose one of these smaller holed compartments. They ALWAYS chose the larger holes and then we added 1&1/4" hole guards to reduce the sizes of the holes. House Sparrows are common in this park, not an epidemic but it seems a few individual sparrows WILL get through these smaller holes even if they are 1/2" to 3/4" thick. It would be a good experiment if Bet could add a precise 1&1/4" round reducer and see if the titmice will use this. Then she could wait a few days and replace that with a 1&3/16" round hole and then on down to a 1&1/8" JUST to see if the titmice can and will use these smaller holes IF we FORCE them to. As a side note: We have hundreds of people using Dellwood Park everyday and I still have three of these original double compartment nestboxes up. Only two of them still have the smaller holes but they are now worn out to about 1&5/16" from their looks but I will measure them with a dial caliper to be sure. Both of these smaller holed compartments had House Sparrows in them earlier last month before I trapped them in these nestboxes. BUT two pairs of house sparrows were actually nesting in both compartments at the same time. All these boxes in the park are mounted at a height of about five feet to the bottoms of the boxes and in 20 years there has been very little vandalism. All these boxes are simply locked with a double headed nail dropped in a hole to lock the doors. There are 13 bluebird sized compartments in this one park this year. We normally have 4>6 pairs of bluebirds nesting here during May on 36 acres. We had nine pairs once back in the 90's. There are two large baseball fields, they removed a softball field and replaced that with a huge central fire station. There is a large city swimming pool, large community Boy/Girl Scout building, multiple parking lots, two large pavilions, one bandstand, three tennis courts, two basket ball courts and one large playground area for small children. More than a mile of paved city streets dissect this park into seven separate pieces. On the north side of this park is four lane Highway 49, actually more than 80 feet of pavement with turn lanes and shoulders. West is old single family residential with under 1,000 square feet living space for a couple of blocks and then four lane Hwy. 271 with all our fast food joints on the south end of town. South of the park is the original "old money" mansions built back in the 1940's on into the late 60's with some over 4,000 square feet living space. East is solid town houses stretching out into a flood plain from Hart Creek and then Modern New money housing with 3,000 to 6,000 square feet living space. KK From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 9:09 AM Subject: Response needed: Hole size for Tufted Titmouse I am still looking for solid confirmation that a 1.25" hole reducer is acceptable for Titmice from someone who had them nesting in a box with that hole size. In my limited experience, I have never had titmice in a box that had anything less than a 1.5" hole, and have not tried a hole reducer. I know they fit through the cage style feeders much more readily than chunky bluebirds. Very few sources have ANY info on Titmice, and many of the others that do have info don't mention hole size. Most sources (including the Bluebird Monitor's Guide and The Birdhouse Network) that I double-checked yestoday DO say 1.25" is okay for titmice. But I'm worried about the internet-ual habit of proliferating misinformation because someone wrote it somewhere… I messed up and put that 1 1/8" hole size was okay for Titmice on my Titmouse webpage because I read it somewhere but I really don't believe it (BCCHs weight 11 grams) and changed it. The one source I got that said 1 3/8" for Tufted Titmice was http://www.birdwatchin.com/nestbox-guide.html. There is no commercially available hole reducer made in that size that I know of. I posted this question on the Bluebirding Forum (Garden Web) also - one said they just had TUTI in 1.5" holers, and another said "I don't have very much information on the subject but I have a nestbox I built myself for the TUTI or Carolina Chickadees. The entrance hole is 1 1/4". The TUTI checked it out last spring but didn't built any nest. I saw them checking the same nestbox out earlier this spring but they never built a nest in it. To me it looked like the TUTI had to squeeze through the 1 1/4" hole. The dees are checking out this same nestbox every morning and evening going in and out with ease. The TUTI did start a nest in the EBB box which has a 1 1/2" hole. But the BBs chased the TUTI away and took over that box and are nesting it in. That is what has happened in my yard with TUTI so far." From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Thank you, Keith, on your response regarding Tufted Titmice hole sizes. I agree that a 1 & 3/8" hole size (hardly smaller than 1.5") will stop many House Sparrows. If a guard of this size were chosen to "protect" Titmice from House Sparrows, it would be hardly worth disturbing skittish Titmice to change the box hole at all. But *if* 1.25" holes can easily be used by Titmice, that would afford protection from most House Sparrows and be worth the trouble of adding the reducer. The reducer Bet ordered is made of thin metal and, I too, I like Since Bet is working with 2-holed boxes, she has the option of intermediate changes to the holes (which I've done on my on trail of 2-holed boxes). Most monitors recommend that hole reducers be added after an egg is laid. Trapping can be done in conjunction with 2-holed boxes but that is not to be done on Bet's experimental trail. If trapping were to be done by Bet, credit of the 2-holers would automatically be attributed to monitor action rather than Bluebird action. The test was supposed to be a non-trapping test with 2-holers with competing House Sparrows and Bluebirds. So far, there is no evidence of a Bluebird/HOSP battle but it is still early in the season. The Titmouse nest was an unexpected surprise. Obviously, Titmice cannot overpower House Sparrows in a nestbox scuffle and *if* 1.25" hole reducers can easily be used by Titmice, they should be added as quickly as possible. But as Bet indicated, we want to be certain that any change that is made to the (rare) nesting of a Tufted Titmouse is done with careful forethought of options based on factual information. Linda Violett From: Cher [mailto:thebbnut"at"hughes.net] I use a 1-1/4" hole reducer on an old nestbox on a movable post as a trap box for HOSP. It keeps the Bluebirds from going in, but doesn't keep out the HOSP. They might not prefer a box with a 1 1/4" hole if they have other choices, but it doesn't prevent them from taking one. Cher ~ Finger Lakes region, NY State From: Linda Gordon [mailto:lmgordon"at"bellsouth.net] Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 1:18 PM Subject: Re: Chickadee eviction? I had a CACH nest in one of my boxes with a camera. I could hardly get anything done as my eyes remained glued to the display. The CACH has tried to build in this box for two years now, but always got evicted by either the TUTI or the EABL, neither of which ended up nesting in that box.
This year I did something that isn't recommended and put a 1 1/8" hole reducer on the box while she was still in the process of building her nest. She readily accepted it and went on to lay five beautiful little eggs. They all hatched and successfully fledged a couple of weeks ago.
It is such a joy to sit on the deck and watch them visit the suet log, just a few feet away from where we are sitting. I would have CACH's nest in my boxes anytime. They are such cute little birds.
I also have a TUTI nesting in my front box (camera installed in box as well). She laid five eggs and all hatched. It has been difficult watching this one though as she removed one of the babies about five days ago. It seemed like the baby was still alive so I'm not sure why. She then only would feed three of the four left. Now she has only three nestlings left and will only feed two of them.
Linda
Boiling Spgs, SC
(zone 7b)
From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Trapping is not an option for Bet on this experimental 2-holed trail. Even though trapping is not to be done on this trail, perhaps Bet could add a spooker to the Titmouse box. Spookers are NOT permitted on boxes with Bluebird/HOSP battles, but it might be an option for smaller birds on this no-trapping experimental site. What do you think, Bet? Linda Violett From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1"at"cox.net] I will weigh in with my two cents. Here I don't need to use anything but the 1 and 1/2 inch hole for Tufted Titmice. They are tough little birds and in more than 10 years i have never had a Titmouse killed or a nest disrupted by house sparrows. They can take care of themselves. I even have them hiss and peck rapidly on the inside of the box to fool a predator into thinking there is a snake in the box. Bluebird Bob. From: wensuz"at"isp.com [mailto:wensuz"at"isp.com] Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:07 PM Subject: Re: Tufted Titmouse Hole - 2nd Request I also, just yesterday had to plug my one box with the 1.25" hole due to a HOSP claim. There are 4 other boxes, all 1.5" entrance holes, this particular HOSP preferred the smaller holed box. -Wendy-OH From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1"at"cox.net] Have any of you lost any Titmice to house sparrows? (see my earlier message). Mine seem to totally hold their own against house sparrows - not one loss in more than 10 years). Bluebird Bob. -----Original Message----- I wasn't suggesting trapping. What I was trying to communicate is that a Cher ~ Finger Lakes region, NY State From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] Do you have many Titmouses on your trail? Do they nest in the nest boxes at the normal height for Bluebirds? Evelyn From: Maynard Sumner [mailto:m-r-sumner"at"juno.com] Linda, All my books say 1.25". This is what I would use if I was to use a reducer. Maynard Sumner From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1"at"cox.net] My line is plain vanilla all NABS type boxes, eye high whether hanging or on metal posts. No guards and all 1 and 1/2 inch holes. Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice use them as well as Eastern Bluebirds and an occasional Carolina Wren, and I do not add smaller hole excluders when they nest. From: Maynard Sumner [mailto:m-r-sumner"at"juno.com] Bet, I do not use reducer on my boxes but if I did use one it would be 1.25". The only ones I get in the box are 1.5" Maynard Sumner From: Lawrence Herbert [mailto:lherbert"at"4state.com] IMO 1 3/8 inch is ok for Tufted Titmouse. However I use 1 1/2 inch. Tufted Titmouse can fend for themselves ok, as has been mentioned, in my experience. Another very important item: Some like to use down to 1 1/4 inch for TUTI.
All, From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1"at"cox.net] Ten years and upwards of 100 nestings of Tufted Titmice here in NE OK and all from standard NABS type boxes with 1 and 1/2 inch entrances and not one loss to house sparrows. They are tough little birds and apparently the house sparrows don't mess with them. Bluebird Bob. From: Peter Kwa [mailto:kwapeterca"at"yahoo.ca]
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 1:43 AM Subject: Re: Tufted Titmouse Hole - 2nd Request Since this thread has broadened, here is another data point. I succeeded in attracting black-capped chickadees to my measly single backyard box that has an oval hole that is 1-1/8" wide and 1-1/2" high (the female is incubating now). The oval hole was made by reducing a 1-1/2" diameter round hole with a hand-cut metal plate. The metal hole reducer was mounted in February, i.e. at a time of the annual cycle when the birds are only sporadically examining potential nestboxes/nestsites, and well prior to any nestbuilding activities.
Some thoughts went into the particular sizing/shaping of the hole, some of the thoughts were posted to this list, don't want to repeat these things either. In a nutshell, the 1-1/8" width is supposed to exclude (most) house sparrows, the 1-1/2" height permits the black-capped chickadee to hop through the hole which it is supposed to prefer over squeezing itself through the hole without having much of a legroom in case of a round 1-1/8" diameter hole.
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On the issue of mounting a hole reducer on the inside, I think that there is a potential disadvantage of doing so in case of an avian predator attack, in that the predator has the easier foothold in the entrance hole compared to that of the nesting bird on the inside of the box. The effect may thus be similar to that of a perch. Not to take anything away from Bet who I hold in high regard, but I decided at the time, for right or for wrong, to mount the metal hole reducer as usual on the outside for the reason mentioned. From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1"at"cox.net] I totally agree. The Tufted Titmouse needs no help against house sparrows, and the 1 and 1/2 inch hole leaves the box open to Bluebirds. Chickadees prefer the 1 and 1/2 inch hole too, and the need for a smaller protective entrance hole cover after the eggs are laid will depend on the house sparrow situation in that area. Bluebird Bob. From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 8:17 AM Subject: RE: Inside Guard - Avian Predators Hi Peter! I'm not sure I understand. The hole guards I usually use are very thin metal, sometimes coated with enamel. If they are on the INSIDE of the entrance hole, how would they help a predator?
Some folks use wooden block hole guards on the OUTSIDE that make it harder for big birds to reach inside and snag eggs or nestlings (they apparently don't deter raccoons)
Bet from CT
http://www.sialis.org/holereducer.htm From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas The problem is that when you place nestboxes with normal bluebird sized entrance holes and mix them with nestboxes that ONLY Carolina Chickadees can use or the mid sized Tufted Titmice then as Bob and several others are mentioning that you VERY seldom get the correct small cavity nester in the nestbox designed for them! I have had dozens and dozens of nestboxes I built and installed JUST for chickadees and titmice rot away without ever being used but these small birds used a "bluebird" sized entrance hole just a few feet away or in the cases with my "double two story/compartment nestbox" they chose the entrance hole on the opposite side of the box and 8" or so closer to the ground. We can expect bluebirds in this area to nest for another four months but normally Chickadees and Titmice only nest in spring or less than a third of the nesting season for bluebirds. You kind of hate to place special nestboxes that won't get used. On the other hand bluebirds in most areas of the country will remove Chickadees from a nestbox the bluebirds want to use so you need to install the hole reducer if you feel there is going to be severe competition from House Sparrows or Bluebirds or even Tree Swallows for that matter. What we run into is that we change the looks of the nestbox when we add a guard to the "front outside" of the nestbox as nearly all of us tend to do. On SOME occasions when we change the looks of the nestbox on the outside then once in a while the parent birds abandon the nestbox and move on thus allowing the eggs to die. What Bet Zimmerman was proposing was to add the hole reducer guard on the inside so that the birds would not be scared when they approach the nestbox. Also as Peter mentioned you would not have as much protection from bird reach BUT this Two Holed nestbox is already 1&1/2" thick on the front and adding another wood layer to the inside still would increase depth. Also this nestbox is already 8&1/2" deep. Maybe Bet could measure down from the entrance hole to the top of the Titmice eggs to see how deep or how much protection these eggs have from birds reaching into the entrance hole. KK From: Bob Walshaw
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: Inside Guard - Avian Predators
I haven't gotten any real feedback on my Tufted Titmouse question - has anyone lost any titmice to house sparrows? The house sparrows here leave them totally alone. Bluebird Bob.
From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 4:30 PM Subject: RE: Inside Guard - Avian Predators I've had so few titmice nesting, and so few HOSP on my regular trail that I don't know of any problems.
I did have a House Wren take out several (but not all) titmouse eggs from a nest (can't remember whether they were still laying or if it was during incubation.)
Bet from CT From: T LINEHAN [mailto:gtlinehan"at"msn.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 4:45 PM Subject: Re: Tufted Titmouse & Trapping I put up a nest box that was 1 1/4" and HOSP jump right in, no problem for them. The Tree Swallows couldn't get in, so I took it down right away. My nest boxes for the Chickadees is 1 1/8", HOSP couldn't get in not even the Swallows. The box is made especially for Chickadees. They built and nested in it last year, fledged 6 babies. This year they found a natural cavity next door.
Gail Linehan
Grants Pass, OR From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net]
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 4:51 PM Subject: Re: HOSP Killing Tufted Titmice Here's photo of Tufted Titmice chicks dumped by HOSP on Joe Huber's trapping page:
Those TUTI couldn't hold their own.
Linda Violett
Yorba Linda, Calif. NOTE FROM WEBMASTER: See remainder of thread under Boxes - Hole Size, Part 3 From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas With just a little bit of effort any of you can make a simple sunflower feeder so that for the chickadees and titmice to enter and get their treats they would have to enter through holes similar to the bluebird feeders that have entrance holes or slots. By making these precisely then you figure that what ever size hole they could enter to reach food then they could also enter to nest in a birdhouse. Carry this a little further and you can do the same test with House Sparrows and small entrance holes and then again a series of precise slots. You set up a feeder to where the birds have to enter through an open side. MOST carpenters will have forstner drill bits that drill precise holes in wood. You can ask them to make you hole reducers for nestboxes and you might even find one that would enjoy building you a test feeder with various sized replacement doors for research purposes. KK From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett "at"earthlink.net] About a week ago, the List discussed hole guards in relation to protecting Tufted Titmice from House Sparrows (HOSP). It was the consensus of the List that Tufted Titmice could "hold their own" against House Sparrows. It was also the consensus that Tufted Titmice use List member boxes which have 1.5" The question came up because Bet Zimmerman had Tufted Titmice nesting on her new experimental trail of 2-holers. Before Tufted Titmice laid an egg, House Sparrows took over the box. A different box now has a Tufted Titmouse nest (assumed to be the Titmice usurped by HOSP). Logs indicate that she will be adding the metal 1.25" Linda Violett From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder "at"sbcglobal.net] Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas I REALLY do NOT think this 1&1/4" hole reducer will stop the majority of the House Sparrows from entering! In my area Tufted titmice NORMALLY do not build in boxes where we have high numbers of House Sparrows. I feel certain that if a dominant House Sparrow wanted a nestbox that Titmice were using they would be able to get into the boxes when the adult titmice were off feeding and remove eggs and baby birds. I do not have a searchable database on my records but I do know that in the past I have had a LOT of partial green moss nest bases covered up with other species of birds. I do not know whether the birds evicted while nesting were Chickadees or Titmice. Since I know that some titmice have been driven off by bluebirds then I am GUESSING that House Sparrows would also be able to evict them. KK From: Lawrence Herbert [mailto:lherbert "at"4state.com] Linda V. is correct in stating that House Sparrow are dominant over Tufted Titmouse. I relinquish territory to HOSP and place boxes (originally) where I have little trouble from HOSP. I have very few TUTI nests because they do not seem to come out in the open areas. Thank you Linda for researching and correcting that especially if others thought that I was including HOSP too. Good birding, Larry H. Joplin (sw) MO. From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett "at"earthlink.net] Keith, I agree that a determined HOSP will be able to enter thin-metal 1.25" Bet could take a significant measure in protecting the Titmice box by simply removing all her other excess nestboxes within 300 feet of the Titmice box. Linda Violett From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz "at"charter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 1:53 PM Subject: TUTI v. HOSP update on no trap trail with 2-holed mansions Well, I had decided to wait until the Tufted Titmice laid an egg to put the hole restrictors on the two-hole hanging mansion (on the four box, no-trap trailette), in an attempt to make the box less attractive to House Sparrows (HOSP) which infest this area. However, HOSP took over the nest while I was away in NC, and laid one egg (which I removed.) The good news is there is now another TUTI nest in another box that had previously seen no action - maybe the same pair? This is the box with a small Plexiglas panel on the back. I put the hole restrictors on this box (on the inside of the door - wooden with little kerfs - Vicki Butler the Woodworking WonderWoman made them for me.) I'll let you know what happens. But clearly the HOSP were able to take over the other 2-holer …or the TUTI changed their minds and moved. I did not see any TUTI feathers indicating a fight. I assume the HOSP that moved into the first TUTI box are not the ones that were in the other 2 hanging boxes, as both of those also had eggs. So far only TUTI and HOSP have attempted to nest in the two-holed boxes, but it's only year 1 and there's still plenty of nesting season action left. I usually only get 1 TUTI nest a year on my trails - it seems at least one pair found the large, 2-holed box hanging in a tree very appealing. I have seen TRES in the area. I also saw a pair of Bluebirds and tracked them to some boxes in a cow pasture that I didn't know were there. I found two single-holed boxes 100 yards apart from each other, and about 600 yards away from the small town green where I have the 4 two-holed mansions on the no-trap trail. Both have bluebird nests in them; one has eggs. I requested permission from the property owner to monitor the boxes, but was denied even after trying to ply her with lunch. She has someone else (the person who built and installed the boxes) checking them once a year and emptying them out. Sigh…. I was also trying to watch the TUTI box from my car to see if the TUTI went in, and a cop shooed me off. (This is a real snooty section of town.) I did put a 1.25" hole restrictor on the outside of another single holed box that I can monitor but not plug, and after 1 week, no more HOSP nest attempts so far…but there were some House Wren (HOWR) sticks in it. I'll have to wait and see what happens. Linda did not a lack of interest by HOSP in single-holed boxes with 1.25" hole restrictors on her trail. On one of my other trail, my only other TUTI lost out to a HOWR, even though I put a wren guard on the box. The house was on a slope - maybe the hole was still too visible. The wren guards are working like a charm on the three chickadee nests that are in HOWR territory. Bet from CT From: Bob Walshaw [mailto:walshaw1 "at"cox.net] Different areas may be different, but in ten years I have never lost a Tufted Titmouse to house sparrows. I use NABS style boxes with 1 and 1/2 inch entrance holes, and I deliberately put boxes in areas where I know that I will attract both Tufted Titmice and Carolina Chickadees because I like them. . I have had six Tufted Titmice families and have also trapped more tha 50 house sparrows. Bluebird Bob. From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz "at"charter.net] See http://www.sialis.org/competition.htm - who trumps who. I had Titmice at #7. Have you had HOSP take OVER a Titmouse nest? I've never had a HOSP kill an adult bird in a nestbox, but I figure that's because I trap and use fishing line and sparrow spookers and other passive and active methods to control HOSP on my regular trails. Bet from CT |
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