|
Welcome to
The Bluebird Box
since 1995 |
Woodpeckers (Part 1) Subj:
woodpecker nest box Subj: Flicker Boxes Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 00:18:35 -0800 Kevin Putman, Yuba City, CA Interesting post about the flickers, Steve. What's most interesting to me is the contrast between your project and mine: with about 80 boxes, and over 6 years, I've never encountered a wood duck box that was damaged by flickers. Just as you described, I've found them roosting in boxes near dusk, early in the spring / late winter, but they move out by the time the ducks are nesting, for the most part. I believe that most of them migrate back up into the Sierra Nevadas to nest/ forage during spring / summer, although there are still plenty here in the valley throughout the summer. (I remember, years ago, I was fishing from a boat on a 5000' elev. lake in the Sierras, it was early Oct.; at daybreak, literally hundreds of flickers emerged from the forest, hopping down to the edge of the water to drink. I'd never seen such a large concentration flickers before or since). I've only encountered two flicker nests: one had eggs but failed, one had two chicks that I presume fledged successfully. Flickers seem to keep the nest completely clean--not a single bit of sh in the box, just clean chips. Where I have found damage is with my bluebird boxes: every year there are several that have the entrance hole enlarged just enough for the flicker to get in and roost. Again, they move out in time for the bluebirds to begin nesting. I have to fix the entrance hole or Starlings can, of course, enter such boxes. Once inside, the flickers don't do any further damage. I also find Downy woodpeckers roosting in the bluebird boxes--in certain locations--and they don't do very much damage--usually none. I remember, Steve, that you had a wood duck box that was nearly full of acorns, and you showed it at one of your presentations that I attended. Now, that was Acorn woodpeckers, correct? Do you get many of those, on a regular basis, in your woodie boxes? KP Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 02:32:57 EST Steve Simmons Merced, CA What a difference 160 miles makes in two different projects here in California. Kevin Putman in Yuba City (north of my project) has not had any flicker damage in six years to his wood duck nest boxes. There is an old saying, Kevin, when you say it has never happened to you, this will be the year the flickers will raise havoc with your wood duck boxes. Flickers have probably driven more home owners crazy with their rat-a-tat-tat on their houses every morning, day after day. The list had quite a discussion several months ago about this subject. Interesting that they enlarge your bluebird entrance holes to roost in the boxes. I talked with Hatch Graham last night on the land line, and he was having the same problem with woodpeckers enlarging his 1 1/2" holes. He put some kind of bullet proof plastic material with a 1 1/2" hole on the front of the boxes around the hole entrance on the boxes being damaged and that ended his problems. The wood duck box that was filled to the entrance hole with acorns came from a ranch in the foothills east of Sacramento, Ca. I removed all the acorns in the box and weighed them, 22 pounds if you can believe that. I weighed out one pound of the acorns and then counted how many were in that one pound times 22 and got a total of 7375 acorns in the box. I think if I had found that box full of acorns, I would have left it to see what the woodpeckers next plan for all those acorns was going to be. I don't want to say that I never had any problems with w_________s on my project, and be sorry that I mentioned that. SS
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 09:53:37 EST Hello Out There, I'll have a couple extra Bluebird nestboxes on hand and I'm wondering if I can place one somewhere on my few acres that would attract Downy Woodpeckers..? I have had a pair of Downys around for the past couple of Winters and have wondered if I might entice them to use a nest box for raising their family. I've seen them roost in some of my existing boxes from time-to-time during the cold weather. Any advice from fellow list members would certainly be appreciated. Bruce, SW Ontario, N. shore of Lake Erie, South of Detroit.
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 09:58:06 -0600 I would not worry about those Downys. They can build their own nesting cavity. Merlin Wright at Brownville Nebraska ...
Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2000 19:46:21 -0500 Since we are talking cavity nesters, could someone tell me the size of a box and entrance hole that might be used by either flickers or red bellies. Thanks I think the bb's finally started building. They have laid claim to a box near the house, and have been chasing everything away. They have used this box for years. Lynn
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 21:18:49 -0800 Julie, I put plexiglass around the holes and the woodpeckers do not enlarge the holes. Maynard R Sumner Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 On Wed, 8 Mar 2000 10:34:54 -0800 "Julie Clark" jaclark"at"lewiston.com ...
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 14:17:10 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 16:01:12 -0500 Thanks to all who responded to my question on who might be trying to expand the hole in one of my nestboxes and use the box. I bet Keith Kridler was right (suprise, suprise :) ) when he said that most likely two different species were trying for it. This is because the expansion looks like woodpecker (no gnawing marks) but the nesting material may be flying squirrel. I'm anxious to see one of these critters because I never have. I will let you all know when some eggs are laid or babies are born. Thanks again. This list is a wealth of information. Sue, Atlanta, GA
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 16:28:01 -0800 Greetings all: This afternoon watched an interesting little squabble over a newly mounted nestbox. As I was pointing out my new box, which is visible from the living room, to my Mother, out popped a Nuttall's Woodpecker! The mate was on the tree next to it, and the 2 kept going in and out. They left, and as we still watched, a single Downy Woodpecker flew up and quickly went into the nestbox. As he came out, and was hanging on the side of the box, he was chased off by yet a third Woodpecker, an Acorn! This poor big guy couldn't get much further than sticking his head in a few times. But the Nuttall's and Downy (now armed with a mate) kept chasing each other away, entering the box, climbing around. They kept this up for the better part of an hour. For all I know - they may still be at it. The Western Bluebirds were nowhere to be seen. Just scanned through Hatch Graham's annual report, and didn't see actual nesting of these species; guess they were just "scoping it out", but it made for an interesting afternoon of birdwatching. Wendy Guglieri
Date: 22 Mar 00 10:55:21 PST I realize Pileated Woodpeckers are about as far from Bluebirds as you can get, but I really want to share my serendipitous experience from this weekend with you all. I'm hoping there are several people out there who have been lucky enough to have seen these wonderful birds at least once so you can appreciate my enjoyment of this happening. We know we have pileateds in our woodlands in S.E. Kansas but they are by no means a routine siting. Especially for their size, they are one of the most stealth bird there is. When I do get a glimpse of one, it is usually just that--not a lengthy look. This Saturday was a very damp, cool day so I stayed inside most of the day--which turned out to be for the best. The Bluebird activity was very slow but I did see a pileated fly into a tree in the front yard. I grabbed my binocs, focused on him and saw her also in the same frame! This male and female flew around in the front yard, from tree to tree, looking for bugs for almost an hour! Occasionally they would get several yards away from each other but would continually get back together, like they surely didn't want to lose track of their honey! Several times they were on the trees closest to the road. When a car would come by I feared they would fly away, but instead they would just move around to the side of the branch away from the road and stay there until the car passed and then go on with their business. And we wonder why we don't get to see them very often! Only a few times did they make a verbal contact with each other--and what a fantastic sound that is! Maybe later this summer I will see baby pileateds--I'll let you know.
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 19:41:41 -0500 Hi Cindy & all; I read about the Pileated you saw and what a thrill it is to see one! I'm originally from southern California and had never seen one except in pictures untill moving to South Carolina. Last year one came to my back yard on several different ocassions. I saw only the male but on each visit he stayed for quite awhile. At the first sighting I was so surprised I had to check my bird books to be sure I was seeing what I thought I saw! I hope he returns this year and brings the Mrs. with him. Laura Ryan
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 18:09:06 -0500 I put up a box about 2 weeks ago, hoping to get either a flicker or red belly to nest. I put several inch of sawdust in the box, planing to fill it after hanging. I got sidetracked and forgot to fill it till today. When I opened the box, I found it full of oak leaves with a hollow down to the sawdust. Anyone have any idea what kind of nest this is? Lynn Near Reading Pa
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 18:46:04 -0500 Sounds to me like you might have a chipmunk or squirrel nest. I've had something like you described in my owl houses. I dunno, leave it to the experts, I'm not as experienced as them. Derek in Limington, Maine ...
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 20:14:43 -0500 I know I have gray squirrels visit my feeder at times, but they usually head for the woods when finished, which is about 1/4 mile away. My 2 dogs also help them leave. What I found strange is the fact that they were all oak leaves in the box. I have 1 oak tree, 1 locust tree, several poplars, and many wild cherry trees, as well as a few fruit trees. The box is at the edge of a wild cherry patch - maybe 200 trees, while the oak is over a hundred feet away. Of course these were all dried leaves from last season and probably blew into the area. I'll make it a point to keep closer eye on the box to see what develops. Lynn near Reading Pa.
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 19:47:40 -0800 In this area (NE Oklahoma) the birds that make nests with dry leaves are tufted titmice. Bluebird Bob
Date: Wed, 03 May 2000 22:53:47 EDT Rhonda Watts What would happen if a house sparrow attacked a downy woodpecker? Would the downy (with his strong beak) be able to fight back? Does anyone know if this has ever been known to happen? I told him I would ask the list. Also said it might be that
the downy would prefer wooded areas, where the house sparrow
might not be likely to go. Help me out, if you have ideas!
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 10:28:38 EDT Hello everyone. I'm new here and only have a moment to post this. I'm in Montana and was checking old nest boxes--not mine. One had a HUGE entrance hole made by a flicker. There was not one single blade of grass and a single translucent light pink egg about twice as big as a bluebird egg. Does anyone know what kind of egg it is? Thanks, Judy Whitcombe
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 08:45:50 -0700 Greetings all: Have watched with amazement as an Acorn Woodpecker has been carving out a hole. It is in the end of an oak branch, most of which fell down last winter. This branch is near the porch and I have a perfect view of it from my favorite chair. Interesting to note that the female, with her smaller bill, has done virtually all of the work. The male is always perched on the branch, and lends his support by watching. Yesterday eve I watched as he brought food to her (she was sitting in the hole looking out), although she certainly hasn't begun to incubate any eggs as yet. It took only 6 days from the time she first began until the hole was big enough for her to enter head first, turn around and exit head first again. I can see down about an inch into the cavity, and my field guide says that the bird is 9" in length, so I'm making a guess that the cavity is at least 10 inches deep and wide enough for her to turn around. Today, day 7, I've seen her enter twice, but hear no muffled pecking from inside. Don't know if she's laying yet, but looks like she may be finished with the carpentry work. Absolutely fascinating to watch this little model of engineering throwing out wood chips hour after hour! Now if we only had more of these old crags around for the cavity builders... Wendy Guglieri
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 12:36:41 -0500 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 21:06:50 -0700 Hi. I just joined the list I never see bluebirds at my place but I have a trail in Eastern Oregon (I'm retired, so can take the time) which currently has 9 boxes with plans for a couple of more, currently. "The Birders Handbook" says these birds are usually found over 7000' elev., which is not the only thing they have wrong. Mtn. Bluebirds are found all through Central Oregon nesting from at least 4000' to 5500'. I am trying to find places to put boxes to check higher. My main problems are Flickers and Chipmunks. The Flickers tear
up the predator guard boards makeing the holes bigger. I am
working on haveing So far I have not had any second nests in a box, the same year,
though a couple of times it seemed the nest was being cleaned
up for a second round, Alan D. Reid, 18 miles East of Springfield on the McKenzie Hwy.
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 18:00:12 EDT Tom Heintzelman, Milton, Santa Rosa County, FL (western panhandle,
inland) Last year I observed red-headed woodpeckers raise two in my neighbors' palm tree snag. On three occasions I was lucky enough to observe the fledgling red-headeds when they found their way into an enclosed worm feeder in may yard. This year, northern flickers used the redheaded's palm snag cavity. The flickers were evicted for a day or so by starlings. Unknown at the time, at least one baby was in the cavity when the starlings took over. That baby survived the ordeal, fledged and comes into my yard once in a while as do some redheadeds. The neighbor, unaware of the incident, nearly felled the snag with the surviving unfledged baby still in it, but after being informed of declining flicker and redheaded numbers he has postponed cutting until fall. Close examination of the snag indicates woodpecker use for years. I feel compelled to put up nestboxes next year for both - flicker and redheaded - and I want to have the capability to convert these to trap starlings. The first box I have built is intended for redheadeds and it incorporates a quick change front having a Huber type trap mechanism for the starlings: Roof is 2 X pine stock 14" X 13" painted white acrylic-latex enamel. The box is 1" rough sawn cypress which has boiled linseed oil on its exterior. Inside measurements: I have "visited" many web sites and still need input on the following and would be thankful, as well, for any other comments: 1. Ventilation and drainage. 2. Saw kerfs - none, on inside front or all four insides? 3. Wood shaving box pack: partially, fully, none? 4. Planned mounting is on 1" EMT at a height of at least 7 ft at the box bottom. 5. Mounting site is planned for full sun (snag is in full sun) unless advice received otherwise for siting this uninsulated nestbox. 6. Hole protection: I use either 3/16" fiberglass or a 1/4" vulcanized rubber material (industrial conveyor belt material similar to a car tire's sidewall) to protect hole enlargement by woodpeckers. Are there thoughts regarding the use of either of these materials on boxes intended for the shy, and maybe too cautious, redheaded woodpecker?. I would like to prevent red-bellieds from enlarging the 1 3/4" entrance for the red-headeds. Thank you all
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 12:14:39 -0700 Hi everyone, I put up a Flicker house this summer with no takers. It is still filled with woodshavings. For the Winter should I take the box down or empty the shavings from it? I'm afraid it will get soggy over the Winter, but I also don't want the squirrels to take it over. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank you. Terry Wild
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 20:55:38 EDT Sherry Hunter, Well it looks like I have a new resident for one of my bluebird houses. It is a downy woodpecker. Tonight as I was checking to see if my bluebirds had come to eat their mealworms I looked up from the feeder at my birdhouses in the back of my yard and thought I saw something looking out of the entrance hole of one of the houses. So I ran inside to get my binoculars. I was afraid it might be a snake. I walked up to 20 feet of the house and looked through my bincos and there was a downy woodpecker looking out of the entrance hole right back at me. I had to chuckle, :-). It about 8pm and I watched him for awhile to see if he would leave but he stayed. So I checked on him at about 8:35pm and he was still there. Maybe he is thinking about making the house his winter home. Has anyone else had a downy woodpecker use their bluebird house for a winter residence? This could make for an interesting winter. Also I changed my email address as I participate in Project
Feeder Watch and so need to have two mailboxes to sort my mailing
lists. My address is
Date: Tue, 07 Nov 2000 08:22:57 -0800 It is not known for certain that Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are extinct. A sighting deemed 99 percent reliable by many persons was made as recently as April 1999 in Louisiana. I participated in an organized search for the birds in that state last February, and will return there this coming February for a second search. Our group is not alone in the effort. Too many anecdotal reports exist in recent years to declare this bird extinct. Jim Williams
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 09:42:51 -0500 To: Jim Williams, et al, The status of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is similar in some ways to that of the Mountain Lion up in these parts. Many think that he is no longer extant in New England, yet reports of sightings persist, and they can't all be the result of inebriation, poor eyesight, or over-active imaginations. A very sober and sensible lady who lived next door to us described to me what she saw streak across our entrance road in front of her car one day, and from her description I can't imagine what else it could have been. Fact is, they do range very widely, and this thing could have come a long distance from Sunapee, NH. Bruce Burdett -----Original Message----- From: Jim Williams twojays"at"win.bright.net It is not known for certain that Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are
extinct. A
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 10:58:50 EST According to the AP article regarding the sighting: "The birds feed on beetles that infest recently dead, old-growth trees just beneath the bark. Tree cutting in the area during the past century affected most of what is now the refuge, leaving little, if any, of the environment required for the bird's survival, Muth says. ``I don't think Kulivan is making it up or that there's anything nefarious going on ... and I agree with a lot of people it's the most credible report in a long time,'' Muth says. ``But while the Pearl River is a magnificent forest and one of the few big chunks of bottom land forest left in the Southeast, the truth is the history of forest is not particularly encouraging. ``There have been times of massive clearing and the age of the forest doesn't appear to me old enough to have sustained ivory bills over the last 100 years.''" However, it is possible the bird survived. If a sufficient number adapted to a different source of food, even using different methods for obtaining the food, there may be a pocket of survivors. Jonathan Weiner'sbook, The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time, Knopf, Inc.,1994, discusses this. This sort of thing is reported by him to have been witnessed during more than two decades of studies of finches in the Galapagos Islands by Peter and Rosemary Grant, Princeton evolutionary biologists. As I recall, a drought lasted long enough for the death of finches that did not exhibit beforehand the ability to eat a certain food, whereas, ones of the same species that had exhibited the ability survived when their prefered food disappeared. This took place over a number of years. If anyone is familiar with these studies or the Grants, please comment. BTW More info about Galapagos studies off the top of my head. The islands enable a closed population (finite number) - the birds can't escape close observation. Birds were trapped and banded ("every single one" on a number of islands), they were measured, blood samples taken, everything was meticulously catalogued, eventually DNA analysis became available and supposedly helps to confirm what these folks suspected. Tom Heintzelman
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2000 09:38:18 -0600 Keith Kridler In a now flooded Northeast Texas. As Jim Williams stated there very well maybe isolated populations of this woodpecker as the best way to protect a few lingering members maybe to deny they exist....Many of the last known colonies of this species were shot to extinction for museums and their eggs collected for the same reasons. In Arthur Cleveland Bent's excellent book "Life Histories of North American Woodpeckers" The very first 11 pages is done on the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. At the Chicago IL. field museum the stuffed Ivory Bill has a card that states that only a few remaining individuals still exist in remote areas of the south.(date??) This bird once covered an area from East Texas up to southern Ohio and down towards the Carolinas and into deep Florida, The book lists reports and information about this species dating back to 1834 to the 1937 year period. Some of the last birds shot were done so to study stomach contents or were shot by mistake and studied and they showed these birds ate about 40% insects and 60% vegetable matter. Magnolia tree seeds, poison ivy berries, hackberry, pecan, hickory (American Chestnuts were already wiped out by the Dutch Elm tree disease) ETC. So these birds were collected in late fall or early winter as these berries and nuts are already striped from trees right now in the south. Stomach contents from birds in spring or summer might have been far different. The problem with the birds surviving was that they tended to need very large unbroken areas of forest land with dead standing trees which they tended to strip the bark off of to get to beetle larva just under the bark. They did not dig the deep cavities like the pilieated does when searching for the large long horned beetle grubs. (Maybe the imported species of this insect will offer more food for the large woodpeckers!) Southern natives ate these woodpeckers and their bills were valuable trade items for the early Indian tribes. The ones Bent studied were not shy and allowed humans to get very close. The birds nested in large living trees and their entrance holes were around 4" round and allowed raccoons to enter their cavity so were more prone to losses than the pileated woodpecker is. East Texas river bottoms were clear cut in the late 1880's so most of the cypress swamps would have been under intense logging pressure all across the south during this time. It seemed that for every fact that was gathered about a nesting pair of the Ivory bills the next researcher disputed or changed this information or challenged this....Sound like our very intensely watched bluebirds yet?? Main cause of population decline probably was habitat loss. Easy to blame everything that is disappearing on this. A possibility would be loss of the Passenger pigeon as this species would kill out huge areas of the living eastern forest when they nested or established huge roosts as Audubon mentioned a single nesting colony that covered 100 square miles (3 mile X 35 mile section of river bottom) of reeking stench from the droppings that actually killed the trees. A huge number of dead and dying trees due to death by over fertilization would be a magnet for wood boring insects and the open area would be ideal bluebird and woodpecker habitat for 8 to 10 years when the forest would re-grow to the point where young trees would choke out the grass again. Passenger pigeons moved their roosts and nesting sites from year to year. This woodpecker might flourish where the pine bark beetles are killing large sections of southern pine trees but the tree sizes are just too small as the Ivory bills made a cavity about 89" diameter at the point where they lay eggs. Often about 24" deep. (Sound like a good wood duck nest?) By making the cavity in a living tree the nests seemed to be used for several years for roosting and nesting. Nearly every nest tree in the 1930's seemed to be cut down to study cavity size and for inclusion in museums and even the trees the birds were seen to be feeding on were cut for study of the insects they contained. It seems that few eggs hatched and normally only one young was seen with parents. Sometimes the birds were seen feeding on the ground or very near the ground while other observers were only seeing them very high in trees..... Infertility might have been caused in the latter years by in-breeding. The government pamphlet I have on the "extinction" of the Ivory Bill was said to have been caused by the mass cutting of the southern Magnolia tree in the early 1900's based on one woodpeckers stomach content of almost exclusive amount of this trees seeds. Here again this tree only fruits for a few weeks in the early fall and the Yellow Shafted flickers love these seeds and this could hardly have been a major diet source for more than a month right at the time when nut crops were also just starting to produce. Soooo we will really never know what caused the decline in numbers. KK
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 07:46:12 -0600 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Why do squirrels and woodpeckers damage low mounted nestboxes when they normally use cavities very high in trees? There is a shortage of cavities in the area of your nestboxes or there is a shortage of trees rotted to the point where the woodpeckers can hollow them out. Or there is an over abundance of Starlings or larger woodpeckers that are driving them out of a log as soon as they make their home. I watched Starlings sit for weeks as a pair of Red Bellied woodpeckers hollowed out a limb in a tree top in my yard and then drove off the woodpeckers. If these birds are attacking low mounted nestboxes then they are getting desperate for either a nesting cavity or a roosting cavity which are different from each other. Roosting cavities are normally just big and deep enough to hold a single bird and are constructed in the fall. To check for Starling problems build and install a couple of woodpecker houses on telescoping poles that go up about 10 feet or if you can climb, mount them reachable for a SAFE ladder. Use a 1&3/4" hole for mid sized woodpeckers, flickers will enlarge it themselves. Use CHIPS of wood instead of fine sawdust or shavings. Fine sawdust and shavings from a planer will get wet and moldy and are just plain nasty by fall! If starlings find this box you have a "problem" area! Begin a trap and remove program for Starlings and monitor nestboxes for other cavity nesting species! Make the boxes from slab lumber if possible that is 2" thick as the woodpeckers will strip the inside walls for making chips. Make the box from soft wood if possible. Check for local one man band sawmills in your area!!!! There are over 80 different companies making these small units so there is bound to be one really close! They will often cut your logs for about 25 cents a board foot or will give away slabs or even #3 knotty lumber for your nestboxes! Cut around the knots and you have #1 premium lumber for nestboxes!!! If we lose our woodpeckers we will have a HUGE problem for secondary cavity nesters! If others feel this is a problem and want more in depth solutions on this aspect of "non-bluebirding" then voice your concerns to me directly or to the list(s). If we protect the entrance hole on the nestboxes, them very often the squirrels and woodpeckers will enlarge a ventilation hole or vent slot to try to fulfill their drive to raise a family. If you were trapped in freezing blizzard conditions would you break into a vacant heated house to save your children or grand children??? Cavity nesters face a "blizzard" everyday from chainsaws to imported pests to urban sprawl to natural disasters. KK
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 07:51:47 -0600 Keith - Where will we find plans for a starling trap? Will a cowbird trap serve the purpose? I am in the process of taking up improperly placed boxes (50) on nearby agricultural use acreage. Approximately 10% of the boxes have woodpecker holes on the bottom side of the boxes. The entrance holes were sealed with a wood block during the winter (since house sparrows breed year-round here) so the woodpeckers found another way in. (I mention a cowbird trap because there's a cowbird trap already in place on the developer's acreage.) As I count blessings this Sunday morning, I'm thankful to have such a source of knowledge through Keith Kridler. Oh, the difference in bluebird conservation that can be made by one person! Pauline Tom
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 08:25:24 EST Hello All, This morning, I've been watching a pair of Flickers inspecting a couple BB nestboxes in my yard. They've been around all winter, visiting my feeder and suet cakes. That brings up several questions: 1. Don't Flickers normally migrate in the winter..? Bruce Macdonald, SW Ontario, south of Detroit
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 08:19:40 -0600 Bruce--- Here in Iowa we have Flickers year-round. My flickers will eat seeds if there is nothing else available but I usually put out suet, which they love. I just built a Flicker nestbox last weekend and I got the plans at..... http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/ndblinds/nortflic.htm http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/ndblinds/nortflic.htm . The only thing wrong with the plan is the floor size is incorrect. Flicker nestboxes should be packed to the top with sawdust since flickers normally excavate their nesting cavity out of the rotted interior of tree trunks/branches. Good luck!! Jay Gilliam -----Original Message----- From: Brucemac1"at"aol.com [mailto:Brucemac1"at"aol.com] Hello All, This morning, I've been watching a pair of Flickers inspecting a couple BB nestboxes in my yard. They've been around all winter, visiting my feeder and suet cakes. That brings up several questions: 1. Don't Flickers normally migrate in the winter..? Bruce Macdonald, SW Ontario, south of Detroit
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 09:56:27 -0800 Jay, As I understood it (what I have read) is that one should NOT use sawdust,, but wood SHAVINGS packed in flicker nest boxes. I know I shouldn't believe everything I read. Anyone out there with personal experience? Also with woodpeckers other than flickers? Interesting fact on this is that for woodpeckers like flickers, the actual activity of excavating a cavity is linked closely to biological cues to mating and breeding readiness (as opposed to the other way around - excavation in response to breeding). Thus: empty nest box, no excavating, no breeding in that box. Now, my question on this: In regard to those woodpeckers, usually flickers, which enlargen the entrance hole on a box - is that enough excavation to cue breeding in that box? I've known of some bluebird boxes that flickers tried to make deeper, and ended up "excavating" a hole in the floor! -Marsie Nufer "Gilliam, Jay" GILLIAMJT"at"phibred.com 03/15 6:19 AM Bruce--- Here in Iowa we have Flickers year-round. My flickers will eat seeds if there is nothing else available but I usually put out suet, which they love. I just built a Flicker nestbox last weekend and I got the plans at..... http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/ndblinds/nortflic.htm http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/ndblinds/nortflic.htm . The only thing wrong with the plan is the floor size is incorrect. Flicker nestboxes should be packed to the top with sawdust since flickers normally excavate their nesting cavity out of the rotted interior of tree trunks/branches. Good luck!! Jay Gilliam -----Original Message----- From: Brucemac1"at"aol.com [mailto:Brucemac1"at"aol.com] Hello All, This morning, I've been watching a pair of Flickers inspecting a couple BB nestboxes in my yard. They've been around all winter, visiting my feeder and suet cakes. That brings up several questions: 1. Don't Flickers normally migrate in the winter..? Bruce Macdonald, SW Ontario, south of Detroit
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 13:54:31 -0800 The Cornell Nestbox Network handbook has excellent information on the flicker and all cavity-nesting species. I would assume this would also be available through the Cornell website. Judy Mellin ----- Original Message ----- From: Virginia Nufer nuferv"at"ohsu.edu Jay,
Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 11:42:38 EST Hello All, I wrote a week earlier about a pair of flickers that were with me all winter. Most days, they attended my sunflower seed feeder and suet cakes. Lately, they've been inspecting my BB boxes. They've been at a neighbor's place, where I've also got a couple of BB boxes, busily enlarging an entrance hole. Yesterday, I put together a box, 7" x 7" x 14" high, 2-1/2 inch entrance hole. I have it mounted on a 4" x 4" x 10' high cedar post. In the bottom of the box, I've placed and inch or two of fresh cedar shavings. The reading that I have done on Flicker nesting habits indicates that Flickers often return to the previous year's nest site. They'll make use of the same cavity. Unlike most other woodpeckers, apparently, they will forego the ritual of excavating of a new hole each year. With all that in mind, I'm wondering if anyone out there has had flicker experience and can advise me if it's necessary to completely fill the new nestbox with cedar shavings..? I completely packed an old BB box with cedar shavings, then tree- mounted it. I believe that a pair of Downy Woodpeckers that are always here, have begun to excavate their new hest hole. Approximately half of the once packed box has been emptied and scattered around the base of the tree..!! I'd appreciate any advice. Thanx, Bruce Macdonald, SW Ontario near Detroit & Lake Erie
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 18:21:02 -0500 Lake Ontario snowbelt north of Syracuse NY, where I can actually see some patches of grass through the snow Redbellied woodpeckers are becoming more common in my area. I have had single birds for a few winters now, but this year I have a pair. They spend most of their time attacking one another at the suet feeders, even tumbling to the ground to fight. Each singly has shown some interest in the larger box with 2" hole that I put up in hopes of attracting a great crested flycatcher. Has anyone ever seen redbellies actually use a manmade nesting box? Is their vicious behavior toward one another typical of the species? It seems much more violent than winter fights among all my other woodpeckers. Dot
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 19:17:10 -0500 Sorry, everyone - I forgot to say that my two redbellies are a male and a female. The female has been here all winter, and the male showed up about a month ago. Other birds seem to be pairing up, but the only time these two are in my yard without major fighting is when they are chasing a starling or blue jay off the suet. I was hoping for redbellied babies somewhere close by, but my adults may end up killing each other before that happens. Redbellied woodpeckers are becoming more common in my area.
I have had
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 21:31:17 -0800 I love redbellied woodpeckers! On the site where I monitor, I have a redbellied who "knows" me! As I walk into the woodland, he flies to a nearby tree and then flies from tree to tree as I walk my route. He keeps calling and I keep talking to him (unfortunately, I don't imitate songs and calls well enough to respond in kind) and we always have an enjoyable time. Ours nest in the woodland so I can't speak to nest boxes but it certainly is worth a try! Judy Mellin ...
Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2001 11:00:57 -0800 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Does anyone have any helpful information for placing northern flicker boxes? Susan Bulger built a flicker box and has just received permission to mount it on a backyard palm tree which abuts a suburban greenbelt. Since this request is specialized (not bluebird), please mail to me off list . . . quickly because we will mount it in 4 hours. Thanks,
Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2001 17:03:41 -0600 Linda lviolett"at"earthlink.net , I just helped a middle school science teacher hang nestboxes. I was the bluebird specialist. He found information somewhere that flickers like 4-6" with the box packed with wood chips (not sawdust). Apparently they need to evacuate their nestbox. I'm guessing he found this information from our Nebraska Game and Parks website. Carolyn Hall, Bassett, NE
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 09:47:31 EDT Good Morning All, I have had a pair of flickers with me all winter. They visit my sunflower seed feeder and suet racks several times each day. A few weeks ago, they were busily investigating my BB boxes and began to enlarge the entrance holes. I have been able to read what limited info I have available and discovered that they will accept nestboxes and may even use them in subsequent years. Armed with that information, I built a suitably sized nestbox with a 2-1/2" opening. The flickers noticed it and immediately began drumming on it. I was tickled pink..!! Then the starlings also took a fancy to the new box. Gr-r-r-r-r "at"!x#?%. My questions for anyone who cares to answer: 1. When do Flickers normally begin to nest..? To lay eggs..? 2. Do they use only woodchips for nesting material..? Do other materials appear in their nests..? 3. How will they respond to starlings..?? Are they aggressive enough to fend off these intruders..? 4. An authoritative source of Flicker data/info.? I'll appreciate any input. Thank you in advance. Bruce SW Ontario - Detroit/Lake Erie area Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 08:01:05 -0700 Bruce, You will have to get rid of those starlings somehow, they are much to aggressive for the flicker to handle. I had the same problem last year , had to take the nest down eventually to keep the starlings away. I built one of those NB repeating traps, put the flicker box back up, caught one starling in the trap but the flickers never have returned, although they are all around . I used chain saw shavings in the box , cramed to the top, the flickers would throw every bit of it out!!! Tom Long Good Morning All, ... Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 22:28:15 -0400 Bruce, The flicker begins nest construction anytime from late April to the end of May. (According to "Stoke Guide to bird behavior - Volume 1") Pack your entire nesting box tightly with wood chips or shavings so that the flicker can excavate the cavity. The flicker is a cavity nester. Starlings compete for nesting cavities of flickers. Starlings usually win out in a direct contest with a flicker. Regular monitoring and willingness to control starlings is essential. ,Paul ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- Good Morning All, ... Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 16:03:54 EDT In a Message dated 5/8/01 11:04:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Brucemac1 writes: Subj: Flicker box Return-path: Brucemac1"at"aol.com Hello Again Diane, As you may recall, I was having starling problems with a flicker box I had built a few weeks ago. The flickers liked my box but were under pressure from starlings and were losing the battle. In response to my plea as posted here, I got several responses. One came from Jordan Brooks who had seen a picture of a plastic shield installed on the front of a box with a sloping front similar to a peterson BB box. I made an adaptation of the plastic shield from an empty Dasani water bottle, 1 liter size. I installed it on the front of my new flicker box. It provides an 3-1/2" diameter tunnel entrance apporx 4" long. The opening is at the lower end of the tunnel/bottle. I'm pleased to report that it has stumped the starlings..!! They cannot negotiate the tunnel to the entrance. The flickers have no difficulty at all..!! They love it..!! It is quite evident that they've made it their new home for this season..!! I've mounted the box approx 10" off the ground near the
top of a clothesline post in my backyard. At the very top, maybe
24" away from the flicker box, is This morning, I watched as one of the flickers emptied much of the HOSP box..!!! They'd reach in as far as they could and pull out bits and pieces of the HOSP nest. Apparently, they won't tolerate the HOSP nest..?? It was there prior to their taking up residence in their own box. What do you make of that..?? Bruce Macdonald, SW Ontario, near Detroit/ Lake Erie Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2001 11:30:06 -0700 (PDT) Rob Yaksich Hi all - long time, no post. We had quite the line of thunderstorms rumble through the mid Rio Grande Valley last night, so this morning I am finding lots of cottonwood limbs on the ground. One was the nest of a pair of flickers. We have recovered 3 babies near fledgling age, one of which has several broken bones in its "fingers." The other two look fine, considering. The cavity is destroyed, but the parents are still around and anxious. I've erected a flicker-sized birdhouse on the tree where their cavity was and put the babies back inside. They are making some noises, so I'm hoping the parents will find them. Has anybody had luck with birds other than blues in doing such a thing? Petitions to St. Francis will be appreciated.:) R
Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 20:30:28 -0700 Hi Everyone: My telescoping pole boxes are almost all with a 4"x5.5" floor cut from a 5.5" redwood fenceboard. I have had 4"x 4" floors in the past and also 5"x 5" floors. I like the ones I use now because they conserve wood and work fine for all the birds I attract on this trail. I do have one Kentucky slotbox, and an experimental box made with a 3.5" x 7" floor; which allows the Tree Swallows to stretch their wings. The latter has been used by Western Blues, Tree Swallows, and Ash-throated Flycatchers. These are the principal birds on my trail. I have, among the 70 boxes, 20 tree-hanger boxes. They have 4"x 4" floors. They, as well as the pole-boxes have also had Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wrens, and, once, a Violet-green Swallow. To my knowledge, these are the only secondary cavity-nesters in our area. The primary, Acorn Woodpecker, stores acorns in fall and winter in the boxes and occasionally roosts in them but has never nested. Most of my boxes have 1-9/16" holes but I use 1.5" for all the new ones I make. All of the birds mentioned nested on the old trail that had 4.5' high boxes on the regular fenceposts except the WBNU. There is no question the tree-hangers and the telescoping poles are both safer than the old ones on the fenceposts. I believe the telescoping poles are slightly safer than the tree-hangers in my specific area because of snakes. I've also had mice take over a couple of tree-hangers in my rather wild area. On golf courses, in parks, and cemeteries with heavy public use, I would definitely recommend tree-hangers -- primarily to avoid human interference, and because the heavy traffic cuts down on snakes in most areas. Hatch Graham Gary Springer wrote: Would you please share with us the interior dimensions of
your bluebird ... Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 17:22:19 EDT Just saw one of my Downy Woodpeckers checking out one of my nestboxes. She must be planning for her winter roosting sites already. It has been hot and humid here for the last week but last night we had a cool front with rain (much needed) come through. Today is a beautiful day starting out with temps in the mid-60's with a breeze and up to 80 this afternoon without the humidity. I don't know if this is the same downy woodpecker that I had roosting last year but it is the same nestbox. Last year the first time I noticed the downy in the box was September 8, 2000. This is also the first box that my bluebirds choose to nest in when they come back in the spring. So it must be a good location that the birds like since all my boxes are the same, Chalets. I am not planning on moving this box but will be moving my other paired box. It was interesting to watch this downy woodpecker try to redecorate the entrance hole by pecking at it on the outside, sticking its head a little into the entrance and then pecking on the inside of the wood predator guard and peeking inside the entrance hole. She went through this several times until finally she entered the box, checking it out throughly and looking out several times. She then walked all over the top of the box hanging over to see the back side, front side and then hung on the sides of the box to check out the ventilation opening under the roof overhang. I hope she decides to rent the box for her winter roosting! :) Sherry Hunter
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 16:13:44 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Sherry, just as you have noted with your Downy Woodpecker, the Nuttall Woodpeckers are already staking out their winter boxes along my trail. I've been seeing their feathers in boxes during the past couple of weeks and a Nuttall flew from one of my boxes at dusk during a takedown last week. SHbirder"at"aol.com wrote: Just saw one of my Downy Woodpeckers checking out one of my
nestboxes.
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 21:07:08 EDT Linda and all, Interesting how the Downy's and Nuttall's sense the fall season coming and begin their preparations for winter roosting sites. It is comforting somehow to see this yearly cycle with the woodpeckers, to know that my boxes will be in use during the winter months(my bluebirds do not overwinter around my yard). I had another sign of fall this evening when my bluebird family that I haven't seen in awhile returned with their two juveniles to sit on top of both of my boxes. (OT-- my hummingbirds are also beginning to slurp up lots more sugar water from the hummer feeder in the last two days ). Sherry Hunter Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. ...
From: "Gary Springer" springer"at"alltel.net The Red-Headed Woodpeckers fledged about 10 days ago but it appears they are still roosting in nest boxes at night, one to a box. I observed two juveniles, presumably those that fledged from the nest box, and two adults in the tops of tall pine trees within two hundred yards of the nest box. Yesterday morning before daylight, I watched the nest box which fledged two woodpeckers, and, shortly after dawn an adult emerged from the box. They have enlarged the entrance holes to two other nest boxes and yesterday afternoon I observed an adult excavating a fourth. If you would like to see some pictures of these Red-headed Woodpeckers, follow this link http://www.realbirdhomes.com/photospg1.htm Just when I thought the nesting season was over, today I discovered a Carolina Wren nest with chicks of about 3 days old. These are in the same nest box in which Carolina Wrens laid the very first eggs of the season on the property this spring. I had incorrectly assumed the 5 eggs were infertile and had been abandoned. Fortunately I waited a little longer. Gary Springer, Writing from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in
Northeast Georgia, further north than most of South Carolina
and a bit of North Carolina. Most extensive source of Bluebird information Real Bird Homes www.realbirdhomes.com From: MSBOC"at"aol.com
I have a BB box in my backyard which was used by a house wren this year. It's been cleaned out. Now I've noticed that a downy is enlarging the hole and going in and out. Can anyone give me some information/thoughts on what's going on. Thanks.. Message-ID: 000e01c15a92$23c199e0$f0a70f18"at"mtmorris1.mi.home.com
He will use it for the winter. ----- Original Message ----- From: MSBOC"at"aol.com
... Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 10:19:57 -0700 Dear Nancy, I enjoyed your post so here is just a quick opinion, I'll try an offer a solution and I'm sure others on Bluebird L will chime in too. Personally I like the idea of a Downy Woodpecker using your Bluebird nest box and the Downy is probably just checking it out for future wintering or nesting use. I'm not from points east, but friends of mine on Bluebird L that do live back east have pointed out a shortage of cavity nesting sites for native cavity nesting birds which includes Downy and other Woodpecker species do to the occupation of available cavities nesting sites by European Starlings. In fact, Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, in Texas gave a brilliant posting back Aug. 11, 2001 about Starling Perdition and I've kept this post for just this occasion. If you desire to read it, I'll be happy to forward it to you. I for one have had a big problem with EUST and I'm concerned about their impact on our native cavity nesting birds in our area. However, I've seen plenty of native cavity nesting birds (including Woodpeckers) doing their thing so I can only hope that with proper management that I'll be able to maintain an equilibrium. Thanks to you and other Bluebirders we are contributors in maintain a balance by offering nesting boxes for Bluebirds and other native birds even birds we didn't intend to have like Downy Woodpeckers. If you what to maintain your back yard habitat for Bluebirds only then you may need to offer another nest box with the proper entry hole size (1 1/2 inches) or make a modification to the exiting nest box that only a Bluebird or other song bird of similar size can take advantage of. Supplying another nest box may do the trick, but there is no guarantee that (in the future) another Woodpecker in your area will not take that nest box over too by enlarging its entry hole. I do remember someone on Bluebird L suggesting to someone else (under similar circumstances) about using composite materials around the entry hole that makes it difficult if not impossible for larger birds to enlarge a nest boxes entry hole. Perhaps this person will post the modification for you. On a fun note I saw one of the fattest most health looking male WEBLs I have even seen yesterday and he was only about 20 yards from me. I had my binoculars and got a really good look at him. He seemed to know I was looking at him so he gave me his best princely posture. Time to invest in a really good camera. Good luck and as always... Happy Bluebird Trails To You, MSBOC"at"aol.com wrote: I have a BB box in my backyard which was used by a house wren this ...
From: "Molly Jo Miller" johnson-miller"at"email.msn.com Hi Nancy, As Maynard indicated, the Downy is probably preparing the nestbox for his/her winter roosting. I have a follow-up question for the list. I swear that in mid-September a female Downy WP chose one EAstern BLuebird nestbox in which to roost and the male Downy chose another, nearby box. Both had the regular 1 1/2" EABL entrance hole and neither was enlarged by/for the downies. However, two nights ago I thought a female went into each of the nestboxes and then this morning I swear a female came out of each of the nestboxes. (Two nights ago, about two minutes before sunset I saw the male go into "his" nestbox. But within a minute he came back out and flew to a tree. About five minutes later I saw what I'm pretty sure was a female go and stay in what was "his" nestbox.) So my question is: Would a female be able to bounce a male from his nestbox and take it over for winter roosting? (I saw another Downy go into a different nestbox last night, but couldn't id the sex due to the quickness of the bird and the encroaching dusk. Perhaps the male abandoned the previous nestbox, opening it up for the use of the new female? Or perhaps he just found this nestbox after being kicked out by the female?) Thanks for any information about Downy WP roosting habits... and who has the Alpha Male nestbox roosting rights.... the female or the male?!? Molly Jo Miller -----------Original Message: From: MSBOC"at"aol.com ...
From: "Maynard Sumner" msumner6"at"home.com In my boxes the female is the boss. She will check all the boxes, then pick the one she would like to have. Maynard Sumner NABS MBS GAS OBS OBC NAHC NAFC Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Molly Jo Miller" johnson-miller"at"email.msn.com ...
From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com I believe you will find that the Downy can enter an entrance hole of 1&1/4" and if it is pecking the hole to enlarge it then it maybe rounding the relatively sharp corners of a manmade drilled hole or simply enjoys the sound of beating it's head against the wood:-) I believe most woodpeckers tend to roost as single birds so a family that fledged in your yard might need up to 6 roosting boxes for this winter for all to be happy. Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant Texas.
From: "Gary Springer" springer"at"alltel.net
I observed a pileated woodpecker excavating a cavity this morning
for more than half an hour. Unfortunately it was on the opposite
side of the tree most of the time. Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 07:45:00 -0500 Dear Members, Do you remember the Carpenter Woodpeckers string of postings a few years back? One dear member wrote in that she had this visiting woodpecker who was eating her out of house and home literally by pecking big holes in the side of her only home. In trying to be of help we all posted our own experiences and recommendations and in the end it turned out I suspect she may have received just as much help had she not raised the question in the first place. None of us had a final sure fire solution to the Carpenter Woodpecker challenge. One reason for my bringing this up at 3:30AM this morning is that darn Pileated is back visiting here again and he polished off the Outhouse this morning while I had it occupied and before I could get my red flannels flap buttoned. Nearly caused me to catch the double flu. And for the life of me I cannot find or recall my solutions and recommendations I have used in the past for discouraging his hammering and sawing. And I must be overlooking it in the Bluebird-L Archives where the post were kept at one time. Did any of you other perverted personalities keep a copy on file perhaps and could email the one showing my recommendations. I appreciate it. Thank You! Lots of people seem to have trouble with woodpeckers wanting to move in with them during these cold spells. Wendell Long Woodpeckers (Part 2) |
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
|
