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Updated on Sunday, May 11 at 10:53 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.


Flamingoes,©Tony Disley

11 May happy (WBNU) mother's day from Coaldale, CO []
11 May Re: kestrels nesting 200 feet from BB [David Trachtenberg ]
11 May Breeding Season Oddities: CACH? ["David Gwin" ]
11 May RE: This season_Tree Swallow Question ["Steve and Cindy Groene" ]
11 May Re: Tree Swallow / Thin Nestcup ["lviolett" ]
11 May Re: House Wrens ["Maria F. Pino" ]
11 May RE: House Wrens ["Linda Lawson" ]
11 May House Wrens ["Maria F. Pino" ]
11 May Re: This season_Tree Swallow Question ["Bruce Burdett" ]
11 May This season_Tree Swallow Question ["Ruth" ]
11 May Happy Mothers Day! Wild Turkey Federation Jakes Event ["Keith Kridler" ]
11 May Really small entrance holes []
11 May No Culprit found [Richard Harlow ]
10 May interesting article ["Robert Barron" ]
09 May Re: Starlings [Sheila Rogers ]
9 May Article on titmice in England ["Keith Kridler" ]
9 May Re: Starlings nesting vs woodpeckers ["Robert Barron" ]
10 May Re: Starlings nesting vs woodpeckers []
9 May Starlings nesting vs woodpeckers ["Keith Kridler" ]
9 May Cold Spring Kills Songbirds in Minnesota ["Steve Murphy Home" ]
09 May HOSP in natural cavites []
8 May Re: Fw: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs ["Robert Barron" ]
08 May Re: Dimlin spray [Lynn Emerich ]
8 May Re: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs ["Mike" ]
8 May Dimlin spray ["wendy balder" ]
8 May Re: Strange goings on with hawk and sparrow? ["Robert Barron" ]
8 May Re: After an EABL nest failure ["Robert Barron" ]
8 May Abandoned WEBL Nest? [Jason Kitting ]
8 May RE: Strange goings on with hawk and sparrow? ["Dottie" ]
08 May Return of the cavity nesters []
8 May After an EABL nest failure ["bapgar AT juno.com" ]
8 May Bluebirds guarding territory ["Keith Kridler" ]
8 May Fw: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs ["Keith Kridler" ]
7 May test [Horace Sher ]
7 May RE: Lesson Learned? ["Linda Lee H." ]
7 May RE: Lesson Learned? ["Linda Lee H." ]
7 May Blue Jays ["Lawrence Herbert" ]
7 May RE: Lesson Learned? ["Steve and Cindy Groene" ]
7 May RE: Lesson Learned? [Mary Beth Roen ]
7 May Spiders and other dangers in nestboxes! ["Keith Kridler" ]
7 May Re: Lesson Learned? ["Keith Kridler" ]
7 May Re: Lesson Learned? ["Maynard Sumner" ]
06 May Lesson Learned? [Richard Harlow ]
06 May hatchlings! []
6 May Unexpected sighting!! []
6 May 3 missing TUTI babies? [Horace Sher ]
6 May Magic Halos ["Linda Lee H." ]
6 May Re: House wrens ["Maynard Sumner" ]
06 May Blue Jays [Lynn Emerich ]
6 May feeding crows and jay birds ["Keith Kridler" ]
6 May Re: Sparrow Spookers ["Paula Ziebarth" ]
06 May House wrens [RLJ ]

Subject: happy (WBNU) mother's day from Coaldale, CO
From: <Christina.Mitchell AT UCHSC.edu>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 21:53:01 -0600
Tina Mitchell
Coaldale, CO
~7200', pinyon/juniper habitat
 
Hi, list--
 
The 2 earliest cavity nesters here in Central Colorado--White-breasted 
Nuthatches--now have hatchlings. In addition to the Juniper Titmouse nest with 
6 eggs last week (which are still there this week--no small feat for this timid 
nester), we have a 2nd JUTI nest with 2 eggs so far, cozily nestled under a 
blanket of dog hair. One Mountain Chickadee nest has 6 eggs. And, at long last, 
a pair of Mountain Blues zoomed in and glowered at me as I checked on what must 
be their pretty-much-completed nest. We haven't seen or heard them around 
lately, and I was beginning to wonder if we'd done something to offend the 
whole lot of them. 

 
We have a number of stealth nest-builders as well--pretty much complete-looking 
nests that I've yet to see or even hear a bird around. They just show up a bit 
more put together each week I check on them. One of them even has 5 eggs in 
it--now THAT's a stealthy bird. As you may remember from last week's update, 
I'm dreadful at trying to guess what bird's building what nest. But what the 
heck--throw caution to the wind. I have no pride. This nest has a flicker 
feather and some other small white feather in it, both nicely decorating the 
edge. Because of the feathers, my first thought would be "swallow," but the 
Violet-green Swallows have just returned en masse this week and the feathers 
were there last week. One of my books says that Western Blues will sometimes 
have feathers--I suppose that's possible, but I never know how much stock to 
put in a casual statement like that in a field guide. It doesn't seem to be one 
of our little nesters, since there's no thick layer of animal hair lining the 
nestcup. And the eggs seem too big for them, although guessing size isn't one 
of my strong suits. It's far too neat for an Ash-throated Flycatcher and the 
eggs are much too plain; plus, ATFLs just arrived here this week too. Well, I 
hopefully will solve the mystery at least by the time the eggs hatch and the 
parents have to make themselves known a bit more. 

 
I made an interesting, and a tad grizzly, discovery when I cleaned out our 2 
birdbaths yesterday--each held a dismembered Band-tailed Pigeon foot. (We have 
huge, sky-darkening flocks of them around here these days.) BTPIs are quite 
large birds--it's hard to imagine even a large female Cooper's Hawk taking one 
out, unless it was old/ill/near-sighted/slow. (sounds like I'm describing 
myself there) We have coyotes and small gray foxes that could have dined on it, 
if it were caught unaware or already dead from something else. But the image of 
them biting off the feet or dowsing the body in the water or--whatever--well, 
'tis a puzzlement. 

 
 
Subject: Re: kestrels nesting 200 feet from BB
From: David Trachtenberg <dat2 AT nyu.edu>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 22:55:21 -0400
Hi... I have for the first time a pair of nesting Kestrels on the 
property.  There are some trees and shrubs betwen the boxes but I am 
worried about the BBs who are due to fledge in two weeks?  I also like 
the Kestrels and BB are pretty abundant where I live.  My property alone 
fledges 6-8  BB every year and Kestrels were seen hunting the fields 
prior to my mounting a box.   The BB box faces into a garden that has 
some small crabapples and cover.  Thoughts?  Please copy me directly 
with any advice or comments. 
Thanks, David
Columbia County, NY
Subject: Breeding Season Oddities: CACH?
From: "David Gwin" <Dgwin AT cstx.gov>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 17:55:13 -0500
Howdy, All:

Very strange year ... as of this morning, I still have CACH taking to nests. 
Anyone else this far south experiencing similar breeding season oddities? 


Also, very strong ... and close ... breeding presence of CRWR. In fact, it 
looks to be a bumper year for them. 


Naturally,
David 
Brazos County, Texas



College Station.  Heart of the Research Valley.





Subject: RE: This season_Tree Swallow Question
From: "Steve and Cindy Groene" <hausgroene AT comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 14:17:16 -0400
Ruth- My TRES don't build very tall or deep nests but they do put some nest
material on the floor so the eggs aren't resting on wood.  My TRES nests are
lined w/ feathers and then lots of plumes of feathers are added on top.
My EABL build nests that are double to triple the height of the TRES nests
and have a very deep nestcup.  It's a weird TRES season this year, I am
finding.

 

Cindy Groene

South Lyon, MI
Subject: Re: Tree Swallow / Thin Nestcup
From: "lviolett" <lviolett AT earthlink.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 10:02:18 -0700
My advice would be to not add any more nest material under a sparsely-built 
nestcup. 


When I was redesigning nestboxes for my trail, an extra inch of depth (7.5" 
bottom of hole to floor) was built into the box (standard hole/floor depth is 
6.5 inches). In one of these boxes, a female had built a shallow nestcup with 
chicks eventually sitting almost on the floor of the box. Chicks who aren't 
given sufficient support for their growing legs will sometimes get splayed legs 
so I "helped" by adding some extra straw under the chicks. 


That was a mistake. On my next visit, a hawk flew from the roof of the box. 
Inside, a few primary feathers from one of the chicks was scattered on the 
nest. The extra padding put under the nest probably enabled the hawk to reach 
down into the box and barely grab feathers from a chick without pulling out the 
chick. The troubled clutch was immediately put into a deeper box and safely 
fledged. The chick with lost primaries had to grow another set of feathers at 
the rehabbers. 


You can find rolls of thin open waffle-weave rubbery padding material (normally 
used to line kitchen shelves or tool drawers) which could be put on nestbox 
floor under thin nestcups. 


Linda Violett
Yorba Linda, Calif.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ruth 
  To: bluebird-l AT cornell.edu 
  Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 8:17 AM
  Subject: This season_Tree Swallow Question


  The swallow nest must be complete because there are white feathers on 
it. The nest they built is very low and the nest cup is not done up to par. 
Today there was one egg laid and it is resting on the wood of the box floor. Is 
this common to have a sparsely built nest cup? Should I put more nest material 
on the bottom of the box? Any advice is appreciated. 


  Ruth Brinckman
  Souderton, PA
  25 miles north of Philadelphia


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  No virus found in this incoming message.
  Checked by AVG. 
 Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.15/1426 - Release Date: 5/10/2008 
11:12 AM 
Subject: Re: House Wrens
From: "Maria F. Pino" <avesamo AT comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 12:42:13 -0400
I have been checking my boxes every few days. I saw no sign of the  
wrens. This morning I heard and saw them flying into a box the TRES  
were checking out yesterday.  The 5 bluebird eggs in another box  
should hatch shortly. They appear to be defending the box well. They  
fly within 2 inches of my head. They are the best defenders that I've  
had in a few years so I am hopeful. Good luck.

Maria

On May 11, 2008, at 12:27 PM, "Linda Lawson"  wrote:

>
> I, too, have been hit by House Wrens.  The blues started building as  
> soon as
> the Chickadees left.  They have been fighting the wrens since.  I  
> guess it
> depends on the experience of the bluebirds in defending their box.  
> So far,
> no eggs tossed out and it has been 1 week today.
> Linda in NW GA
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-2692619-3587688 AT list.cornell.edu
> [mailto:bounce-2692619-3587688 AT list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Maria  
> F. Pino
> Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 11:55 AM
> To: BBList
> Subject: House Wrens
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> The house wrens appear to be back. They have been a problem the past
> couple of years. Has anyone had luck discouraging them from nesting?
> Does removing the twigs help or does it just make them more
> destructive?  I realize they are native birds and cannot be treated in
> the same manner as HOSP. What seems to work, if anything?
>
> Thanks
>
> Maria
> Norton, MA
>
>
Subject: RE: House Wrens
From: "Linda Lawson" <linyl AT alltel.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 12:27:46 -0400
I, too, have been hit by House Wrens.  The blues started building as soon as
the Chickadees left.  They have been fighting the wrens since.  I guess it
depends on the experience of the bluebirds in defending their box. So far,
no eggs tossed out and it has been 1 week today.
Linda in NW GA


 


-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-2692619-3587688 AT list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-2692619-3587688 AT list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Maria F. Pino
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 11:55 AM
To: BBList
Subject: House Wrens


Hi all,

The house wrens appear to be back. They have been a problem the past  
couple of years. Has anyone had luck discouraging them from nesting?   
Does removing the twigs help or does it just make them more  
destructive?  I realize they are native birds and cannot be treated in  
the same manner as HOSP. What seems to work, if anything?

Thanks

Maria
Norton, MA


Subject: House Wrens
From: "Maria F. Pino" <avesamo AT comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 11:54:55 -0400
Hi all,

The house wrens appear to be back. They have been a problem the past  
couple of years. Has anyone had luck discouraging them from nesting?   
Does removing the twigs help or does it just make them more  
destructive?  I realize they are native birds and cannot be treated in  
the same manner as HOSP. What seems to work, if anything?

Thanks

Maria
Norton, MA

Subject: Re: This season_Tree Swallow Question
From: "Bruce Burdett" <blueburd AT verizon.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 10:54:28 -0500
Ruth,

 Are your houses paired? Here where I am, pairing my boxes (15' apart ±) 
eliminates all Tree Swallow competition. They get along fine, and cooperate to 
drive off intruders of every kind. 


Bruce Burdett SW NH
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ruth 
  To: bluebird-l AT cornell.edu 
  Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 10:17 AM
  Subject: This season_Tree Swallow Question


 I have had EABL nesting in my boxes every year. Two months ago, they were here 
checking out my boxes and stayed for about a week. I wonder why I have not seen 
them since. I have a box with 8 BCCH eggs in it. Another one is occupied with 
Tree Swallows. The swallow nest must be complete because there are white 
feathers on it. The nest they built is very low and the nest cup is not done up 
to par. Today there was one egg laid and it is resting on the wood of the box 
floor. Is this common to have a sparsely built nest cup? Should I put more nest 
material on the bottom of the box? Any advice is appreciated. 


  Ruth Brinckman
  Souderton, PA
  25 miles north of Philadelphia
Subject: This season_Tree Swallow Question
From: "Ruth" <r.r.brinc AT comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 11:17:22 -0400
I have had EABL nesting in my boxes every year. Two months ago, they were here 
checking out my boxes and stayed for about a week. I wonder why I have not seen 
them since. I have a box with 8 BCCH eggs in it. Another one is occupied with 
Tree Swallows. The swallow nest must be complete because there are white 
feathers on it. The nest they built is very low and the nest cup is not done up 
to par. Today there was one egg laid and it is resting on the wood of the box 
floor. Is this common to have a sparsely built nest cup? Should I put more nest 
material on the bottom of the box? Any advice is appreciated. 


Ruth Brinckman
Souderton, PA
25 miles north of Philadelphia
Subject: Happy Mothers Day! Wild Turkey Federation Jakes Event
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 07:32:58 -0500
I sent the following to my Texas Master Gardener group. Last week we were 
hashing over on this list the issue of teaching scouts or other children 
about putting up nestboxes. Most people seemed to be worrying WAY TOO much, 
or expecting WAY TOO much about having EVERY child or adult we teach 
becoming the PERFECT Bluebird Monitor. There AIN'T nobody or no group that 
is perfect!

In the last 10 years we have "taught" more than 160 people how to be master 
gardeners in our local group. We have ONLY about 40 paid members. Maybe 30 
will come to a monthly meeting, normally about 15. Then for a work day for 
REQUIRED hours we are LUCKY to get 10. In this case I got two, one for all 
day, 9 am till 3:45 PM, one for two hours....You can substitute "Bluebirder 
Groups" for Master Gardeners in the following post. Substitute your favorite 
cavity nesters below when I mention other plants we need info sheets 
on...Maybe others will share how they handle teaching events. I was lucky to 
have GREAT parents who taught me a wide variety of skills and hobbies. MOST 
children today will NEVER be as lucky as I was! I cut out the photo's, drop 
me a note if you want them sent off list. But they only give you an idea of 
the age groups or the numbers of people taught per class. Keith Kridler

Here are a couple of photos from the event. I had time to take pictures of
two other "Instructors" tables on our way to eat lunch and one photo inside
the cafeteria at the end of the day.

Shirley Pyland and Sandi Luttrell should get credit for double hours for all
of the work they put in:-)) Even though they call this a Jakes event (a Jake
is a young turkey) and it is for the children ages 8>17 there are a whole
lot
of adults that you also get to teach or that watch over YOU as you teach
their children.

Sandi and Shirley actually got to help EVERY child (and some of the adults)
that came to this event build gourd bird houses thanks to Dwayne and
Jeannie's gourd growing ability last year. Many children also got to help
make and decorate bird feeders made from gourds.

The timing of the event was good and MOST of the gourds were ending up
decorated with hearts and flowers drawn on them with Sharpie pens and
dedicated to their mother's as gifts on this special day. One of the boy's
came at the end of the event and he made gourd birdhouses and or feeders for
all four of his grand parents and also made one for his dad...Some of these
children had NEVER considered making their own gifts for parents, grand
parents or friends! Some children have TWO mommy's or Daddy's.

There was only 45 minutes or so between events and the whole group rotated
to another station. With restroom and water breaks between some of these we
only had about 30 minutes to organize each group. Sandi and Shirley also
helped each child prepare a baggie filled with enough sunflower seeds and
gourd seeds to plant three or four normal sized gardens! Not only did they
build the bird houses but they also taught a short course in how to grow
mixed hills of sunflowers and gourds for this summer. They actually had a
pot of gourds already growing to show the children what a young gourd looks
like and what they look like when they begin produce a vine with tendrils!

When ever you have children and power tools having a fun day means having a
SAFE day! We have a VERY limited amount of time to go over safety issues and
crank out the gourd bird houses. I also over heard them telling adults about
the Master Gardener program.

We give out blue prints on how to build wood nestboxes and then how to
monitor the nestboxes but we also need to create "How To" sheets on planting
gourd seeds and sunflowers. A one or two page sheet with planting
instructions with a short paragraph on "Being a Master Gardener" with
contact information.

Again while we are helping the children we have a captive audience of adults
that are willing to spend a Saturday WITH their children doing out of doors
type events. We "should" have had our Master Gardener banner to put up!

We "Could" have also had a MG teaching about gardening and planting seeds.
Another teaching the adults and children about hummingbird and butterfly
gardening. At the very least we need to create some "how to" sheets on
various subjects.

(In the past, normally I only have Shawn coming to help me with these
events. Friday afternoon he sawed up one large pine log and we cut out
50 of the wood nestbox kits from this one log.)

One of the photo's shows a group of children standing around a table where
they were going to make plaster casts from animal tracks.

You can take white Tee shirt material and hammer out the juices of plant
leaves and flowers making a "Fossil" type impression that would be a BIG hit
with the children.

I stayed pretty busy as the first 62 children coming through our "lake
house" out there at Camp Langston got to use nailguns and screw guns to
"shoot" 2&1/2" long nails and make a really nice yellow pine nestbox for
"bluebird" sized birds. Each nestbox was carefully made so that the children
could open the boxes and monitor them for years to come!

I REALLY don't have time to promote much in the way of Master Gardeners or
even the birds since I am teaching each one of these children how to fire a
"Nail GUN" SAFELY in a VERY crowded room! There was even a four year old
girl who "Shot" EVERY nail in her own nestbox! BUT it is the 15 year old
children you REALLY have to watch.

We ran out of wood nestbox kits as there were 78 children. It is NOT fun
telling a group of children "Sorry we ran out of nestbox kits!" when they
have been hearing ALL DAY how much fun it was to "shoot" a nailgun....

The Wild Turkey group had a total of the number of adults and children we
made an impact on but this will not come close to the number of parents,
grandparents and aunts and uncles that will hear about yesterday! Just THINK
about ALL of the neighbors of these children that will be having gourds
swallowing up their joint fences and or yards like kudzu later this summer
or the sunflowers that will be blooming over the tops of fences or along the
edges of gardens:-))

MOST of the time we are teaching these children how to do these things for
the VERY first time in their lives! In some cases their parents have NEVER
done these things either. Teaching is like planting a seed. The fun part is
seeing how the garden of children grow up with these new ideas! It is NEVER
too late to plant a seed or begin to grow your own garden!

I hope all of you enjoy this Mother's Day! Keith Kridler


Subject: Really small entrance holes
From: geochelone AT aol.com
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 00:24:58 -0400
Hi all,



Well, I had a comment on one of my youtube videos that suggested that Tree 
Swallows could fit into a 15/16" hole.  It was mentioned as a remedy against 
House Sparrows.  Even though I don't have HOSP problems, I still am intrigued 
with the thought that I could set up Violet Green Swallows, which have so far 
been trounced at every opportunity to use my nestboxes by Bluebirds and such, 
with a nestbox that only Violet Greens and Tree Swallows could enter.  Still, 
I have doubts that they could or would enter these holes.  Anyone have 
information or experience with using entrance holes that are only an inch big? 
 Have you heard ANYTHING that would suggest this works? 





Mike on a trail in Milpitas
Subject: No Culprit found
From: Richard Harlow <raharlow AT comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 00:06:19 -0400
To Christy, Keith, Evelyn, Linda, and the list,

Checked the BCCH box with 'gloves' on and a stick.  All the eggs (4) 
that I could see, were recovered; (when I left the box last I hadn't 
covered up the eggs) and the nest looked neater.  Poked around slightly, 
no buzzing, no wasp - nothing that I could see. 
So, for the better part of valor I closed the box and decided to check 
again when she should have chicks.  I may check in a week, but in the 
years that she or a BCCH has used this box I have never caught her on 
the nest with eggs.  Feeding chicks yes, but that is it.  This box has 
been a very successful box except the one year that a Red Squirrel took 
it over, that was before I put a baffle on the post.
So far this is my only cavity nest!!
To put this in context we live in a rural area with the only immediate 
open space is our lawn and the lake.  Otherwise the rest of our property 
is woods, (many woodpecker trees and holes), a creek, etc. where we see 
Beaver, Muskrat, Deer, Mink, Otter, Red and Gray Squirrels, Opossum, 
Skunk, etc, etc. I have seen a pair of Coyotes in the winter, and 
evidence of them in the woods, but not seen them on our property as yet.

Still hoping for some nester's before the end of May - otherwise it 
could be a short nesting season for me.

Warm Regards,
Richard

Subject: interesting article
From: "Robert Barron" <rebarron AT gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 10:37:32 -0400
An interesting article to get your mind off the wedding in Texas and wrens
wreaking havoc in your Bluebird boxes.  I can't imagine what the damage to
wildlife was!  Keep reading until you get to the part about the destruction
of the mangroves that provided a natural storm barrier.

Rob Barron
Wilderness, Virginia

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080508-AP-the-perfect_2.html
Subject: Re: Starlings
From: Sheila Rogers <sheilarogers AT charter.net>
Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 20:51:47 -0700
Your article was quite interesting on starlings. They are quite smart 
birds in deed, if I wave my hands in the air....they don't leave, 
they know if I'm packing my  black pellet gun in my hand they throw a 
fit and squawk away and leave.

They change their voice on me, so I  won't  know what kind of bird is 
visiting and eating  the suet I put out...then they watch for 
me....if I go in, they are back in seconds, they know and watch me 
when I fill up the suet, seconds later they our fighting amongst 
themselves over food.

At this time, they aren't at the suet feeders, they our on the lawn 
looking for bugs and visit at dusk, so my  suet is lasting 2 days 
instead 30 minutes:)

Sheila
Redding, Ca

Subject: Article on titmice in England
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 21:30:32 -0500
Pretty interesting article on titmice adjusting their egg laying to match 
the food source for their young. KK


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7390109.stm 

Subject: Re: Starlings nesting vs woodpeckers
From: "Robert Barron" <rebarron AT gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 20:40:11 -0400
Keith,

You don't miss a thing!  Where I see Bluebirds in natural cavities in
Virginia is almost always in Green Ash, Sycamore or Black Walnut trees
growing along the wooded edge or in hedgerows between grazed horse or cow
pastures.  The sad part is that the developers come in and bulldoze
everything and plant a bunch of 6 foot, short lived, ornamental exotics that
will never produce a natural cavity.

I don't know much about European woodpeckers, but it seems definite that our
native birds didn't evolve to compete with ecological generalists like House
sparrows and European starlings.  They aren't true secondary cavity nesters,
they will nest anywhere including nest boxes and natural cavities.  I have
enough trouble keeping our native birds fresh in my brain, but I would guess
that in parts of the world there are native House sparrows and European
Starlings there are less secondary cavity nesters, and maybe that is why
Chickadees make their own cavity, with an entrance too small for
starlings and weaver finches.

I agree that European starlings are facinating, intelligent birds.  If I
remember correctly, they are related to Minah birds, and as pets can learn
to talk (or speak human languages).  Their flock-flight behaviour is
fascinating, like an airborne school of fish.  I think they are actually
quite pretty in the nuptial stage (what an anthropomorphic name) and they
have inspired Shakespeare and the Beatles.  They just don't belong here and
it is our fault, not theirs, that they are here.

I think we should start some kind of groundswell to change the official
ornithological clasification of *Passer domesticus *to something that
doesn't include the word "sparrow" because it is a name based on ignorance
and lumping all small brown birds together.  They aren't even New World
Emberizid Sparrows group, English or House, and calling them Sparrows is an
insult to our wonderful native "sparrows".

I've read some interesting articles that point to sparrows originating in
South America and then diverging into Europe.

Here are some interesting links for those inclined to folow cladistics.
They all are flying descendents of dinosaurs.  Pretty amazing.



http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-8038(199804)115%3A2%3C412%3ASRATES%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O&cookieSet=1 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emberizidae

I just hope that when Bob Dylan wrote "Every Grain of Sand" he wasn't
talking about house sparrows.

I have gone from rags to riches in the sorrow of the night
In the violence of a summer's dream, in the chill of a wintry light,
In the bitter dance of loneliness fading into space,
In the broken mirror of innocence on each forgotten face.

I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, there's someone there, other times it's only me.
I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man
Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand.

Rob Barron
Wilderness, Virginia

2008/5/9 Keith Kridler :

> Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
> Interesting observations about the House Sparrows and Starlings and
> bluebirds in natural cavities. Below is an interesting article about
> Starlings and their reaction to people watching them! Look how it applies
> to
> people trying to keep starlings from feeding at their birdfeeders or suet
> cages:-)) Search the "news" for "Starlings" and you will pull up about 150
> news articles.
>
>
> 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/04/30/scistar130.xml 

>
> Now starlings vs. woodpeckers are an interesting topic as in my part of the
> south we have a long nesting season. Starlings tend to time their egg
> laying
> so that the young hatch out just as the grass greens up and the white lawn
> grubs come up near the surface of the soil to feed on the shallow roots of
> mowed grass lawns or over grazed winter pastures with livestock. Starlings
> are communal nesters and seem to prefer to nest in a fairly large colony.
> They tend to synchronize their egg laying to an extent and will leave the
> nesting colony in flocks to feed and return in flocks. They work as a group
> watching for hawks as you have to realize that when they are digging a grub
> out of the grass roots they CANNOT see danger coming from above them. They
> depend on some birds in the flock to be watching for danger while their
> head
> is buried in the short grass.
>
> It is interesting to watch a large flock for when the majority of the flock
> have food they will ALL fly back to the colony or a staging area and head
> off to various nests. Then return to the staging area after the young are
> fed and return as a flock back to the feeding area. These starlings
> compensate or reward the unsuccessful "guard birds" by feeding ANY young in
> the colony that are begging loudly for food.
>
> In our area when the rains quit in a few more weeks the winter grasses will
> dry up, the ground will harden and the starlings will have already fledged
> their young for the year. These are really fascinating birds and you should
> observe them while you are dining or stop shopping for a while to observe
> these birds feeding in grassy areas.
>
> If Robert is seeing dozens of Starlings in one tree along that proposed
> right of way then somewhere fairly close you have open pasture land or a
> suburban community with many mowed lawns. These starlings just don't nest
> deep into a continuous unbroken forest land as they need certain food
> sources. The May or June beetle provides this source of food and again with
> the starlings as with MANY species with extremely high numbers they HAVE to
> take advantage of a fairly narrow window of optimum food sources as the
> June
> bug swarms are short lived as the adult bugs feed off of new tree leaves
> and
> die out as their preferred leaves harden off and the weather warms up. In
> good years June bugs swarm out of fields early evening by the millions to
> breed and simply overwhelm hungry predators with their sheer numbers, then
> they burrow into soft moist soil at first light to hide from Starlings and
> other birds and mammals who feed on them. Then the survivors emerge again
> as
> dusk deepens to dark of night.
>
> Once the young starlings fledge they follow the feeding flocks to the food
> sources. Once there, ANY young starling can beg for food from ANY adult and
> that bird will feed it and or teach it how to find food on it's own. This
> is
> when dog and cat food dishes outside become feeding stations for starlings!
>
> Right now in Northeast Texas starlings are beginning to fledge leaving some
> empty nest cavities. Oak trees are being stripped of leaves by June bugs.
> Great Crested Flycatchers are calling from every wooded area and
> woodpeckers
> are busily tap tapping out new homes or the lucky ones are also about to
> fledge their young.
>
> This makes me wonder what species of wood boring beetle grubs the late
> nesting woodpeckers find to feed their young! Late nesting Red Headed
> Woodpeckers are actually a "flycatcher" catching adult grasshoppers on the
> wing! How have the woodpeckers and other secondary cavity nesters adapted
> to
> the Starlings in Europe and Asia? KK
>
>
>
Subject: Re: Starlings nesting vs woodpeckers
From: wensuz AT isp.com
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 00:30:33 -0000 (GMT)
> Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
> Interesting observations about the House Sparrows and Starlings and
> bluebirds in natural cavities. Below is an interesting article about
> Starlings and their reaction to people watching them! Look how it applies
> to
> people trying to keep starlings from feeding at their birdfeeders or suet
> cages:-)) Search the "news" for "Starlings" and you will pull up about 150
> news articles.
>
> 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/04/30/scistar130.xml 

>
> Now starlings vs. woodpeckers are an interesting topic as in my part of
> the
> south we have a long nesting season. Starlings tend to time their egg
> laying
> so that the young hatch out just as the grass greens up and the white lawn
> grubs come up near the surface of the soil to feed on the shallow roots of
> mowed grass lawns or over grazed winter pastures with livestock. Starlings
> are communal nesters and seem to prefer to nest in a fairly large colony.
> They tend to synchronize their egg laying to an extent and will leave the
> nesting colony in flocks to feed and return in flocks. They work as a
> group
> watching for hawks as you have to realize that when they are digging a
> grub
> out of the grass roots they CANNOT see danger coming from above them. They
> depend on some birds in the flock to be watching for danger while their
> head
> is buried in the short grass.
>
> It is interesting to watch a large flock for when the majority of the
> flock
> have food they will ALL fly back to the colony or a staging area and head
> off to various nests. Then return to the staging area after the young are
> fed and return as a flock back to the feeding area. These starlings
> compensate or reward the unsuccessful "guard birds" by feeding ANY young
> in
> the colony that are begging loudly for food.
>
> In our area when the rains quit in a few more weeks the winter grasses
> will
> dry up, the ground will harden and the starlings will have already fledged
> their young for the year. These are really fascinating birds and you
> should
> observe them while you are dining or stop shopping for a while to observe
> these birds feeding in grassy areas.
>
> If Robert is seeing dozens of Starlings in one tree along that proposed
> right of way then somewhere fairly close you have open pasture land or a
> suburban community with many mowed lawns. These starlings just don't nest
> deep into a continuous unbroken forest land as they need certain food
> sources. The May or June beetle provides this source of food and again
> with
> the starlings as with MANY species with extremely high numbers they HAVE
> to
> take advantage of a fairly narrow window of optimum food sources as the
> June
> bug swarms are short lived as the adult bugs feed off of new tree leaves
> and
> die out as their preferred leaves harden off and the weather warms up. In
> good years June bugs swarm out of fields early evening by the millions to
> breed and simply overwhelm hungry predators with their sheer numbers, then
> they burrow into soft moist soil at first light to hide from Starlings and
> other birds and mammals who feed on them. Then the survivors emerge again
> as
> dusk deepens to dark of night.
>
> Once the young starlings fledge they follow the feeding flocks to the food
> sources. Once there, ANY young starling can beg for food from ANY adult
> and
> that bird will feed it and or teach it how to find food on it's own. This
> is
> when dog and cat food dishes outside become feeding stations for
> starlings!
>
> Right now in Northeast Texas starlings are beginning to fledge leaving
> some
> empty nest cavities. Oak trees are being stripped of leaves by June bugs.
> Great Crested Flycatchers are calling from every wooded area and
> woodpeckers
> are busily tap tapping out new homes or the lucky ones are also about to
> fledge their young.
>
> This makes me wonder what species of wood boring beetle grubs the late
> nesting woodpeckers find to feed their young! Late nesting Red Headed
> Woodpeckers are actually a "flycatcher" catching adult grasshoppers on the
> wing! How have the woodpeckers and other secondary cavity nesters adapted
> to
> the Starlings in Europe and Asia? KK
>
>
>
    Hi Keith and all; Since the Red-headed Woodpecker is in decline due to
Starling competition, I was just wondering how other
competitors/predators factor into their decline as well. I have been
observing a pair of RHWPs in a tall snag across the road from me,
their cavity faces my house, east, so I have a great vantage point.
What I have been seeing however, is not EUST interference, but
Grackle. The Grackles have been prowling about lately in my area, and
I saw one of them in the RHWP snag while one of the WPs was in its
cavity. When the RHWP exited, the Grackle flew off after it. I'm
thinking the Grackles are waiting for the RHWPs to begin laying and
then snatch up the eggs and/or chicks. I have seen the Grackles
investigating what looks like a squirrel nest, it seems to have been
empty or abandoned. I am rethinking my attitude toward these
predators, since Keith mentioned he feeds the Jays and Crows to keep
them satisfied and thereby perhaps, preventing them from raiding other
birds nests. Maybe I should let the Grackles fill up on my  peanuts,
and  not be so quick to chase them off? I would hate to see the RHWP
nest attempt fail if I could help in some way. Just my thoughts.      
               -Wendy in OH


-----------------------------------------
Join ISP.COM today - $9.95 internet , less than 1/2 the cost of AOL
Try us out, http://www.isp.com/

Subject: Starlings nesting vs woodpeckers
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 07:19:40 -0500
Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Interesting observations about the House Sparrows and Starlings and 
bluebirds in natural cavities. Below is an interesting article about 
Starlings and their reaction to people watching them! Look how it applies to 
people trying to keep starlings from feeding at their birdfeeders or suet 
cages:-)) Search the "news" for "Starlings" and you will pull up about 150 
news articles.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/04/30/scistar130.xml 


Now starlings vs. woodpeckers are an interesting topic as in my part of the 
south we have a long nesting season. Starlings tend to time their egg laying 
so that the young hatch out just as the grass greens up and the white lawn 
grubs come up near the surface of the soil to feed on the shallow roots of 
mowed grass lawns or over grazed winter pastures with livestock. Starlings 
are communal nesters and seem to prefer to nest in a fairly large colony. 
They tend to synchronize their egg laying to an extent and will leave the 
nesting colony in flocks to feed and return in flocks. They work as a group 
watching for hawks as you have to realize that when they are digging a grub 
out of the grass roots they CANNOT see danger coming from above them. They 
depend on some birds in the flock to be watching for danger while their head 
is buried in the short grass.

It is interesting to watch a large flock for when the majority of the flock 
have food they will ALL fly back to the colony or a staging area and head 
off to various nests. Then return to the staging area after the young are 
fed and return as a flock back to the feeding area. These starlings 
compensate or reward the unsuccessful "guard birds" by feeding ANY young in 
the colony that are begging loudly for food.

In our area when the rains quit in a few more weeks the winter grasses will 
dry up, the ground will harden and the starlings will have already fledged 
their young for the year. These are really fascinating birds and you should 
observe them while you are dining or stop shopping for a while to observe 
these birds feeding in grassy areas.

If Robert is seeing dozens of Starlings in one tree along that proposed 
right of way then somewhere fairly close you have open pasture land or a 
suburban community with many mowed lawns. These starlings just don't nest 
deep into a continuous unbroken forest land as they need certain food 
sources. The May or June beetle provides this source of food and again with 
the starlings as with MANY species with extremely high numbers they HAVE to 
take advantage of a fairly narrow window of optimum food sources as the June 
bug swarms are short lived as the adult bugs feed off of new tree leaves and 
die out as their preferred leaves harden off and the weather warms up. In 
good years June bugs swarm out of fields early evening by the millions to 
breed and simply overwhelm hungry predators with their sheer numbers, then 
they burrow into soft moist soil at first light to hide from Starlings and 
other birds and mammals who feed on them. Then the survivors emerge again as 
dusk deepens to dark of night.

Once the young starlings fledge they follow the feeding flocks to the food 
sources. Once there, ANY young starling can beg for food from ANY adult and 
that bird will feed it and or teach it how to find food on it's own. This is 
when dog and cat food dishes outside become feeding stations for starlings!

Right now in Northeast Texas starlings are beginning to fledge leaving some 
empty nest cavities. Oak trees are being stripped of leaves by June bugs. 
Great Crested Flycatchers are calling from every wooded area and woodpeckers 
are busily tap tapping out new homes or the lucky ones are also about to 
fledge their young.

This makes me wonder what species of wood boring beetle grubs the late 
nesting woodpeckers find to feed their young! Late nesting Red Headed 
Woodpeckers are actually a "flycatcher" catching adult grasshoppers on the 
wing! How have the woodpeckers and other secondary cavity nesters adapted to 
the Starlings in Europe and Asia? KK 

Subject: Cold Spring Kills Songbirds in Minnesota
From: "Steve Murphy Home" <thcri AT qwest.net>
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 06:15:54 -0500

I don't know if I can post links here or not but if not let me know and I
won't in the future.  Sad Story Though.


http://www.kttc.com/News/index.php?ID=24620


Better Story Here,

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=
341535



Steve Murphy

Subject: HOSP in natural cavites
From: ckanchor AT comcast.net
Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 02:03:01 +0000
Rob and others,
I've never seen HOSP nest in natural cavities either although I have seen them 
build large messy nests in trees, mostly evergreen trees but also some small 
deciduous trees as well. I don't know the area you are talking about. If the 
trees you are describing are in woods that would help explain the absence of 
the HOSP. I've never seen them in wooded areas and that would be where there 
would be more trees with natural cavities. I'm am surprised that the bluebirds 
would have nests along with the starlings though. Maybe since you are not able 
to monitor the situation, that eventually the bluebirds will find themselves in 
trouble. A couple of times I've watched Red-bellied Woodpeckers making nest 
cavities while starlings stood by quietly observing. After a couple of weeks of 
hard work and after the female Red-bellied was there with the male trying out 
the new hole, the starlings evicted them. But even around here where we have 
1000's and 1000's of starlings, the Red-bellieds must find 

a hole someplace or we wouldn't have the woodpeckers. I've also seen bluebirds 
checking out natural cavities, mostly in wooded river bottom areas. I didn't 
know if they were nesting there but assumed so. River bottom areas aren't 
exactly short-grass habitat....lots we don't know. 


Charlene Anchor
E. Central Illinois
Subject: Re: Fw: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs
From: "Robert Barron" <rebarron AT gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 20:48:27 -0400
I work for an environmental consulting company and during nesting season I'm
frequently doing threatened and endangered species surveys from dusk to
dawn, all over Virginia.  Yesterday I was surveying a long easement where
Domnion Power is installing a new aerial power line and looking for
Loggerhead Shrikes and Upland Sandpipers.  It is in an area of northern
Virginia that has been rapidly developed (near Purcellville).  Ono easement,
there were two Sycamore trees 50 feet apart, one was healthy and full of
Baltimore and Orchard orioles, Redstarts and other assorted warblers,
Red-bellied woodpeckers, Mocking Birds and Brown thrashers.  The other tree
was diseased, full of cavities,  and looked like a European starling hotel
until I got closer and saw at least 3 pairs of EABL's nesting in a tree
infested with European Starlings.  I didn't see a Bluebird box all day.

I see Bluebirds nesting in natural cavities every day in Virginia, and I
have never seen a House sparrow nest in a natural cavity.  I don't know what
it all means.  The more you observe, the more you realize how little we
really know.

Rob Barron
Wilderness, Virginia

2008/5/8 Keith Kridler :

> I am forwarding the write up below that I sent a few days ago to some folks
> off list with three photos of the tractor trailer rig and the bluebird
> nests
> that I wrote about this morning. I encourage all of you to go out and watch
> for bluebirds to see where they are nesting when there are NO nestboxes for
> them to nest in:-)) Especially those people who have fledged bluebirds for
> years in a location but never add more boxes over the years for the
> overflow
> of baby bluebirds the following years! If you want to see these photos
> e-mail me off list but I have a noon program to give and then a 6 PM
> meeting
> tonight to pick up 150 gourds to put on a program for a couple hundred kids
> at a Jakes event Saturday for the Wild Turkey Federation.
>
> I don't worry about every Scout or child or adult I talk to about bluebirds
> EVER doing everything 100% Gung Ho about bluebirding. You hope that over
> the
> years you inspire just one or two people to be better bluebirders. Keith
> Kridler
>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:41 AM
> Subject: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs
>
>
> There are MILLIONS of these shipping containers coming to North America
> from
> China every year. They take the excess containers and bolt on a set of
> wheels and make tractor trailer rigs out of them. Or sell them for storage
> containers. They are building apartments out of some of these or cutting in
> doors and windows and making small houses.
>
> If you look at the front and back, bottom and top corners of all of these
> containers they have what looks like an entrance hole on them. Bluebirds
> are
> attracted to these holes, fly around and under them and then nest right on
> these ledges. Notice that there are TWO different nests on this one ledge.
> The first one was pine needles the second was made from grass. Evidently
> the
> last time bluebirds nested in this trailer the rig was parked near some
> pines trees at a different location. There are four or five of these ledges
> under the fronts of all of these trailers that I am finding bluebird nests
> on.
>
> These two trailers are Union Pacific railroad work trailers that were
> brought in for a big re-work project south of Pittsburg Texas. There are
> actually five baby bluebirds about to fledge in this nest. The flaking
> paint
> you see is almost for sure an industrial lead based paint. I could test if
> with a test kit to be sure but if they use lead paint on baby toys I think
> you know what is in this! The lead paint is supposed to last longer for
> industrial uses and I think we still export lead based paints.
>
> Anyway if you look around just a little you can find bluebirds nesting in
> these spots as will the Carolina Wrens. The problem of course is that the
> birds need to chose a trailer that will stay put for a month or just a
> little longer.
>
> Notice the label on the blue trailer, BB 4310 or Bluebird Box 4310:-))
> Height of the floors of these trailers are 54" from the pavement to the
> inside floor so the nesting ledges are under 48" to the ground. Keith
> Kridler
>
>
>
Subject: Re: Dimlin spray
From: Lynn Emerich <lemerich AT epix.net>
Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 20:37:25 -0400
Just pulled this from the chemical fact sheet: 

Based on these studies, diflubenzuron is of low toxicity to birds,
  finfish, and honeybees, but is extremely toxic to aquatic
  invertebrates.  Therefore, additional studies are required to
  complete a hazard assessment for aquatic invertebrates.

Here in PA, they usually spray with BT which only effects caterpillars. I think 
some areas here are expecting a good crop of gypsy moths, 

so some areas will be sprayed.

Lynn near Bernville PA



wendy balder wrote:

> Yesterday they sprayed the wooded part of our yard and the yards of 
> neighbors w/mature oaks (we have none, yet) w/Dimlin to kill off Gypsy 
> Moths.  Does anyone know of its adverse effects on birds?  Will Dimlin 
> affect all other insects?
>
> Any information'd be welcome.
>
> Wendy of Freeland MD

Subject: Re: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs
From: "Mike" <giaandmike AT zoominternet.net>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 20:16:09 -0400
Hi

I am interested in your comment about people who don't add nestboxes in 
successive years. I might be able to add one more nestbox for blues in my 
front yard (if I successfully DRST house sparrows, although there aren't 
many left), but if we're talking 500 yards between nestboxes, that would be 
all my property can offer. Is it possible that returning members of the same 
family might nest closer together?

Gia


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Keith Kridler" 
To: "BLUEBIRD-L" 
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 8:16 AM
Subject: Fw: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs


>I am forwarding the write up below that I sent a few days ago to some folks
> off list with three photos of the tractor trailer rig and the bluebird 
> nests
> that I wrote about this morning. I encourage all of you to go out and 
> watch
> for bluebirds to see where they are nesting when there are NO nestboxes 
> for
> them to nest in:-)) Especially those people who have fledged bluebirds for
> years in a location but never add more boxes over the years for the 
> overflow
> of baby bluebirds the following years! If you want to see these photos
> e-mail me off list but I have a noon program to give and then a 6 PM 
> meeting
> tonight to pick up 150 gourds to put on a program for a couple hundred 
> kids
> at a Jakes event Saturday for the Wild Turkey Federation.
>
> I don't worry about every Scout or child or adult I talk to about 
> bluebirds
> EVER doing everything 100% Gung Ho about bluebirding. You hope that over 
> the
> years you inspire just one or two people to be better bluebirders. Keith
> Kridler
>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:41 AM
> Subject: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs
>
>
> There are MILLIONS of these shipping containers coming to North America 
> from
> China every year. They take the excess containers and bolt on a set of
> wheels and make tractor trailer rigs out of them. Or sell them for storage
> containers. They are building apartments out of some of these or cutting 
> in
> doors and windows and making small houses.
>
> If you look at the front and back, bottom and top corners of all of these
> containers they have what looks like an entrance hole on them. Bluebirds 
> are
> attracted to these holes, fly around and under them and then nest right on
> these ledges. Notice that there are TWO different nests on this one ledge.
> The first one was pine needles the second was made from grass. Evidently 
> the
> last time bluebirds nested in this trailer the rig was parked near some
> pines trees at a different location. There are four or five of these 
> ledges
> under the fronts of all of these trailers that I am finding bluebird nests
> on.
>
> These two trailers are Union Pacific railroad work trailers that were
> brought in for a big re-work project south of Pittsburg Texas. There are
> actually five baby bluebirds about to fledge in this nest. The flaking 
> paint
> you see is almost for sure an industrial lead based paint. I could test if
> with a test kit to be sure but if they use lead paint on baby toys I think
> you know what is in this! The lead paint is supposed to last longer for
> industrial uses and I think we still export lead based paints.
>
> Anyway if you look around just a little you can find bluebirds nesting in
> these spots as will the Carolina Wrens. The problem of course is that the
> birds need to chose a trailer that will stay put for a month or just a
> little longer.
>
> Notice the label on the blue trailer, BB 4310 or Bluebird Box 4310:-))
> Height of the floors of these trailers are 54" from the pavement to the
> inside floor so the nesting ledges are under 48" to the ground. Keith
> Kridler
>
>
>
> 


Subject: Dimlin spray
From: "wendy balder" <wbalder AT gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 19:39:34 -0400
Yesterday they sprayed the wooded part of our yard and the yards of
neighbors w/mature oaks (we have none, yet) w/Dimlin to kill off Gypsy
Moths.  Does anyone know of its adverse effects on birds?  Will Dimlin
affect all other insects?
Any information'd be welcome.

Wendy of Freeland MD
Subject: Re: Strange goings on with hawk and sparrow?
From: "Robert Barron" <rebarron AT gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 18:04:06 -0400
I think the hawk got hit by a car and the impact split it's crop open.  Bird
crops withstand gravel and sharp bones.  Just my opinion.  Sorry about your
shoulder Dottie!  Hope you repair quickly.
Rob Barron
Wilderness, Virginia
2008/5/8 Dottie :

> I don't believe it.  Hawk would have killed bird before eating it—I think.
> Broke right shoulder-fell---typing with left hand.  I'm right handed.
>
> Dottie, Hickory Hollow
>   Brown County, Indiana
>      (50 miles south of Indianapolis)
> Lat: 39.371N  Lon: 86.261W  Zone 5  Elevation:  680 ft
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-2640592-3587711 AT list.cornell.edu
> [mailto:bounce-2640592-3587711 AT list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of
> KCBSP AT aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 7:57 PM
> To: Bluebird-L AT cornell.edu
> Subject: Strange goings on with hawk and sparrow?
>
> This came in an email to me.   Just though this sounds so odd.   Kathy
> Clark
>
>
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24294408>1=43001
>
>
>
> Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car listings at
> AOL Autos.
>
>
>
Subject: Re: After an EABL nest failure
From: "Robert Barron" <rebarron AT gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 18:10:15 -0400
I'd leave the nest there, especially right in the middle of the nesting
season.  having to start over from scratch will delay egg laying, expend
more energy, and may make them find another site.  They may not come back
because they learned that location isn't a good nest site, but removing an
unused nest won't stimulate them to nest again in that location.

If anything, I might consider leaving the nest in that box and moving it
slowly to another location.  I had a nest box specifically made for trapping
House sparrows.  Bluebirds made a nest in it and laid 5 eggs.  It was in the
full sun, so I moved it 4 or 5 feet at a time over the course of a day to
get it under the shade of a tree.

Rob Barron
Wilderness, VA

2008/5/8 bapgar AT juno.com :

> Hi all,
>
> Say, what's the conventional wisdom as far as what to do after a nest is
> abandoned or the eggs removed by a house wren?
>
> What condition promotes the fastest nest re-start?  Are we supposed to
> remove the nest or leave it in there?
>
> I have now had to endure just about every cause to nest failures including
> four wheeler's startling the birds away, a wren attack, a hawk attack and
> mysterious abandonment (which may have been four wheeler's again).
>
> Also, if we've been monitoring and found a brand new nest this year that
> has been left, without eggs kind of dishevled, should we leave it in there
> for the rest of the season?  Or should we wait a certain period and remove
> the nest
>
> THanks,
> Bill from South Central, MA
> _____________________________________________________________
> Protect your family.  Click here for life insurance quotes from top
> companies.
>
> 
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2111/fc/Ioyw6iifSTswp4TgwU7C6upPYqt8OSOLgSbUrnnvLunnF3lVzeN534/?count=1234567890 

>
>
>
>
Subject: Abandoned WEBL Nest?
From: Jason Kitting <jrkitting AT yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 14:46:26 -0700 (PDT)
I checked my nestboxes today and found two eggs in a box that WEBLs had built a 
nest in, but the strange thing is the BBs started laying on Monday. I also saw 
a female WEBL perched on a snag near by that has an old woodpecker cavity in 
it. Is it possible that the BBs abandoned the nestbox and re-nested in the 
natural cavity? Would they abandon a nest with eggs? Thanks for any help. And 
on a lighter note, the MOCHs have three eggs now! 

   
  Jason Tijeras, New Mexico

       
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Subject: RE: Strange goings on with hawk and sparrow?
From: "Dottie" <yumyumkatts AT voyager.net>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 15:31:17 -0400
I don’t believe it.  Hawk would have killed bird before eating it—I think.
Broke right shoulder-fell---typing with left hand.  I’m right handed.

Dottie, Hickory Hollow
  Brown County, Indiana
     (50 miles south of Indianapolis)
Lat: 39.371N  Lon: 86.261W  Zone 5  Elevation:  680 ft

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-2640592-3587711 AT list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-2640592-3587711 AT list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of KCBSP AT aol.com
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 7:57 PM
To: Bluebird-L AT cornell.edu
Subject: Strange goings on with hawk and sparrow?

This came in an email to me.   Just though this sounds so odd.   Kathy Clark
 
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24294408>1=43001



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Subject: Return of the cavity nesters
From: happywebl AT comcast.net
Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 18:33:57 +0000
It has been two years since the CDF "cleaned up" the preserve behind my home.  At that time, they cut all the dead limbs from the trees, removed trees along the creek that were dying, and cleaned out all the blackberry bushes.  Before that, the trees were full of birds, the creek was full of frogs, and we saw deer and wild turkeys in the bushes.  Last summer, they were all gone.

This season we have a pair of Acorn Woodpeckers nesting there, a pair of Titmice, and a Flycatcher!  In the evening I'm hearing some frogs sing now, too.  I can also hear the turkeys, but I haven't seen any  yet (no deer, either), but I'm hopeful that things are turning around. 

Barbara in Cloverdale, CA

Subject: After an EABL nest failure
From: "bapgar AT juno.com" <bapgar@juno.com>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 13:06:15 GMT
Hi all,

Say, what's the conventional wisdom as far as what to do after a nest is 
abandoned or the eggs removed by a house wren? 


What condition promotes the fastest nest re-start? Are we supposed to remove 
the nest or leave it in there? 


I have now had to endure just about every cause to nest failures including four 
wheeler's startling the birds away, a wren attack, a hawk attack and mysterious 
abandonment (which may have been four wheeler's again). 


Also, if we've been monitoring and found a brand new nest this year that has 
been left, without eggs kind of dishevled, should we leave it in there for the 
rest of the season? Or should we wait a certain period and remove the nest 


THanks,
Bill from South Central, MA
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Subject: Bluebirds guarding territory
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 07:06:09 -0500
Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Last weekend we were able to observe how wide of an area Eastern Bluebirds 
were feeding from. I mentioned the adult bluebirds seemed to be eating most 
of the insects and then carrying just a few to their nest in the wall of a 
building. Since they were being so picky on what they were carrying to the 
nest I falsely assumed that the young must only be a day or two old.

We were watching their "nest" from several hundred feet away and the 
bluebirds would "disappear" into a dark section of the back of the building. 
When I went and parked my truck at this location Monday to eat lunch they 
were actually landing on a special perch just before they flew to their nest 
under the front of a trailer for and 18 wheeler rig.

There were actually five young ready to fledge so I don't know why the 
adults were eating so many insects and only carrying a few to the young.

Another interesting thing I noticed when we observed them from the far end 
of the city block, for two days the bluebirds were flying 300 feet or more 
in several directions to hunt for insects. BUT when I parked my truck within 
15 feet of their nest they stayed within about 100 feet of their nest while 
watching me and hunting for insects. They seems to fly down and pick up 
insects anytime they wanted one!

They have amazing eyesight as they drop down from high perches and will fly 
80>130 feet to pick up an insect they saw moving in the grass!

When you think about it one of the reasons bluebirds "might" guard such a 
large area from other nesting bluebirds is that they may "want" to be able 
to feed well away from the nestbox so as NOT to draw attention to their nest 
if they constantly fed or hunted within a small area surrounding their 
nests.

With their "wanting" to nest in a more open area like this the bluebirds 
could easily sit 500 or even 600 feet away from the nest and still have the 
uncanny eyesight to watch for nearby predators approaching their nest site.

There were hundreds of pairs of birds feeding in the areas with these 
bluebirds, mostly grackles and starlings were also working the grassy areas 
in search of insects. It did not seem like there was a shortage of insects 
for any of these birds.

Watch and see if YOUR bluebirds feed near the nestbox or if they spend most 
of their time hunting and perching and watching their nestbox from a 
distance.

We see so many things but fail to understand what we are seeing! KK



Subject: Fw: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 07:16:31 -0500
I am forwarding the write up below that I sent a few days ago to some folks 
off list with three photos of the tractor trailer rig and the bluebird nests 
that I wrote about this morning. I encourage all of you to go out and watch 
for bluebirds to see where they are nesting when there are NO nestboxes for 
them to nest in:-)) Especially those people who have fledged bluebirds for 
years in a location but never add more boxes over the years for the overflow 
of baby bluebirds the following years! If you want to see these photos 
e-mail me off list but I have a noon program to give and then a 6 PM meeting 
tonight to pick up 150 gourds to put on a program for a couple hundred kids 
at a Jakes event Saturday for the Wild Turkey Federation.

I don't worry about every Scout or child or adult I talk to about bluebirds 
EVER doing everything 100% Gung Ho about bluebirding. You hope that over the 
years you inspire just one or two people to be better bluebirders. Keith 
Kridler

Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:41 AM
Subject: bluebirds nesting in tractor trailer rigs


There are MILLIONS of these shipping containers coming to North America from
China every year. They take the excess containers and bolt on a set of
wheels and make tractor trailer rigs out of them. Or sell them for storage
containers. They are building apartments out of some of these or cutting in
doors and windows and making small houses.

If you look at the front and back, bottom and top corners of all of these
containers they have what looks like an entrance hole on them. Bluebirds are
attracted to these holes, fly around and under them and then nest right on
these ledges. Notice that there are TWO different nests on this one ledge.
The first one was pine needles the second was made from grass. Evidently the
last time bluebirds nested in this trailer the rig was parked near some
pines trees at a different location. There are four or five of these ledges
under the fronts of all of these trailers that I am finding bluebird nests
on.

These two trailers are Union Pacific railroad work trailers that were
brought in for a big re-work project south of Pittsburg Texas. There are
actually five baby bluebirds about to fledge in this nest. The flaking paint
you see is almost for sure an industrial lead based paint. I could test if
with a test kit to be sure but if they use lead paint on baby toys I think
you know what is in this! The lead paint is supposed to last longer for
industrial uses and I think we still export lead based paints.

Anyway if you look around just a little you can find bluebirds nesting in
these spots as will the Carolina Wrens. The problem of course is that the
birds need to chose a trailer that will stay put for a month or just a
little longer.

Notice the label on the blue trailer, BB 4310 or Bluebird Box 4310:-))
Height of the floors of these trailers are 54" from the pavement to the
inside floor so the nesting ledges are under 48" to the ground. Keith
Kridler

Subject: test
From: Horace Sher <hjsher1 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 11:45:36 -0700 (PDT)
test


 
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Subject: RE: Lesson Learned?
From: "Linda Lee H." <girlie.123 AT hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 17:39:37 +0000
mice carry disease, thank goodness the skin wasn't broken.............
 



> From: m-r-sumner AT juno.com> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 01:34:34 +0000> To: 
bluebird-l AT cornell.edu> Subject: Re: Lesson Learned?> > Richard,> > Maybe it 
was a mice.> > Maynard Sumner> Flint, MI> > www.michiganbluebirds.org> > > > -- 
Richard Harlow  wrote:> I thought I was sending this to 
the list as well as Evelyn.> Sorry about that.> Here goes.> > > Hi List, and 
Evelyn,> > Thought you all might get a laugh out of my stupidity!! > > This 
PM decided to check my 11 boxes. It is really not a trail since > they are all 
on my property. I may have mentioned before that I have > several different box 
styles up on galvanized posts each with a baffle. > All the underside of the 
roofs have been soaped. Tree Swallows have > been here since the second week of 
April looking at most of them. But, > none seem to have taken up residence as 
yet. Shows how far behind > Vermont is from the rest of you! :-)> But, it has 
been over a week since I last looked inside them and all I > had at that point 
was a very nice moss nest in Box 2 that has > traditionally been a BCCH box. 
So, I knew there might be eggs and that > if she was true to last year she 
would cover them up and leave as I came > down the trail to the water. So, I 
decided to check all the other boxes > before I went to Box 1 and 2. This I did 
and there were NO occupants, > not even a hint of interest with grass, feather, 
nothing in 9 boxes. > Discouraging to be sure.> So on down to the water. Opened 
box 1 - at least there was the > traditional white feather and some grass, but 
NO actual nest, just the > hint there might be one.> OK, so now on to Box 2 and 
the BCCH. AH, just as I thought the nest had > a topknot of fluff over the moss 
cup. I knew there must be eggs there, > BUT how many? So, I took off my gloves 
and very carefully parted the > fluff. There were the eggs!! How many - needed 
to part the fluff some > more. Inserted bare hand with index finger so so 
gently parting the > fluff! OUCH # AT  AT #*&%% many expletives deleted. Boy did I 
move fast - > not bad for an old man. My finger is stiff and slightly swollen 
and > under a magnifying glass there is nothing but the "spot" where the > 
"bite" occurred.> Obviously, whoever it is (don't know since the bite on the 
end of my > finger did not have a stinger that I could see) is living with the 
> BCCH. Not a bad roommate if in fact it is either mutualistic or > 
commensilistic?> Does anyone have an idea what biting/stinging roommate this 
BCCH could > have had. There was NO buzzing. Those of you with more experience 
with > BCCH than I, please give me some advice on how to proceed monitoring > 
this box.> > Many Thanks in advance.> > Richard Harlow> Arrowhead Lake> Milton, 
VT.> > > > > > > Evelyn Cooper wrote:> >> > I use bar soap, ivory. It works for 
me. I put it on very early in the > > season> > before it gets warm enough for 
the wasps to start coming to the boxes. > > That> > way, I am ahead of them and 
don't have to encounter them. I flat works > > for> > me.> >> > Evelyn> > 
Delhi, LA> > > > _____________________________________________________________> 
Click to find local singles for dating, romance and fun> 
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> > 

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Subject: RE: Lesson Learned?
From: "Linda Lee H." <girlie.123 AT hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 17:38:08 +0000
Richard,
 
Vermont is so beautiful you lucky you !!! Do you think it was possibly an angry 
mom down there? Very strange, let me know if you figure it out !! I would think 
this "thing" may have to be removed as maybe the birds will be in danger. Can 
you look at it closer again with the mirror, this time with long gloves on ??? 

 
 By the way, I always use gloves when checking a box as one never knows what 
they may find in there and I proceed cautiously..... since I'm new at this I'm 
extra paranoid anyway. 

good luck with your birds !!!
 
Linda - VA (DC metro Area)
 



> Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 21:03:32 -0400> From: raharlow AT comcast.net> To: 
bluebird-l AT list.cornell.edu> Subject: Lesson Learned?> > I thought I was 
sending this to the list as well as Evelyn.> Sorry about that.> Here goes.> > > 
Hi List, and Evelyn,> > Thought you all might get a laugh out of my stupidity!! 
> > This PM decided to check my 11 boxes. It is really not a trail since > 
they are all on my property. I may have mentioned before that I have > several 
different box styles up on galvanized posts each with a baffle. > All the 
underside of the roofs have been soaped. Tree Swallows have > been here since 
the second week of April looking at most of them. But, > none seem to have 
taken up residence as yet. Shows how far behind > Vermont is from the rest of 
you! :-)> But, it has been over a week since I last looked inside them and all 
I > had at that point was a very nice moss nest in Box 2 that has > 
traditionally been a BCCH box. So, I knew there might be eggs and that > if she 
was true to last year she would cover them up and leave as I came > down the 
trail to the water. So, I decided to check all the other boxes > before I went 
to Box 1 and 2. This I did and there were NO occupants, > not even a hint of 
interest with grass, feather, nothing in 9 boxes. > Discouraging to be sure.> 
So on down to the water. Opened box 1 - at least there was the > traditional 
white feather and some grass, but NO actual nest, just the > hint there might 
be one.> OK, so now on to Box 2 and the BCCH. AH, just as I thought the nest 
had > a topknot of fluff over the moss cup. I knew there must be eggs there, > 
BUT how many? So, I took off my gloves and very carefully parted the > fluff. 
There were the eggs!! How many - needed to part the fluff some > more. Inserted 
bare hand with index finger so so gently parting the > fluff! OUCH # AT  AT #*&%% 
many expletives deleted. Boy did I move fast - > not bad for an old man. My 
finger is stiff and slightly swollen and > under a magnifying glass there is 
nothing but the "spot" where the > "bite" occurred.> Obviously, whoever it is 
(don't know since the bite on the end of my > finger did not have a stinger 
that I could see) is living with the > BCCH. Not a bad roommate if in fact it 
is either mutualistic or > commensilistic?> Does anyone have an idea what 
biting/stinging roommate this BCCH could > have had. There was NO buzzing. 
Those of you with more experience with > BCCH than I, please give me some 
advice on how to proceed monitoring > this box.> > Many Thanks in advance.> > 
Richard Harlow> Arrowhead Lake> Milton, VT.> > > > > > > Evelyn Cooper wrote:> 
>> > I use bar soap, ivory. It works for me. I put it on very early in the > > 
season> > before it gets warm enough for the wasps to start coming to the 
boxes. > > That> > way, I am ahead of them and don't have to encounter them. I 
flat works > > for> > me.> >> > Evelyn> > Delhi, LA> > > > 

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Subject: Blue Jays
From: "Lawrence Herbert" <lherbert AT 4state.com>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 12:05:54 -0500
Lynn, in PA and bluebirdsters -

Actually Blue Jays are quite often very regular in migration especially
in late summer and early fall.  Post breeding I suppose.  They'll fly
day time in loose flocks or many times in rows.  And they fly
silently going somewhere (personal observations).  Many raptor
watchers see them in migration but they are just monitoring the
raptors usually and don't count the Blue Jays.  Like Keith said these
birds can come right back to your door step.  That has always been
amazing and uncanny to me.  

Good birding to all,  Larry H.  Joplin MO.  
Subject: RE: Lesson Learned?
From: "Steve and Cindy Groene" <hausgroene AT comcast.net>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 10:50:42 -0400
I would caution everyone using the mechanics mirror to check how well the
mirror is attached.  I nearly had a disaster w/ a box of 5 eggs last season.
The mirror came unglued and fell off when I pulled it out of the nestbox and
hit the ground.  It was a new mechanic's mirror too.  I was totally
surprised.  That mirror was only used for monitoring.   I shudder to think
of the consequences of that mirror falling on five eggs.

 

Cindy Groene

South Lyon, Mi

 

 

"Hi all,
 
This is a good reminder for all of us. When I check my nest boxes, I use a
mechanic's mirror,
a round movable mirror "on a stick". I can look into the nests without
having to touch the eggs
at all. I have my nest boxes mounted high enough that I cannot just look in
to the nest. With 
the mirror, there is no danger of accidentally breaking an egg or getting
stung or bitten. To 
remove the nest, I use a plastic 3 inch putty knife that scrapes the bottom
and sides of the 
box as well.
 
Mary, River Falls, WI"
Subject: RE: Lesson Learned?
From: Mary Beth Roen <mbroen AT hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 08:36:20 -0500
 
Hi all,
 
This is a good reminder for all of us. When I check my nest boxes, I use a 
mechanic's mirror, 

a round movable mirror "on a stick". I can look into the nests without having 
to touch the eggs 

at all. I have my nest boxes mounted high enough that I cannot just look in to 
the nest. With 

the mirror, there is no danger of accidentally breaking an egg or getting stung 
or bitten. To 

remove the nest, I use a plastic 3 inch putty knife that scrapes the bottom and 
sides of the 

box as well.
 
Mary, River Falls, WI
 



> From: txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net> To: raharlow AT comcast.net; 
bluebird-l AT list.cornell.edu> Subject: Re: Lesson Learned?> Date: Wed, 7 May 
2008 06:53:52 -0500> > I was away from the computer yesterday and missed this 
one. Richard e-mailed > me privately and this "bite" progressed to this: "There 
wasn't but a tiny > hint of blood. The end of my finger hurts, is stiff and 
swollen, but not by > much. There is a very small light circle of whitish skin 
on the side of the > finger end, almost like a burn mark. RH"> > Anyway this is 
a classic sign of an insect sting. ONLY the European Honey > Bee will commonly 
lose the stinger and poison sack when it stings something. > The honey bee 
stinger has barbs like a harpoon and or multiple backward > pointing barbs like 
a fish hook. This is why the stinger stays in your flesh > or tightly woven 
clothes fibers.> > Hornets, paper wasps, bumble bees in Vermont at this time of 
the year would > WANT to crawl down into the nesting material to be warmed up 
by the bird > eggs (the eggs are 99*F or so if they are being incubated) or 
just to hide > in the nesting material. IF it gets cold they cannot move fast 
enough to > escape predators so they try to hide in holes and crevasses during 
cold > periods and fly on warm days or when the sun is shining.> > By this 
morning I expect Richard to have a painful finger with almost no > swelling, 
the pain will probably have spread to several fingers by now and > possibly the 
thumb and wrist area will be painful.> > Now I use Benadryl cream or pills if I 
think I am going to have a reaction > to a bee sting BUT YOU ALL NEED TO 
CONSULT WITH A DOCTOR BEFORE YOU NEED ONE > IN A CASE LIKE THIS!> > Richard can 
go back and check out the nest carefully and see if the insect > is still in 
the box but I expect it to be a wasp that has probably already > moved to 
another location. I always carry a "Sharpie" marking pen and I > would use the 
rounded end of this or the eraser end of a wood pencil to open > up the nest to 
see if the insect is still in the nest for medical purposes. > (Richard wrote 
that his finger feels fine this morning!)> > Anyway I NEVER open up a chickadee 
nest or titmouse nest to count the eggs! > My clumsy fingers have broken more 
EGGS that I care to admit to the list. > Checking a few nestboxes at your house 
a couple of times a week and you will > catch the eggs uncovered BEFORE they 
hatch out and you do not run the danger > of breaking the eggs and have the 
female abandon the nest.> KK> > > > 

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Subject: Spiders and other dangers in nestboxes!
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 08:11:49 -0500
Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
OK I HATE to scare off nestbox monitors but you all need to use common sense 
when getting ready to open nestboxes!

One of the reasons I like the wide ventilation slots on my styles of 
nestboxes is that I can look across the inside top of my nestboxes and SEE 
if there is a wasp building up under the roof of the nestbox BEFORE I open 
the box.

NORMALLY if I see grass when I am looking through the ventilation slots I 
KNOW that House Sparrows are nesting in the box BEFORE I go to open the 
nestbox.

Like Christy I hate to open a top opening box and have angry wasps now right 
in my face or just inches from my bare hand!

I tap lightly on the sides of the boxes and LISTEN before I open a box and 
SOMETIMES you will hear a bumble bee "buzzing" giving a warning. MOST of the 
time they don't buzz until it is way too late to run.

Sunday morning I checked about 50 nestboxes before 8 AM and in FOUR of these 
I found ADULT female Black Widow Spiders! It was 13 days or 8 days since I 
checked these boxes. Spiders, wasps, bees and hornets can move into a box 10 
minutes after you last checked the nestbox. I find some of these spiders 
EVERYTIME I check nestboxes.

 I found a flying squirrel in a box that had a House Sparrow nest just 8 
days before! It was down inside a partial House Sparrow nest! I never found 
a Flying Squirrel on this property in 25 years of checking these boxes! They 
have razor sharp teeth and can bite BOTH sides of your finger at the same 
time IF you grab them thinking they are a House Sparrow!

A Pocket Gopher can bite ALL the way through your finger to the bone or even 
a little deeper. Same goes for Fox or Gray Squirrels!!!!

Spider bites: MOST spiders would have a hard time opening up their fangs 
wide enough to bite you on the hardener round parts of your fingers. BUT 
even small spiders can bite you where your skin grows over the edges of your 
finger nails, OR the webbing between your fingers OR the softer skin or 
wrinkled skin on the BACKS of your fingers.

In the south we also occasionally find various species of scorpions in 
nestboxes. They can sting anywhere on your hand.

There are Brown Recluse Spiders occasionally and these are REALLY nasty 
biters. This is the ONLY spider I actually fear! They normally only bite you 
when you pinch them or pull on clothes that they are hiding in. They are a 
member of the wolf spider family and do NOT spin a web warning you they are 
in the box like the Black Widow Spiders do. (I raised Black Widow Spiders in 
bottles back in the 1960's when there was a market for them dropped into 
liquid acrylic jewelry!)

There is now an imported cousin, the Brown Widow Spider from Australia that 
has spread all through the Gulf Coast states and is just as poisonous as the 
Black Widow. They have slightly different habits from the Black Widow but I 
have not found one yet.

In the south there is an insect called the "Velvet Ant" or "cow killer" and 
it has one of the most painful stings and injects poison with a stinger 3/8" 
deep or so. Thus the name "Cow Killer". It can also repeat sting like a 
bumble bee or wasp.

Before you go and panic take a little time and check with your county 
extension agent to see what types of insects and or critters you have in 
your area. Find out what types of bats, rats, mice that you MIGHT encounter 
in your area. THEN take a little time and look up pictures of them and read 
about what types of habitat they prefer!

I use a "bee hive tool" to slip under old bird nests to clean them out! That 
way I don't have to reach in and grab out an old nest with a bare hand. It 
is TOO hot down here to wear gloves all day! I LIKE side or front opening 
nestboxes as again I can slip out a nest with this tool and scrape out the 
box without having to put my hand down inside a top opening nestbox. This 
tool is basically a short "wonder bar" 8" long with a sharp putty knife type 
end and a 90* bend for scraping at the opposite end. Most hardware stores 
actually carry these if you look them up at Dadant.com or under beekeeping 
tools. They fit in the back pocket of my jeans and the bent end with the 
hook end against my back WON'T tear the seat cushions in my truck between 
nestbox checks like a regular putty knife will. KK


Subject: Re: Lesson Learned?
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 06:53:52 -0500
I was away from the computer yesterday and missed this one. Richard e-mailed 
me privately and this "bite" progressed to this:  "There wasn't but a tiny 
hint of blood.  The end of my finger hurts, is stiff and swollen, but not by 
much.  There is a very small light circle of whitish skin on the side of the 
finger end, almost like a burn mark. RH"

Anyway this is a classic sign of an insect sting. ONLY the European Honey 
Bee will commonly lose the stinger and poison sack when it stings something. 
The honey bee stinger has barbs like a harpoon and or multiple backward 
pointing barbs like a fish hook. This is why the stinger stays in your flesh 
or tightly woven clothes fibers.

Hornets, paper wasps, bumble bees in Vermont at this time of the year would 
WANT to crawl down into the nesting material to be warmed up by the bird 
eggs (the eggs are 99*F or so if they are being incubated) or just to hide 
in the nesting material. IF it gets cold they cannot move fast enough to 
escape predators so they try to hide in holes and crevasses during cold 
periods and fly on warm days or when the sun is shining.

By this morning I expect Richard to have a painful finger with almost no 
swelling, the pain will probably have spread to several fingers by now and 
possibly the thumb and wrist area will be painful.

Now I use Benadryl cream or pills if I think I am going to have a reaction 
to a bee sting BUT YOU ALL NEED TO CONSULT WITH A DOCTOR BEFORE YOU NEED ONE 
IN A CASE LIKE THIS!

Richard can go back and check out the nest carefully and see if the insect 
is still in the box but I expect it to be a wasp that has probably already 
moved to another location. I always carry a "Sharpie" marking pen and I 
would use the rounded end of this or the eraser end of a wood pencil to open 
up the nest to see if the insect is still in the nest for medical purposes. 
(Richard wrote that his finger feels fine this morning!)

Anyway I NEVER open up a chickadee nest or titmouse nest to count the eggs! 
My clumsy fingers have broken more EGGS that I care to admit to the list. 
Checking a few nestboxes at your house a couple of times a week and you will 
catch the eggs uncovered BEFORE they hatch out and you do not run the danger 
of breaking the eggs and have the female abandon the nest.
KK



Subject: Re: Lesson Learned?
From: "Maynard Sumner" <m-r-sumner AT juno.com>
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 01:34:34 GMT
Richard,

Maybe it was a mice.

Maynard Sumner
Flint, MI

www.michiganbluebirds.org

 

-- Richard Harlow  wrote:
I thought I was sending this to the list as well as Evelyn.
Sorry about that.
Here goes.


Hi List, and Evelyn,

Thought you all might get a laugh out of my stupidity!!  

This PM decided to check my 11 boxes.  It is really not a trail since 
they are all on my property.  I may have mentioned before that I have 
several different box styles up on galvanized posts each with a baffle.  
All the underside of the roofs have been soaped.  Tree Swallows have 
been here since the second week of April looking at most of them.  But, 
none seem to have taken up residence as yet.  Shows how far behind 
Vermont is from the rest of you! :-)
But, it has been over a week since I last looked inside them and all I 
had at that point was a very nice moss nest in Box 2 that has 
traditionally been a BCCH box.  So, I knew there might be eggs and that 
if she was true to last year she would cover them up and leave as I came 
down the trail to the water. So, I decided to check all the other boxes 
before I went to Box 1 and 2.  This I did and there were NO occupants, 
not even a hint of interest with grass, feather, nothing in 9 boxes.  
Discouraging to be sure.
So on down to the water.  Opened box 1 - at least there was the 
traditional white feather and some grass, but NO actual nest, just the 
hint there might be one.
OK, so now on to Box 2 and the BCCH.  AH, just as I thought the nest had 
a topknot of fluff over the moss cup.  I knew there must be eggs there, 
BUT how many?  So, I took off my gloves and very carefully parted the 
fluff.  There were the eggs!!  How many - needed to part the fluff some 
more.  Inserted bare hand with index finger so so gently parting the 
fluff!  OUCH # AT  AT #*&%%  many expletives deleted.  Boy did I move fast - 
not bad for an old man.  My finger is stiff and slightly swollen and 
under a magnifying glass there is nothing but the "spot" where the 
"bite" occurred.
Obviously, whoever it is (don't know since the bite on the end of my 
finger did not have a stinger that I could see) is living with the 
BCCH.  Not a bad roommate if in fact it is either mutualistic or 
commensilistic?
Does anyone have an idea what biting/stinging roommate this BCCH could 
have had.  There was NO buzzing. Those of you with more experience with 
BCCH than I, please give me some advice on how to proceed monitoring 
this box.

Many Thanks in advance.

Richard Harlow
Arrowhead Lake
Milton, VT.






Evelyn Cooper wrote:
>
> I use bar soap, ivory. It works for me. I put it on very early in the 
> season
> before it gets warm enough for the wasps to start coming to the boxes. 
> That
> way, I am ahead of them and don't have to encounter them. I flat works 
> for
> me.
>
> Evelyn
> Delhi, LA
>   

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Subject: Lesson Learned?
From: Richard Harlow <raharlow AT comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 21:03:32 -0400
I thought I was sending this to the list as well as Evelyn.
Sorry about that.
Here goes.


Hi List, and Evelyn,

Thought you all might get a laugh out of my stupidity!!  

This PM decided to check my 11 boxes.  It is really not a trail since 
they are all on my property.  I may have mentioned before that I have 
several different box styles up on galvanized posts each with a baffle.  
All the underside of the roofs have been soaped.  Tree Swallows have 
been here since the second week of April looking at most of them.  But, 
none seem to have taken up residence as yet.  Shows how far behind 
Vermont is from the rest of you! :-)
But, it has been over a week since I last looked inside them and all I 
had at that point was a very nice moss nest in Box 2 that has 
traditionally been a BCCH box.  So, I knew there might be eggs and that 
if she was true to last year she would cover them up and leave as I came 
down the trail to the water. So, I decided to check all the other boxes 
before I went to Box 1 and 2.  This I did and there were NO occupants, 
not even a hint of interest with grass, feather, nothing in 9 boxes.  
Discouraging to be sure.
So on down to the water.  Opened box 1 - at least there was the 
traditional white feather and some grass, but NO actual nest, just the 
hint there might be one.
OK, so now on to Box 2 and the BCCH.  AH, just as I thought the nest had 
a topknot of fluff over the moss cup.  I knew there must be eggs there, 
BUT how many?  So, I took off my gloves and very carefully parted the 
fluff.  There were the eggs!!  How many - needed to part the fluff some 
more.  Inserted bare hand with index finger so so gently parting the 
fluff!  OUCH # AT  AT #*&%%  many expletives deleted.  Boy did I move fast - 
not bad for an old man.  My finger is stiff and slightly swollen and 
under a magnifying glass there is nothing but the "spot" where the 
"bite" occurred.
Obviously, whoever it is (don't know since the bite on the end of my 
finger did not have a stinger that I could see) is living with the 
BCCH.  Not a bad roommate if in fact it is either mutualistic or 
commensilistic?
Does anyone have an idea what biting/stinging roommate this BCCH could 
have had.  There was NO buzzing. Those of you with more experience with 
BCCH than I, please give me some advice on how to proceed monitoring 
this box.

Many Thanks in advance.

Richard Harlow
Arrowhead Lake
Milton, VT.






Evelyn Cooper wrote:
>
> I use bar soap, ivory. It works for me. I put it on very early in the 
> season
> before it gets warm enough for the wasps to start coming to the boxes. 
> That
> way, I am ahead of them and don't have to encounter them. I flat works 
> for
> me.
>
> Evelyn
> Delhi, LA
>   

Subject: hatchlings!
From: vfoltz AT verizon.net
Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 17:55:25 -0500 (CDT)
Hello from Ft. Wayne, IN
Four babies hatched today!

Peace and All Good,

Vicky F.
Ft. Wayne, IN
Subject: Unexpected sighting!!
From: wensuz AT isp.com
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 22:00:47 -0000 (GMT)
   Hi Bluebird gang; I know Rob will be especially interested in this post
because I was just telling him this morning that I didn't think the
Red-headed WP, who has been frequenting my feeders, would ever find a
mate. Well at around 5:35pm, I saw the Red-headed WP come to the suet
feeder as he has been doing now for over a week. I followed him as he
left and settled in the treetops to the right of my station. I glanced
back with my binoculars to the feeding station,and much to my
astonishment I see a second Red-headed making it's swoop by runs before
it was secure enough to make a contact landing at the feeders. There
are indeed two of them now! I can't say if they are a pair because I
didn't see them together interacting yet, as one flew off to it's
cavity in a tall snag across the road, and I then lost sight of the
second one. The first RHWP to come to my feeders has a few black spots
in the white patches of it's wing. The second new-comer does not have
any black in it's white wing patches. Does that make the first RHWP a
younger one? I am very excited about this, it gives me hope that there
may be more out there than we think! At least that is what I am hoping
for. I will be sure to keep them in my watch so that I can learn as
much about these two as I can, keep your fingers crossed that these two
are a pair!:)                 -Wendy-N Central,OH


-----------------------------------------
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Subject: 3 missing TUTI babies?
From: Horace Sher <hjsher1 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 13:06:36 -0700 (PDT)
Hello....The other day a box had 4 TUTI nestlings (2-3 days old) ..... all 
looking good. Today there is only 1 in there. The box is on a telephone pole. 
I'm thinking snake...however, is a snake known to leave 1 nestling? I thought 
that, at first, if a snake climbed the tel pole & got in there, it would have 
consumed all. So, now I'm thinking maybe it was something else....Thanks for 
any replys.....H. Sher in Durham, NC 



 
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Subject: Magic Halos
From: "Linda Lee H." <girlie.123 AT hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 14:39:32 +0000
Hello,
 
I got my Magic Halo up over my mealworm feeder as HOSP were taking it over from 
the bluebirds. It works fairly well - although a couple HOSP STILL ENTER AND 
GRAB WORMS, and I heard this is supposed to be 98% effective. But it does help 
- I think the HOSP are frantic to feed their young at this time as well, so 
they are less cautious now. Perhaps it will work better at other times of the 
year. I still have to act as a Magic Halo myself to prevent this HOSP from 
taking all the worms !!!! 

 
Linda/ VA (DC Metro Area)
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Subject: Re: House wrens
From: "Maynard Sumner" <m-r-sumner AT juno.com>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 13:38:33 GMT
Rebecca,

You may remove twigs but once the nest or eggs are in the twigs, you can not 
remove it. 


Maynard Sumner
Flint, MI

www.michiganbluebirds.org


 Does anyone know what federal law says about removing the “dummy nests” of 
house wrens? 


 

Thanks,

 

Rebecca J.
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Subject: Blue Jays
From: Lynn Emerich <lemerich AT epix.net>
Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 09:29:15 -0400
Several time this year I have seen something I never saw before.  I 
always have bluejays.  When the feeders run out of sunflower seeds, they 
do everything but knock on the window to get more.  One or two jays will 
keep going to the feeder, then to the window feeder and back and forth 
till I fill the feeders.  I usually throw out a hand full of peanuts for 
them and as soon as the peanuts hit the ground, there are 8 or 10 jays 
there grabbing.
What is strange to me, if that in the past two weeks, several time I 
have seen flocks of blue jays fly over my house.  By flock, I mean at 
least 50 or more.  I know they don't migrate, so is this a normal thing 
for them to flock in this size group?

Lynn near Bernville PA
Subject: feeding crows and jay birds
From: "Keith Kridler" <txbluebirder AT suddenlink.net>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 07:30:34 -0500
Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
We feed year round for our pleasure and to supplement the birds diet. 
Someone mentioned a Scrub Jay coming to their house even though they quit 
feeding the birds a while back. Don't forget that hummingbirds can be gone 
for the whole winter and return to the exact spot you had a feeder hanging 
up last year!

Jays are smart they are going to travel around to all of the spots where 
people throw out food in the neighborhood until they find a meal.

Crows and jays ARE going to eat today! Right now we have a family of crows 
coming and in fifteen minutes they eat two cups of "Bites and Bones" small 
dog food. (This is the amount we feed our Beagle once a day!) IF we did not 
feed the crows they ARE going to eat two cups of something else. They just 
started to bring their young to the driveway a couple of days ago and are 
trying to teach a single baby how to pick up a piece of dog food from the 
pile it is standing on!!!

Check out the nutrition labels on dog or cat food. Cheap dog food will be 
around 18% protein. For the same price I can buy 32% protein floating 
catfish food that also has most of the vitamins and calcium added for a 
complete catfish food diet. We feed the catfish food to the crawfish and 
tadpoles in the swamp but we had 6 adult wood ducks coming this past week 
right after I throw out the feed morning and evening. It takes two gallons 
of catfish food a day now.

For jays or crows you want small sized dried dog or cat food but MANY other 
species of birds crave this type food. Be sure to add eggshells to their 
diet or buy the finely ground oyster shells for a source of calcium. KK 

Subject: Re: Sparrow Spookers
From: "Paula Ziebarth" <paulaz AT columbus.rr.com>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 08:04:46 -0400
Sheila,

In theory, the flapping mylar strips are frightening enough to keep the HOSP 
away from the native nester's box.  The flapping mylar is frightening to any 
bird, but once a native nester has laid an egg, she is VERY invested in that 
nestbox and braves her way past the spooker to reach her nest.  Once she 
does this the first time, she hardly gives the spooker a second thought, all 
is well, and she and her young are much safer.  The HOSP looks for a box 
without a flappy thing on it and terrorizes that one.  The spooker is 
removed as soon as the chicks fledge.

I also wonder whether the HOSP is deterred because the arms of the spooker 
come over the top of the box.   Those of us with HOSP problems know that the 
male HOSP loves to sit on top of the box and sing his little heart out to 
attract a mate.  I am sure the spooker would deter that.  No song would be 
quite so sweet with mylar flapping in your face...

In practice, I can tell you that these things work.  I was very skeptical at 
first, but am sold.  They are easy and very cheap to make.  Cheap solution 
for a "cheep" problem.

Paula Z
Powell (Central) Ohio

> For the life of me, I don't understand " Sparrow Spookers"; I don't have 
> HS, at this moment. never have had them..no BB 's either.. this 
> year..Waiting patiently  for them to nest in the 4 houses we made.
>
> I do have Starling problems, going after the Homemade suet, I have the U 
> shape wood  holder, with the metal grade  with the top. I put a dome 
> baffle on top.  I even tried strips of foil...worked a few minutes...they 
> were back> I even made the UP SIDE Down suet feeder...doesn't work. I went 
> out and bought  a Mylar balloon...cut it in strips and tied it on the 
> sides, tied it to the dome....flapping away...took them 1 day to figure it 
> out.  I know...don't feed them:(
>
> I see the Sparrow Spooker on top of the bird house... how does that stop a 
> HS from entering?
>
> Sheila
>
>
>
> -- 
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>
> 

Subject: House wrens
From: RLJ <ebecca AT comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 07:05:37 -0400
Does anyone know what federal law says about removing the "dummy nests" of
house wrens?

 

Thanks,

 

Rebecca J.