After having a nesting pair in my box for years and years, I think they didn't like my house remodeling. Although I can't say for sure it's the same pair of birds all these years, I do know they have at least two broods a year and the babies grow up to help out too. Please someone tell me they'll be back!
I feel they didn't like their reflection in my new sunroom windows. I noticed the male perching on the screens and also coming under the patio covering and perching/fighting at the window.
The windows have been up since Nov. There box is some 40 feet from the house where they wintered without an incident of attacting the windows. Why now? Because they are setting up housekeeping duties in the box and think another Blue Bird pair is in their territory? I am just sick to my stomach about them leaving. I haven't seen them for about five days now. What can I do to attract more? Please don't tell me to throw a brick through my windows. LOL.
Anyone else have them stay, then leave and come back later?
Blue birds just up and left....
They do come and go, but I'd move the Bluebird house as far away from the new windows as possible. It sounds like the male did have a territory issue. They are still nearby. Can you put another box up, maybe on the other side of your house? They are curious and that might help, plus the box would be on the opposite side of your house that window is on.
Ok, thanks. I bought a "nice" new box approved by the bb society this morning and erected it away from the house. Just out of curiosity I looked inside the old one. There's one egg inside!
You won't believe this. I not ten minutes ago walked inside from erecting the new box and as I was typing the above post, I looked out the window and saw them inspecting the NEW BOX!!! I wonder if there's a bad larvae bug of some sort inside the other box as to another reason they abandoned the egg?
Mine abandoned a nest with two eggs this spring. We had a warm spell, so they built a nest and started laying. Then we had two weeks of cold - snow and all. Sometimes they know more than we do. If she had incubated those eggs the adults would not have been able to find insects for the young. We warmed up again and I have a new nest with eggs. A House Sparrow could have caused them to abandon the first nest of yours. The female could have been killed and the male may have found a new mate. Sometimes you just have to let them do whatever they want to and not try to figure them out. I figured that another box would help, but didn't think that it would be that quick - good job!
Thank you for suggesting the new box. Hopefully they'll take it. How long should I wait before I clean out the abandon box? I saw another pair of birds peeping in the old box today. And they peeped in the new one too. Grrr... They are brown with bright yellow bellies, about the size of a cardinal. I don't think they could fit in the new box hole though. It's 1&1/2" with a squirrel guard on it.
You are welcome. I wish that all of my ideas worked so well!
If they are Cardinal size they won't fit and are just looking. Don't worry about them, but get a photo if you can for us. I'd like to know what they are.
Leave the old nest for another week, or so. Do you know how to candle an egg? I'm always cautious about tossing a potentially good egg. If you candle it in another week and there is no embryo find a place away from your bird houses and gently break it open. If it smells that means that it cracked and bacteria got in. If there is no sign of even a very small embryo it was never fertile or it was never incubated.
I don't know how to candle an egg. Heard of it though from my grandmother. Can you explain? I'll wait another week before I do anything to the old nesting box.
Saw mama bird looking in the old box while at the same time papa was over at the other side of the property peeping in the new box. Man oh man, they just can't seem to make up their minds. Neither went all the way inside either box.
Wait for sure. Watch the boxes as much as you can and if you see more than one egg in a week wait another couple of weeks after that. She has to lay a whole clutch of eggs before she begins to incubate. She will usually lay one each morning until the last egg is laid and then incubation begins. This is done so that the entire clutch hatches in about a 24 hour period. A new box is always interesting to them. They should be checking it out. If this female laid the egg this morning she will not abandon the old nest. They may have built the nest prior to her being ready to lay.
They call it candling because that's what they used when your grandmother was growing up. Use a bright flashlight and shine it toward you through the egg. If there is an embryo you can see it through the shell.
Wait 3 weeks is the advice given on some of the BB pages. Then clean the nest out, and scrub with a disinfectant (light bleach in water).
Darius, I took your advice above. There was still just one egg in the nest with tiny ants streaming in up the pole into the box. Inspecting the egg, I noticed a spot of yellow that appeared to be yoke on the outside of the egg. Maybe they took out a broken egg, or the lone egg had a crack in it? I just don't know. I took the box down and disinfected it as well as the pole. The male and female visit my yard daily but must have chosen a nesting site somewhere in the neighborhood. I haven't noticed them looking into the box. They do perch on the to of the pole though. (It's a security light pole) I surely hope they'll come back home and raise a brood in my yard.
This is a picture of the bird I feel is responsible for breaking the blue bird eggs. She had been in and out of the box while the blue birds were still residents. I suppose the alien bird won the box. After I cleaned out the broken egg, and cleaned-out the box, she moved in to build her own nest.
Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? She's brown with yellow belly and has a crest on her head. She's as big as a cardinal.
Bottoms up!
GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER (Miarchus crinitus)
Thank you, Stelco. I'm not familar with that bird. I'll have to read more about him.
Well, I just had a pleasant beginning to a Sunday morning. I'm new to Dave's Garden and had just read this "thread". I built a three tier cedar bird house and placed on top of 4X4 that was pressure treated. On the side I placed two "Peterson" houses to attrack the blue birds. They did!!!! But, after having babies, it appears that they abandoned the bottom peterson birdhouse I built. However, a mating pair has moved into the second apartment down from the top in the cedar houses. Would this be the same pair? How to tell with binoculars? Would contact with treated wood have caused them to relocate?
Hi Dave, welcome to DG! In regards to the placement of your bluebird houses, please refer to this site
http://www.sialis.org/basics.htm#box
for the dos and don'ts in regards to mounting the houses. This is a really great site to get any and all information regarding bluebirds. Good luck!
Dave, glad you are interested in Blue birds. They are wonderful birds to watch and enjoy. The site Terryr gives us a link to is really a great place to learn about BB's!