Expert: Bluebird Bob Walshaw - 6/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: Dear Bob, in April I put out an old bluebird box that I had .  One day I noticed that I had bluebirds. Yeah, I was so excited. I just figured that they would have their babies and that would be it. Wrong!  One day I noticed that they were not going in anymore. So, I looked in and there was a awful odor.  I saw some maggots in there.  I got the nest out and examined it. It looked like there could have been babies, I'm not sure.  What happened?


ANSWER: Not unusual. Predators got the parents and the babies starved, or in cases of cold and wet weather when food is very scarce sometimes parents will abandon eggs or even babies to save themselves for the future. In working with Bluebirds you need to open the box and check progress every week so that you know what is going on, to handle problems such as ants or wasps, and to know when the babies fledge so that you can get the old nest out so that pair or another can raise a second or third brood.

Don't feel bad - one pair can raise 15 or more young in a season, and if they all survived we would be up to our hips in Bluebirds. Predators get the slower and not so smart which keeps the species strong. Also baby hawks, owls, etc. have to eat. Send your mailing address to walshaw1@cox.net and I will send you a free 20 page Bluebird book that will make you an expert.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks Bob for answering.  just another fact though.  after that I cleaned out the box and they came back.  I am assuming that they were the same parents. Now I have three babies that are about ten days old . Should I still open the box and check? Can you touch the nest? I don't want to do anything wrong.

Answer
The general rule is not to open the box after the babies are 12 days old (they fledge 19 days after hatching) as the babies may try to leave too soon as they often do if a snake or other predator attacks as although the ground is very dangerous it may be safer than the nest. Experienced Bluebirders do, however, to check for an ant attack, etc., but we do it very carefully. Please don't forget to send your mailing address to walshaw1@cox.net as all of this is covered in detail in the book.