Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!wang!news From: MICHAEL.SOPER@OFFICE.WANG.COM (Michael Soper) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Bluebirds in N.E. Summary: Re: Bluebirds in New England Keywords: bluebirds, nesting boxes, feeders, migration Message-ID: Date: 28 Mar 91 22:13:23 GMT Sender: news@wang.com Reply-To: Michael.Soper@office.wang.com Organization: Mail to News Gateway Lines: 49 Charles Foley writes: >I grew up in Billerica, MA and until I moved to North Carolina (1981) >I never saw a bluebird! My father used to tell me that when he was >young he used to see bluebirds a lot but that they gradually disappeared. >Are bluebirds making a comeback in New England? Natural habitat for bluebirds gradually declined in this century, until about 1975. Dead trees and open fields were best for nesting and feeding. Supposedly, smokehouses were significant killers, attracting them to warm smokestacks where they could get trapped. Awareness helped revive the species in the NE, and bird houses were made by enthusiasts. Lawrence Zeleney (sp?) has a good book out on bluebirds. Don't recall details now, but I can find out. >not sure if they have abandoned the box or if they may have been >building a nest for longer than we knew. Is it possible that the >female is already sitting on some eggs? This is the first pair of It's possible, but they do frequently abandon one nest in favor of another (where they have the luxury of choosing). Doesn't your box open? You *can* look inside without fear of scaring them off. I have three boxes in my yard. Once, I gently lifted a fledgling out to show my daughters, but you should know how. I found out that it is a myth that birds abandon young after contact with humans. Birds can't smell! >By the way, in case the bluebirds are nesting in our box I have a >question. I know that you are supposed to clean out the box at >box immediately after the chicks leave. Supposedly a pair of >bluebirds will raise more than one brood per season. What is the >best time to clean out the house? The box should be cleaned that week, if possible. That will encourage a second brood. Watch for parasites in the nesting material; small white specs about half the size a grain of rice. Zeleney's book has info about desinfecting. Tom Fisher writes: >We live in north-west Indiana and have several bluebird boxes up. >They get extremely aggressive when the young ones leave the box. >I got "dive-bombed" real good one evening last summer. I didn't Perhaps this is the western bluebird? Eastern species are not this aggressive. Note above my contact with the fledgling. The adult perched nervously in a nearby tree. Often, the female will stay in the box when I gently open the top to peek in. Michael Soper michael.soper@office.wang.com Wang Laboratories Lowell, MA