Re: -Bluebird Deaths-

>I found sparrows to be the greatest threat to my tenants. A brooding
>parent would be killed while tending the clutch.

So far I have not had problems with sparrows getting into the bluebird
houses.  However I set out some wren houses and the sparrows took them
over.


> Just this fall on their migration south, four
> pairs came to check out boxes for a few days before the weather got too cool
> for them and pushed them further southward.

I have seen as many as 20 in a group, but they were just passing
through. My resident birds are 2 or 3 pair.

>I have been entertaining the
> idea (but don't know about the legality of doing so?) of removing eggs from
> the nest in the Sparrows nesting box after the first two eggs have been
> laid. 

Sparrows are considered a nuisance bird and are not protected by law
(at least in this state).


> Your situation is probably related to the foodchain somehow. (The pussy cat
> theory sounds very possible and likely! Domestic cats are brutal on song
> bird populations too.) (Hawks do devour prey while aloft in a tree thus
> questioning the "pile of feathers" theory. They will make the kill on the
> ground.) 

There are no cats for at least a mile from me so I am pretty sure that
is not a problem. I do have a fair amount hawks in the area, and one
nest within a few hundred yards.  The kills have been the typical
circle of feathers (mostly breast feathers) on the ground with no body
parts left. I assume the birds were eaten on the ground.

>  Unfortunately an easy target is an easy target and not just because they
> are Blue birds. Can Hawks see Blue? 

Birds can see colors very distinctly. I thought the bluebird would
stand out because of it's coloring, but cardinals are even more of a
standout yet they don't seem to be falling prey. (Probably more aware,
faster, and taste bad(?)).

> If the Hawks are the problem and their numbers do peak it won't be long till
> they are effected by their own overharvesting of the forage base. One last
> idea is to put the nest box nearer to cover such as a fence row or tall
> grass that the Blue birds could use as cover. 

That seems to be a turn-off for bluebirds.  They didn't start using
the boxes until I moved them into the open.  However I do have a few
large brush piles within 50 yards of the boxes. They like to perch on
the power lines and I suspect that is where they are being attacked.

Bob