Seasonal Bird News

Attracting Bluebirds: Dealing with Predators and Problems

Last week we invited you to ask questions you may have about Bluebirds, or any backyard bird subject. Trish Bolian asked us to show the difference in a Bluebird nest and a House Sparrow nest. And because Chickadees often use nest boxes we will show the 3 nest comparison. Thanks, Ms. Bolian.

Eastern Bluebird

House Sparrow

Carolina Chickadee


Unfortunately for nesting birds here in mid-TN there are a number of predators and pests that can deter, disrupt, or destroy an attempt to nest. It’s no different for Bluebirds.

The most common problems are the House Sparrow, Raccoons, and Rat snakes.

Male House sparrow

Female House sparrow

The House Sparrow is perhaps the most common and frustrating to deal with. This introduced tenacious species is particularly noticeable in spring when the nesting season kicks in to high gear. You see them busily building nests in some of the most unlikely places, car washes, in traffic lights, gaps in broken store signs, Home Depot rafters, and in gaps or openings in just about any fast food restaurant. They may suddenly appear in yards and show interest in a nest box. Their nest is course, sloppy, and may contain debris like candy wrappers, cigarette butts, feathers, and odds and ends. These birds are highly motivated and typically get started in early March. House Sparrows have been known to pierce bluebird eggs and/or physically remove them from the nest. And in many cases they will fight the adult Bluebirds, sometimes putting so much pressure on them they decide to abandon. We have seen examples of adult Bluebirds being killed by these violent confrontations. So, what can be done? There are both passive and aggressive techniques that can be employed. The one you choose may depend on your level of past experience with House Sparrows. And we encourage you to under no circumstances allow a House Sparrow to use any of your nest boxes.

Ø If House Sparrows (HSP) begin showing interest in your Bluebird (BB) box by landing on and entering act quickly and plug the entrance hole to deny further access. Given a few days or a week of denied access the House Sparrows may become extremely eager to nest and look elsewhere. Repeat the process if they show up again. We see little evidence of BB nesting in early March but more likely early to mid-April. Be patient. Even if the BB shows up and looks at the box resist the temptation to unplug it, especially if the Sparrows have recently been there. After a few days of not seeing the HSP unplug the box and monitor for possible return. Be more patient than them and you just may win the battle.

Ø You may also pull out HSP nests and destroy eggs. Again, if this does not fit your philosophy at least plug up the box. Just don’t let them have it.

Ø We have two different Sparrow traps that can be effective. The Van Ert Sparrow trap is one that mounts inside the box and has a spring loaded mechanism that releases a door quickly closing the entrance hole thus trapping the bird inside. Pros and cons: this is a trap you should be monitoring frequently. It is best used if Bluebirds have not been present, only Sparrows. It is perfect for catching a Sparrow that has already begun nest building. After installing the trap use the Sparrows nest material taken from the box and drop it on the ground below the box. Sparrows will almost certainly go to that nest material and attempt to put it back in the box. Perfect. They go in trip the mechanism and will be caught as indicated by the bright orange marker displayed in the entrance hole. Just releasing them will put you back to square one. Relocating probably requires up to 10 miles. Relocating is not recommended and technically violates laws on transporting wildlife. The other option is to dispose of the bird. This is a touchy subject and one to be considered and decided by the individual. House Sparrows have been heavily factored into the beginning of the decline of Bluebirds many years ago. They are an introduced, non-native species therefore unprotected by law.

Magic Halo

Magic Halo

Sparrow Spooker

Sparrow Spooker

Ø Contraptions like the Magic Halo works quite well although we’ve seen HSP’s totally disregard it at times. The only place I’ve seen the Magic Halo available is on Amazon. The problem with the Halo is it is difficult to adapt to a bluebird box. For some reason it was made more with intent to keep Sparrows off bird feeders. The basic idea of the Halo is to create a vertical column of monofilament (fishing line) around the box. These are relatively easy to construct and one can use materials around the house to improvise. HSP’s are visibly bothered by the contraption and are reluctant to land on the box or go to the entrance, but not Bluebirds. Another contraption you may see is called the Sparrow Spooker. I am less confident in this one because I have no practical experience with it. Anything is worth a try when it comes to discouraging HSP’s. For more information about discouraging HSP’s visit the North American Bluebird Societies (NABS) website at www.nabluebirdsociety.org and Click here to visit their page on House Sparrow control.

Above all before taking action please positively identify the bird going into your nest box. Be sure it is a House Sparrow. Any other native species should be welcomed and have a chance to use the box.

Click on the picture to read more on raccoons from Tennessee watchable wildlife.

Click on the picture to read more on raccoons from Tennessee watchable wildlife.

Click on the picture to read more on rat snakes from Tennessee watchable wildlife.

Click on the picture to read more on rat snakes from Tennessee watchable wildlife.

Raccoons and Rat snakes are formidable predators and can be dealt with in much the same way. Raccoons are intelligent and great climbers, and Rat snakes are supreme climbers. Not all of us presenting Bluebird boxes will encounter these two but if you experience regular and on-going visits from Raccoons at your bird feeders we would encourage you to employ a Raccoon baffle on a pole to protect your Bluebird box. We carry baffles that will fit a metal pole up to 1 ¾” diameter, and wood posts up to 3 5/8” (todays 4x4). It should be noted a squirrel baffle may or may not stop either one of these predators. YouTube is loaded with videos of raccoons negotiating around a squirrel baffle.

Box placement has proven to be a factor, too. My 10 box Bluebird trail in a field has had no predation by Raccoons in many years of service. Boxes placed more in field and meadow situations tend to see less raccoon activity. Boxes placed adjacent to woodland and stream environments tend to see more. In this situation placing a nest box on a tree is not advised. This goes for rat snakes, too. A good raccoon baffle should stop both raccoons and rat snakes the vast majority of the time. For do it yourselfers you may want to check out the National Bluebird Society website for plans on PVC baffles and other critter stopping hardware and tips. Click here for NABS Predator control page.

Cats account for the majority of damage to bird populations in general. If you have a cat that is mostly outdoors and does a lot of hunting please reconsider this practice, but also we would recommend not having birdhouses or feeders until such time that you no longer have a cat. No guard or baffle stops a cat and most of the time a cat is waiting for its prey on the ground. Bluebirds are primarily ground feeders and become an easy target.

We can’t protect Bluebirds from every possible dangerous scenario in nature but it’s been through efforts of homeowner and Bluebird organizations that Bluebird numbers are strong today. Through a thoughtful and common sense approach to placement of boxes, observation, and monitoring we can continue to help Bluebirds thrive and enjoy being a part of the process and their success. As always we are available for on sight consultations and in-store recommendations.

Cold Weather Topics

Many of our blog topics come directly from daily conversations with customers. We often get the question about Robins being here in great numbers during the winter months. Why do we have so many Robins right now? Robins that are north of us during the spring and summer months fly south in the fall where many will settle here. Most of our spring-summer Robins are probably year round residents. So, between our year round residents and the migratory population our numbers expand significantly. Each winter you can expect to see greater numbers of the American Robin in this area. There have been flocks estimated to be nearly a million at night time roosting sites in the Nashville area.

Tip: Don’t park your car there.

How do birds survive extremely cold nights? Where do they go? There is a lot to the answers to these simple questions. It’s not easily explained in just a couple of paragraphs. We’ve provided a link to an article written by my favorite nature author, Bernd Heinrich. It is definitely worth reading if you’ve ever wondered how birds survive extreme cold. One interesting strategy for keeping warm at night is employed by the Ruffed Grouse, which actually burrows under the snow where it is insulated from the extremely cold air above the snow’s surface, which may get down to -25 degrees at night. In its snow chamber its body heat will work to its advantage. Click here to read the full article

Owls are likely breeding, or on nest by now. Great horned, Barred, and Screech owls are all earlier nesters than songbirds. The Barred owl is our most common owl and most and widespread in North America. It takes about 30 days of incubation for an owl’s egg to hatch and up to 40 days for a baby owl to fledge. Screech owls are the most likely to accept a man-made nest box, although recently a customer has seen evidence of a Barred owl using a home-made constructed box.

Don’t forget the Great Backyard Bird Count started today and is going through the 18th. For more information visit their website gbbc.birdcount.org and stop by the warner park nature center tomorrow from 10am till noon and participate in the count with them.

Our big February sale is going on through February 23rd. Stop in and save on all things bird feeding and all seed is on sale too! Buy extra while it’s on sale and store it at the Wood Thrush.

Click here to see more on the sale!

Winter bird activity

We hope everyone had a great holiday season and many thanks to all of you who shopped with us and brought us baked goods. We greatly appreciate all of you. During the holidays we get so busy running the store our weekly blog takes a vacation. Many of you give us favorable feedback on our blogs, which is nice to hear, but if there is a subject you think we should touch on please let us know.

So far this has been a fairly uninteresting winter for bird feeding enthusiasts. Although people have seen Red-breasted Nuthatches at feeders sightings have slowed. If you live where there is a presence of pine or cedar trees keep a close eye on your feeders this cold weekend. Red-breasted Nuthatches show a preference for areas with pine and/or cedar. Since I have no pine trees I recently ventured out to Montgomery Bell State Park and only had to step out of my truck in the visitor parking area to see a group of 5 or 6 in the cedar tree I had parked near. By the way if you really want to see Red-headed Woodpeckers you will see them at Montgomery Bell. They, too, seem to prefer open areas adjacent to forest along with lots of pine trees. I enjoy golfing and birding at MB and marvel at the great numbers of “Red-heads “present.

Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Red-headed Woodpecker.

Red-headed Woodpecker.

With the fluctuations in temperature come fluctuations in feeder consistency. On warm days, anything in the 50’s or more, insects become active and your feeder birds may gravitate to the sudden availability of protein. Birds do not live on seed and suet alone and never will. Customers sometimes make the comment “the birds must be confused”. Not likely. They simply adapt to changing weather patterns and take advantage of whatever food sources become available. Although, on Tuesday when it reached nearly 70 degrees I heard some birds singing which is usually reserved for spring and summer. So maybe they are a little confused, or perhaps eager.

Some notable sightings around Nashville include numerous reports of Sandhill Crane flocks flying over, a Bald Eagle regularly seen around Hillwood Golf Course, and a Snow Goose at Radnor Lake. One sighting of an Evening Grosbeak in east TN got me a bit excited because it’s been 30 years since notable numbers of them have been seen in this area. And they like to visit bird feeders. But more sightings were not reported and the chance to see them here fizzled.

Sandhill Crane.

Sandhill Crane.

Evening Grosbeak.

Evening Grosbeak.

Fall Wood Thrush Shop Notes

Right on schedule we are beginning to see birds returning to feeders. Yesterday, I had a nice group of Goldfinches appear at a feeder with Wood Thrush Shop Finch Blend. Of course they were in their drab winter plumage. Be on the lookout for Pine Siskins mixing in with Goldfinch flocks. Downy and Red-bellied woodpeckers were visiting the suet, and Chickadees, Titmice, and Nuthatches were busily making repeated trips to the black-oil sunflower feeders. Cardinals are showing up, too, but usually very early and very late, before first light of day and just before night. If it wasn’t for their “chipping” calls indicating their presence they could easily be missed.

Goldfinch in winter plumage.

Goldfinch in winter plumage.

Pine Siskin can mix with goldfinch through the winter months.

Pine Siskin can mix with goldfinch through the winter months.

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago to be on the lookout for some of our winter visitors. Sure enough we are seeing and getting reports of White-throated sparrows, Juncos, Purple Finch, Yellow-bellied sapsucker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Brown Creeper. Wood Thrush employee Eli got this great shot of a Brown Creeper in his yard. Brown Creepers are most likely to visit suet feeders. Suet is a great addition to your seed feeders and can attract some very interesting birds, particularly in winter.

You can follow Eli on instagram at lightorflight_photography

You can follow Eli on instagram at lightorflight_photography

If you haven’t given your feeders a good cleaning in a while now would be a good time. And if your feeders need a little maintenance keep in mind we stock parts for quite a few of our feeders and can usually make repairs on the spot, or in a day or two. If you’ve had seed stored in a container for a few months a word of caution. Open it outside because it may be full of Indian Mealmoths and you don’t want them getting loose in the house. They don’t go after your clothes but prefer things like dry dogfood, flour, crackers, cereal, etc.

And speaking of seed we have been getting questions about a seed sale. Typically we wait until the harvest is in full swing and new crop begins to appear. This will give us a chance to see if seed prices are going to increase, or decrease. Seed is a commodity and prices are subject to change based on supply and demand. At some point we will announce a “Seed Sale “and you will be able to buy multiple bags at a discount and to be stored here.

The holidays are right around the corner which means The Wood Thrush Shop is gearing up with new merchandise as well as some of the old popular standbys. As always we will be stocking the very popular

Mr. Bird Birdseed Ornaments and a variety of bird and wildlife ornaments. A new feeder or a Heartwood birdhouse always makes a great gift.

And look for weekly special through the coming months. Between Friday Nov. 2 and Thursday Nov. 8 all Droll Yankee and Aspects products will be 20% Off. That includes seed feeders, hummingbird feeders, baffles, weather guards, trays, and accessories.

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Attracting Warblers

Fall is a Great Time to Garden for the Birds

Fall is the best time to plant and perhaps you are thinking about adding something to your landscape that appeals to birds and wildlife. Fantastic! Adding plants is a great way to attract birds of all kinds but especially those that do not regularly visit seed feeders. I’m referring to the small tropical birds known as Warblers. This diverse and beautiful group of birds goes unnoticed by many backyard birders because their yards don’t have the habitat appeal necessary to pull them in. Each spring Warblers migrate into and through TN on the way to their breeding destination. As they travel they are searching for food, water, and suitable, safe resting areas.

Native trees and shrubs are critical to attracting birds of all kinds and especially warblers. Native plants attract native insects, an important food source to migrating birds. In spring when leaves are first opening the first caterpillars begin hatching which is an abundant and important food source for all migrating birds. In early fall native trees and shrubs are producing fruit that will help fuel their migration back to the tropics. The fruit also attracts native insects which then become an important source of protein. You can’t go wrong planting natives because they are, typically, less susceptible to disease and insect problems.

Male American Redstart

Male American Redstart

Yellow-rumped warbler

Here’s a short list of some of my favorite native plants and shrubs:

Devils Walking Stick, Berries

Devils Walking Stick, Berries

American Beautyberry

American Beautyberry

Serviceberry               Bottlebrush Buckeye            Devils Walking Stick

American Beautyberry  Redbud                                Dogwood

Hawthorn                       Persimmon                           American Holly

Winterberry                    Eastern Red Cedar               Mountain Laurel

Sumac                            Oak and Maple varieties       Viburnums

and there are so many more great plants to choose from.

But Warblers need water, too, and from my experience water is the x factor.  It is probably that my water source is very easy to see from in my home that I have seen more Warbler species there than anywhere else in my yard.  Bubbling, moving water is much more appealing than the standard pedestal type birdbath.  Keep the water moving in some way and birds will be drawn.  There are drippers and misters that run on water pressure provided by a standard outside faucet, and waterfall rocks powered by an electric pump that are quite effective at keeping water moving.  I recently hung a plastic jug with a pin hole above a standard pedestal birdbath.  When filled with water the jug will provide a steady drip for a few hours at a time.  The dripping and subsequent rippling effect is absolutely more appealing than a still source of water.

So, if making your yard more appealing to birds is on your mind think about native plants and water.  It is a combination that most definitely works.

For more information about native plants please take a look at the TN Native Plants Society website, www.tnps.org, or check out a local grower like Growild located in Fairview, TN. Their website is www.growildinc.com