Date: Fri 07-Feb-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: LIBRAR

Quick Words:

bluebirds-houses

Full Text:

Building A House For Feathered Friends

BY ANDREA Z IMMERMANN

They may not be rent-paying tenants, but if you build a house for bluebirds

they will reward you with an intimate view of the cycles and small miracles of

the natural world. Using the following plans, individuals or families can

embark on an adventure that includes winter house-building, observation and

documentation of avian activity in a journal, and participation in the state's

Bluebird Nest-Box Survey.

"One of the reasons people like to [build these birdhouses] is the nature of

bluebirds themselves - they are very colorful and very melodious in sound. And

people like to have them around," said Jenny Dickson, a wildlife biologist

with the DEP's Nonharvested Wildlife Program.

"An added benefit of attracting bluebirds is they're insect eaters that keep

down the number of caterpillars and grasshoppers that can damage shrubs,

trees, and sometimes vegetable gardens. That is true of other cavity-nesters

too, particularly when they're feeding their young because they need a high

protein diet then."

The DEP's bluebird house plans were designed not only to meet bluebirds'

needs, but to be durable, and easy to clean and repair. Each is easily

constructed with hand tools and a minimum of materials.

Although most woods will do, cedar, pine or cypress is recommended; do not use

chemically treated wood such as pressure-treated lumber or exterior plywood.

If the wood has a smooth surface, score or groove the interior surface of the

front, below the entry hole, to assist nestlings in climbing out of the box.

Use drywall screws to assemble it, to facilitate repairs; Phillips-head screws

may deter the curious from peeking in.

To weatherproof the nest box, treat the outside surface with linseed oil.

Never paint, stain or treat the interior of the house or the entry hole. It is

also better not to paint the outside because the box will then retain more

heat than it otherwise would and may actually cook the eggs.

Mount the nest box five feet above ground level on galvanized pipe (attached

with screws or pipe brackets) or on garden stakes that are 6-7 feet high

(attached with carriage bolts). If you use stakes, flatten the tabs to

discourage raccoons.

Here are some DEP tips on how to station and maintain your bluebird house:

Avoid brushy and heavily-wooded areas; house wrens will probably dominate

existing nest boxes there.

Do not place box close to houses or barns because house sparrows tend to be

abundant there. House sparrows will kill bluebirds and destroy eggs and young.

Do not use corn for bird feeding because it attracts sparrows.

Avoid areas where pesticides are used.

Face boxes toward an open area in any direction. Ideally, the opening should

face away from prevailing winds. A tree or suitable perch 40-100 feet from the

box provides a perfect rest stop for young on their first flight.

Keep boxes at least 100 yards apart so bluebirds can establish territory

around the nest box.

Protect against predators using predator guard, or other methods.

Check the boxes once a week during the nesting season to record progress of

the nestlings and to control house sparrows. Remove house sparrow nests

immediately when found (see information below on identifying nests); to

encourage second or third broods, remove bluebird and other nests as soon as

young birds fledge from the box.

Inspect the box in early fall and late winter; clean and repair if necessary.

Bluebirds are less likely to next in a box that has an old nest in it. Old

nests also increase the numbers of parasites in the box, often resulting in

nest failure.

Plant native berry-producing trees and shrubs to provide fall and winter food.

Use "paired boxes" if nesting bluebirds are harassed or driven off by tree

swallows. Quickly set up a second box 20-30 feet from the first. A tree

swallow pair will select one box for nesting and protect the other box against

use by other swallows, allowing bluebirds to claim it.

If you shy away from attempting to build a birdhouse because you are not

mechanically inclined, the DEP is offering a free workshop from 1:30 to 2:30

pm on Saturday, March 15, at Sessions Woods Education Center in Burlington,

where you can build and take home a completed nest box.

A slide presentation will explore the natural history of the bluebird and its

status in Connecticut; immediately following, the workshop will be held. All

materials are provided free of charge but registration is required and all

participants are asked to bring a Phillips-head screwdriver to use.

To register, call the education center at 860/675-8130.

Bibbed Marauders

In The Bluebird Bulletin , an annual supplement to Connecticut Wildlife ,

Jenny Dickson described "Bibbed Marauders of Bluebird Nests." House sparrows

were first introduced in the US in 1850 as a control for spring cankerworms

and elm spanworms that were damaging eastern shade trees. But the view of this

species has been altered somewhat due to its behavior during the breeding

season.

"They are ruthless in their attempts to dominate nesting areas, so much so

that they tend to out-compete many of our native cavity-nesting birds like

bluebirds, tree swallows, purple martins, and chickadees, to name a few,"

writes Ms Dickson.

"House sparrows aggressively attack competing adults and nestlings alike,

often pecking them to death. They will also destroy eggs and even throw them

out of nest boxes. It is not unusual to find an adult bluebird and its young

dead inside a nest box, victims of a house sparrow attack for possession of

the box."

Ms Dickson recommends removing house sparrow nests and eggs from the boxes.

"It may take weeks to discourage the sparrows, but be persistent. Do not

remove the nests of any other birds - native bird nests are protected by law,"

she writes. "Keep in mind that sparrows adapt much more easily [than

bluebirds] to nesting in other locations."

A house sparrow nest is "very sloppy." It is made of coarse grass, leaves,

rootlets, straw and possibly bits of cloth and litter. When built in a nest

box, it often has a domed roof. House sparrows will lay three to seven oval

eggs that are white, gray or greenish, with irregular brown speckles.

If you feel sympathetic towards house sparrows and prefer to leave them in the

nest box, you should still fill out the DEP survey because it will help

indicate the extent of the problem with this species in our area.

Likewise, Ms Dickson is very interested in knowing about any species living in

your bluebird box, or hearing that there was no activity.

A State Initiative

The Bluebird Restoration and Wood Distribution Project was established in 1980

by the Wildlife Division in an effort to increase eastern bluebird populations

in Connecticut. In January, the division provided wood to create birdhouses to

groups across the state; it offers the accompanying plans to groups who missed

the deadline and to individuals who want to encourage bluebird population.

As of last April, more than 1,288 groups had participated in this project,

building 31,250 nest boxes.

Anyone who wants to participate in the division's survey can request a free

fact sheet and postage-paid survey card by writing to the Nonharvested

Wildlife Program, PO Box 1550, Burlington, CT 06013-1550. Even if a house

wren, house sparrow, tree swallow, or other cavity-nester becomes a squatter

in the bluebird box, the division is interested in hearing about it.

The goal of the Bluebird Restoration Project is to expand the nest box network

statewide.

"A lot of Fairfield County is very good habitat for bluebirds," said Ms

Dickson, adding western Connecticut was the first area in which the population

started to increase. "I know there are boxes in Newtown and that bluebirds

have inhabited them."

The wildlife biologist encourages everyone interested to participate because

she wants to gather as much information as possible throughout the state.

"The more people who want to send in survey cards, the happier I'll be," she

said.

The survey project is administered by the DEP Wildlife Division Nonharvested

Wildlife Program. Formally established in 1986, the program focuses on

inventory, research, management and conservation of wildlife species that are

not traditionally hunted - song birds, raptors, shorebirds, small mammals,

reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.

The Wildlife Division's bi-monthly publication, Connecticut Wildlife , is

available for $6 a year. It offers profiles of some of the state's wildlife

species, information about wildlife habitat improvement techniques,

conservation education/firearms safety tips and hunting season results,

articles by Wildlife Division biologists, and updates on state and federal

wildlife related legislation.

For more information about bluebirds, the DEP suggests the following material:

Sialia: The Quarterly Journal of the North American Bluebird Society ,

membership/subscription information, NABS, PO Box 6295 Silver Spring, MD

20916-6295; Bluebirds Forever , 1994, Connie Toops, Voyageur Press,

Stillwater, MN, 128 pp, 120 color photos; The Bluebird Book , 1991, Donald and

Lillian Stokes, Little, Brown, and Company, Boston, 96 pp, color photos;

Enjoying Bluebirds More , 1993, J. Zickefoose, Bird Watcher's Digest Press,

Manetta, Ohio, 33 pp.; videos by Birds Eye View Production in Afton, MN -

Jewels of Blue: The Story of the Eastern Bluebird , Bluebird Trail: How tot

Start and Maintain a Bluebird Trail and Backyard Blues.