[bcbirdclub] Re: Bluebird Boxes
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "A Buchanan County Bird Club" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 22:56:52 -0400
Janice,
I will post this to the listserv in case anyone else is interested.
Here are some of the basics of putting up bluebird boxes:
1. Place the boxes on a pole (about 5 ft in height) and not on a tree or fence
post where predators can get at them. If raccoons or possums find they can get
to the boxes they will visit them regularly. Cats can jump almost 5 feet so the
box shouldn't be too close to the ground.
2. Place the boxes far enough away from trees, fences, and shrubs so that
squirrels, snakes, etc can't climb above and jump or drop to them.
3. Place the boxes at least 100 feet apart. One pair of bluebirds won't
tolerate another pair nesting close by. Sometimes Tree Swallows will nest in a
box close by, and they can be beneficial to the bluebirds because they will
help drive away House Sparrows that will kill adult and baby bluebirds and take
over the nest box. If a House Sparrow starts to build in a nest box the nest
should be removed, more than once if necessary. If House Wrens, Chickadees,
Titmice or Tree Swallows nest in the boxes they should be allowed to stay. They
are protected by law, and besides they are neat birds to have in the boxes. The
boxes should not have perches. That helps discourage House Sparrows, and the
bluebirds are adept at clinging to the front of the box.
4. The entrance holes in the boxes should be no larger than 1 1/2 inches in
diameter. If it is larger, starlings will either take over the box in the
spring or later enter the box and kill the young. The boxes should have
ventilation holes on the sides and drainage holes in the floor. The boxes can
get very hot inside during the summer. If the boxes are painted they should not
be painted a dark color. That will make the boxes even hotter. Storms can
sometimes blow rain in through the entrance hole. The drainage holes allow the
water to leave the box.
5. Nest boxes should have predator guards on the poles to prevent raccoons,
possums, cats, snakes etc from climbing the poles. Nest box plans, predator
guard plans and information about bluebirds can be found at the Virginia
Bluebird web site at http://www.virginiabluebirds.org Johnnie Ratliff, who
made most of our bluebird boxes, came up with some good ideas for nest box
latches and I developed a different way of mounting the predator guards that
doesn't require quite so much hardware or hard work. I will be glad to share
some of those ideas if she wants.
The poles we use for our birdclub bluebird boxes is 1 1/2 inch thick walled PVC
pipe. It is easy to put screws into for holding the boxes and the predator
guards, and it won't rust. Johnnie created a unique way of mounting the house
to the pole which makes it much easier. We also use a 2ft section of thin
walled 6 inch PVC pipe as a predator guard. I can send her some photos if she
wants.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
----- Original Message -----
From: Janice Martin
To: bcbirdclub
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 9:04 PM
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Bluebird Boxes
To anyone that might know,
I have a friend in SC that is getting ready to put bluebird boxes on her
property. She is asking me where and what she needs to know about placing them
and I have no idea what to tell her. Help?
Janice Martin
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