Question re. Bluebirds (1 Viewer)

4 years ago I bought a bluebird house. Put it up according to directions - right height, facing right way, etc. The first year we had a lot of lookers but no takers. We even had material (straw, string, feathers) that was put in by birds, but no bird nested there. The second year, a pair of bluebirds claimed the box and we had 3 eggs. During this time, we did not touch the box or go near it, just watched from a distance. Then one day, the bluebirds stopped going to the nest. After 2 days we looked in and saw a day old hatchling (dead) and two unhatched eggs. The baby bird was covered with ants. We cleaned out the box thoroughly, but have never had another bird so much as look at the box. I intend to move it to a different position this year, but can anyone tell me what was wrong. Was it the ants, squirrels, or what? Anyones imput would be appreciated.

Well, it could be several things. 1st of all, don't be afraid to check inside the next box every 5-7 days. It makes it more likely to catch problems early. However, the ants might have been a symptom of something else. I'd recommend checking out the N. Amer. Bluebird Soc. website for additional guidance on this matter.

My husband got me a bluebird box for Valentine's Day last year - I told him specifically that was what I wanted - & we had 1 brood raised early last summer, then they moved out. I figure the bird feeders - with the starlings & other birds visiting - might have upset them, so I'm planning on moving the feeders. Now, we had no problems with squirrels, ants or sparrows, thank goodness. Our nest box was mounted on a section of 6" PVC pipe. Squirrels can't climb it, & neither can snakes, so it eliminates concern about those 2 predators. What kind of post did you have the box mounted on?

The only other thing I can think of is maybe putting a stripe of petroleum jelly around the post, just below the box, to discourage ants. Again, my #1 suggestion is to check with the NABS site.... Let me know how things turn out!

Thanks, Jennifer. I had it nailed on a pine tree. I think your suggestion of putting it on a pvc pipe is great - I never thought of that. We did that with one of our feeders - sure frustrated the poor squirrels. I'll also check with the web sight you suggested. I do the petroleum jelly thing with the hummingbird feeder poles and it worked like a gem.

Glad I could help! As for hummer feeders, I finally gave up on doing that & just went ahead & got ant guards. Of course, the ants got creative & started swimming across the water in the "moat" - forming a bridge with their bodies- so I went 1 step further & put a drop of dish detergent in the water. You never saw ants sink so darned fast! LOL! Once the surface tension was gone, they couldn't get across....

Let me know how everything turns out this spring!