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  1. T

    chickadee nesting box behavior

    As you undoubtedly know, chickadees construct their nests out of moss (with a hair lined nest cup). Is it possible that they are removing material deposited by a nest box competitor? For example, if the material being removed is mostly twigs, I'd suspect a house wren in the picture.
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    how hard is it to find owls? from Central New York

    I live near Buffalo on the Niagara River. Screech owls,barred owls and G.H. Owls are all responsive to calling. Horned owls will come in to check out a rabbit distress predator call. Also, horned owls will be nesting in your area in the next couple of week and are easy to observe on nest...
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    License To Own Hawk Or Owl Feather

    I believe Native Americans can obtain permits to possess raptor feathers for ceremonial purposes. Licensed falconers are permitted to possess raptor feathers for imping (feather repair). If you are in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma or Texas call U.S Fish and Wildlife Service at (505) 248-7882...
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    New Martin House

    I recommend that you investigate the purple martin conservation association website and save yourself a lot of trouble by returning that house. Modern Martin Housing (that's really built with the martin's needs in mind) include deep starling resistant cavities. They are durable to resist wind...
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    bird friendly preservative

    I've maintained nestboxes for twenty years and have noted that the roof deteriorates far more rapidly than other components. I generally apply a piece of asphalt roofing material in a light color to nest box roofs. I've also used various wood sealers applied long before the boxes are...
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    Female goshawk and mink

    I was involved with a female Harris Hawk-mink situation in which I intervened. This bird dispatched grey squirrels with little trouble, the mink however counterattacked in a far more aggressive way than a squirrel. I grabbed the mink (female) around the chest with a welding glove and applied...
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    Nest Box Size Question

    Bluebirds don't require a 5" square floor. No harm in building it that size but they do fine with less floor space. Critical, however, with narrower nest structures is providing a toehold for benefit of tree swallows. I've seen several cases where tree swallows have perished because they were...
  8. T

    Quick qeusions

    t-14 is an excellent house, especially with crescent openings. Maintaining and erecting a t-14 is a big commitment. I'd figure on at least five hundred bucks for housing, hardware and pole. Also that stucture is very heavy and requires a good quality brake winch to raise and lower. I've overseen...
  9. T

    Quick qeusions

    Good work on the swallows!! Keep those boxes clean and ready and try pairing them. P.S. Have you considered Purple Martin housing? (That would be for next year)
  10. T

    Quick qeusions

    How about an update on your efforts. What have you fledged?
  11. T

    Starlings & Grackles Frustration, Oh, My!

    I've maintained anywhere from eight to twelve kestrel nestboxes for about twenty years. I agree that kestrel numbers are in decline for some reason. The most productive boxes for me have been located on utility poles or isolatede dead trees near good grassland hunting habitat. I've been flashing...
  12. T

    Typical Chickadee Nest and Habitat

    I know what you mean and sometimes we can be overexhuberant in monitoring our feathered charges. Its still very early in the nesting season where we live and though its painful its not the end of the world.
  13. T

    Typical Chickadee Nest and Habitat

    Don't worry too much about it! I know the feeling.I've been maintaining nestboxes for twenty years. You lose broods to predation, foul weather and vandalism. I've been feeding my bluebirds and purple martins mealworms to stave off starvation with the cold weather we've had recently in our...
  14. T

    Typical Chickadee Nest and Habitat

    This thread has been so cool. Congratulations. Is the nest made up of moss?
  15. T

    Red tailed Hawk

    I've flown seven immature Redtails as part of my falconry practice. In my region of New York they catch meadow voles at will.I think they prefer small mammals of that size when they are available. They are very good at taking rabbits and squirrels. I've concentrated on squirrel hawking because...
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    Help! - New Purple Martin Landlord

    I just checked the PMCA website for Martin reports in Illinois. As of today they had over 100 reports of adult scouts and only one report of a subadult male. I'm skeptical of early subadult reports because it takes a trained eye and decent optics to distiguish adult females from suadult males...
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    Help! - New Purple Martin Landlord

    I've had a colony of purple martins on the Niagara River in Western New York for about 15 years. The go to sight for purple martin info on the web is the purple martin conservation association. (PMCA) In my area we see our first martins between April 5- april 15. Subadults which will colonize a...
  18. T

    Sparrow Issues w/Bluebird House

    I think most people who attempt to provide bluebird housing read that bluebirds start nesting in April and assume that if they haven't seen bluebirds by that time then they have to wait until next year. Bluebirds produce two or three broods a year. The more experience you get working with cavity...
  19. T

    House Sparrow advice.

    The huber trap consists of a trigger mechanism that releases a metal or plastic plate which covers the entrance preventing escape. If you look it up on the web you'll find it explained.
  20. T

    House Sparrow advice.

    I agree with pairing the boxes for the reasons cited above. The trap in the link above is the same concept as the Huber trap I refered too. Google Huber Sparrow trap and you'll find easy instructions . I monitor a bunch of bluebird boxes and the sparrow trap is a standard piece of equipment.I...
  21. T

    House Sparrow advice.

    Many people believe that sparrows fledged from nest boxes are more inclined to seek out nest boxes for breeding sites. If you accept that notion , then your action ( permitting the sparrows to use your nestbox) would actually be harmful to efforts to restore native cavity nesters. Personally I...
  22. T

    Birds eating out of your hand

    I've periodically trained birds to feed from the hand at my feeder. A lazy man's method that I use involves an old coat and hat along with a large glove or mitten Simply hang the coat and hat on a T-shaped wooden framework with the glove fastened palm upwards on one of the horizontal ends (arms...
  23. T

    Peregrines in the United Kingdom

    Are all peregrines in the UK of the same subspecies?
  24. T

    Red-tail Hawk? - Illinois, USA

    I was under the impression that redtails grow a redtail after their first molt at about one year of age.
  25. T

    Good Wren House

    Way too expensive. Go with a basic front opening style bluebird house. You can reduce the 1 1/2" bluebird opening to 1 1/8 inch if you like. Key to attracting house wrens is placing the boxes in brushy habitat. Wrens will fill a cavity with twigs regardless of size but the actual nest cup is...
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