Best Spectator Sport EVER

Uh-oh.  The housewrens are back, heard this morning for the first time this spring.  So---I take up my daily watch on behalf of the bluebird house.  I used to be a great fan of housewrens---for their bubbly song that accompanied every backyard day from April through October, and for their conspicuous nesting habits, which are easy to follow for an amateur birder.  They were one of the first species I paid close attention to when I began this blog.  Two springs ago I followed a housewren family in a daily nestwatch from the building of the nest to the fledging of the six young.  Thrilling it was to observe their maiden flights.  I had calculated, via some research, the exact day and hour of the first fledge, and sure enough, between 10 and 11 a.m. on their big day, as I had predicted, out they flew. My friend Barb and I had pulled up comfortable chaises and made a morning of it, each with a good book and a pair of binoculars  (see blogpost of July 22, 2009 titled The Thrill of the Fledge).

BUT---that was before the family bluebird came to this place.  Now my loyalties are divided. Twice the male housewren has run off the male bluebird, who had begun staking out the copper-roofed house.  And last year, even though the bluebirds got a head start before the return of the housewren, their nestlings never made it to fledge day.  We heard one day of tiny cheeping, then BAM! they were gone, way too early for them to have fledged without notice.

I can't really blame their disappearance on the housewrens (it was more likely a hawk, or a snake, or a cat), nonetheless I'm watching carefully.  Today marks Day 1 of Project Bluebird Protection.  Madam Bluebird is definitely tending eggs under the copper roof.  She peeks out often, for only a few seconds, then ducks back inside. Occasionally she leaves the house, but only for a minute or two, to bask in the sun on a nearby bare dogwood branch (dying tree).

Her beautiful blue-backed mate with proud orange chest is never far away.  I see him keeping watch, flying from perch to perch around the yard.  dkm

Hard Dilemma

Until last year I had not seen bluebirds in the backyard. Have they just come to this area, or has my new practice of paying close attention revealed what has been here all along? Don't know the answer to that, but, as I wanted to learn more about attracting them, I sent for a free book online about bluebirding.

I learned more than I wanted to know from Bluebird Bob, namely that if you don't have the heart to trap and kill an English house sparrow, you should never install a bluebird box. Also that house wrens are a serious problem, and one should remove their early nesting sticks to prevent their setting up housekeeping in areas where bluebirds nest.

This is a classic case of being happier with less knowledge. NOW what do I do? Fortunately we don't have English sparrows here, at least I've not identified them, but what about the intense pleasure I got from observing and here chronicling my house wren families last spring from first nesting stick in April to last fledge in July?

True, I did observe the tiny bubbling but feisty house wren drive away a male bluebird twice his size. But also true, I doubt that I could ever interfere with the natural nesting habits of any bird in my yard. In defense of myself I put up the bird houses to attract wrens, nuthatches, titmice, and chickadees---never intending to attract bluebirds b/c I didn't know they were around. Does my prior ignorance relieve me of the present responsibility of preventing house wren nests? For more information, google Bluebird Bob.

Today my skybacked bluebird with the rusty breast is in and out of the box from which he was driven last summer. Here's hoping his earlier attempt at the same house this year will bring him triumph. Will see how the drama plays out when the house wrens begin nesting in April. dkm