Ups and Downs on the Bluebird Trail – The NABS Hotline, In Action
Many of you will be able to relate to the situations I’m about to share with you. As a NABS
Hotline representative, a county coordinator and bluebird trail monitor, life is very hectic right
now, with bluebird/tree swallow nesting season in full swing. Recently I have received many
requests for advice, information and assistance, and the causes for these requests are the usual
suspects-house sparrow attack, snake predation, cat attack, loss of adults/nest abandonment,
etc.
A couple of weeks ago, a new bluebird monitor called to tell me that she witnessed a house
sparrow coming out of her backyard nestbox, which had tree swallows nesting inside. There
were 5 young at about 12 days old. When she checked the box after seeing the house sparrow,
she found 2 of the young pecked to death, a 3 rd one on the ground and the other 2 seemed
unharmed. Being new to the world of bluebirding, she removed the dead young, replaced the
nestling from the ground back into the nest and waited to see if the adult tree swallows would
return to the nest to continue feeding the young. The following morning, she called me to
explain the situation and told me that the adults had not returned to the nestbox to feed the
young and she was concerned. I asked her to place the nest/young in a shoebox and that I
would come to pick them up. When I arrived, I noted that 1 of the 2 remaining babies had
suffered more damage in the house sparrow attack-its eyes were pecked out and it was
extremely lethargic. In fact, within minutes of my arrival, the baby died in my hands. The last
remaining young seemed unharmed and was very alert. I was able to foster this baby into a
nest of similar-aged young at Antietam’s bluebird trail and am pleased to report that it has
fledged successfully.
In another instance, a gentleman that had attended one of my bluebird presentations contacted
me to say that a snake had predated his bluebird nestbox, but that he had intervened in time
and had saved the young from being eaten. I had previously strongly recommended that he
remount his nestbox away from its current location (fence) to a free-standing pole, equipped
with a predator baffle, but he had yet to do this. He was now concerned that the adults would
not return to the nestbox, even though he had removed the snake from the situation. In fact,
he informed me that he had killed the snake, which seems to be an unfortunate but common
reaction in this situation. For this nesting of young, the story does not end happily. Apparently,
another predator visited the nestbox during the night. The homeowner found the box on the
ground the next morning, and the young were gone. The nest appeared undisturbed, so it is
assumed that a second snake was the culprit. The homeowner was advised to remount the
nestbox according to NABS recommendations and was offered assistance, if needed.
Also recently, I received a call from a woman named Billie, who lives in Beckley, WV. Billie
informed me that she had a nesting of 5 bluebird young about 10 days old. The female bluebird
had been killed by a cat and the male was no longer feeding the young. Billie brought the young
into her home and was feeding them mealworms while she attempted to get advice on what to
do. There is no NABS affiliate in her area, unfortunately, and she was having no success trying
to contact a wildlife rehabilitator. Fortunately, the Virginia Bluebird Society stepped up and
made contact with wildlife rehabilitator Maureen Eiger, of Help Wild Birds Roanoke. Maureen
was able to direct Billie to the Three Rivers Avian Center in nearby Brooks, West Virginia. The
Center was willing to take in the bluebird nestlings and, in fact, they even came to Billie’s house
to pick them up! Special thanks to Valerie Keyon Gaffney of Virginia Bluebird Society and to
Maureen Eiger for their assistance.
In two of the three of these situations, there was some degree of a successful outcome. Sadly,
that is not always the case, but offering even a slight possibility for a positive outcome is why we
do what we do. Educating those new to bluebirding is critical in order for the birds to have the
best possible chance to survive and thrive.
— Kathy Kremnitzer
President, North American Bluebird Society