June 2018:  House Sparrows and Snakes -- Oh, my!June Summary Report by Renate Chapman
Published July 11, 2018

​Things have taken a turn for the worse - now House Sparrows have become not just a nuisance, but predators!

We do have one newly active Bluebird box - one that has been cleared out by a snake before.  So I went back to that box and snipped off the smooth edge of the wire guard, which was not as hard as I had feared.  And I slightly bent the prongs down or outward, hoping that would really deter snakes, without endangering the Bluebirds.  Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what to do about the House Sparrows, which by now have begun to kill nestlings.  

What kind of snakes did I find in boxes?  I saw one looking out of the box; its head looked almost like a tree swallow, light throat, dark bluish above.  The other snake, approximately ¾ of an inch in diameter, was coiled all around itself totally inside the box. It seemed to be many shades of tan. I did not see it until I opened the box; it tried to get out but I slammed the door shut on it. Somehow eventually it contorted itself out. The box was empty next time I checked.

April Summary Report by Renate Chapman
Published 5/5/18

Well, we call it a Bluebird Trail.  To my chagrin, we have exactly one Bluebird Family.  First egg laid April 10. Three eggs total.  April 27 there were three brand-new Bluebird babies in the nest.  

Then we had one nest with House Sparrow eggs.  The first nest and eggs were destroyed. April 27 a new nest had been started, but no eggs yet.  Nesting material removed.

​There was another nest which I thought had House Sparrow eggs, but when I opened it today (with sinister intent) a house finch flew out, so I’ll leave them alone.

One box is almost full of nice soft nesting material and has been so for quite while, but no eggs.  It might be a fake from a wren.

 There is one, and maybe two pairs of Chickadees breeding, one definitely confirmed, the other one likely.  I will keep checking to make sure.  Undisclosed locations.

​All the rest of the 25 boxes on the Kendal Bluebird Trail have Tree Swallow Nests in them, most fairly completed, but no eggs yet. 

The weather through most of April has been pretty awful, which means my records are rather sketchy.  Kendal residents Marty and Burrell Fisher have been joining me on my walks since late April.
 
Bluebirds started nesting rather early. I found the first Bluebird eggs in Box 4 on March 30, nicely growing hatchlings on April 26, did not open the box on May 3 because we were afraid they might tumble out too soon, checked the box on May 6 and found a fat black snake in there, looking well-fed.  This box hangs on a fence post and is unprotected, which is true of three out of four boxes where we have Bluebirds.  I have tied bungee cords around them to keep the raccoons away, but have not been able to protect against snakes.  
 
Box 12, as of last Saturday, had four Bluebird eggs, no hatchlings yet.  Box 21 had four Bluebird eggs, one hatchling on April 26, but on April 29 the nest was empty.  Box 24, on a pole with a baffle, has three growing Bluebirds.
 
Most of the other boxes on the Kendal Bluebird Trail have either Tree Swallow nests, some with up to 7 eggs in them, or are still empty.  Burrell Fisher has made beautiful new sturdy boxes for us, but birds seem to be slow to move in. Two of the boxes on poles have had finches in them; one pair has already started a second brood.