These houses popped up next to an experimental bluebird trail where I am struggling to control House Sparrows (HOSP) without trapping. I was wondering where all the HOSP gone and then my husband pointed these out to me.
The problems with this set up: The boxes are lovely, but....
Eastern bluebird nestboxes should be mounted 125-150 yards apart. Tree swallow boxes that are paired with bluebird boxes can be about 20 feet from the other half of the pair. Obviously these boxes are clustered, which will appeal to House Sparrows (who will nest within inches of each other.) Some have two floors, which again will invite HOSP proliferation. They are also near brambles, which may invite House Wren.
ALL of these lack a door that opens, so monitoring and cleaning would be impossible. In addition, most are mounted so high that they are not accessible.
Some have perches, which helps HOSP defend a box, and also makes it easier for avian predators to hang on while reaching inside to nab box contents.
Some have very large holes (greater than 1.5"), which will allow aggressive starlings to enter.
Many are shallow, which also makes it easier for avian predators to reach inside.
Some are painted dark colors and placed in full sun, which could mean contents (eggs and nestlings) heat up to the point of death.
If egg/nestling eating snakes were in the area (which they probably are not in this case), the lack of a wobbling stove pipe baffle could make predation easy.
May 29, 2008 - Take Your Pick (parents feeding fledgling)
June 10, 2008 - That Look Belongs in a Holster (female MOBL)
You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you preserve the habitat in which it dwells. Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it. So conservation means that you have to preserve forest and grassland, river and lake, even the sea itself. This is vital not only for the preservation of animal life generally, but for the future existence of man himself—a point that seems to escape many people.
-Gerald Durrell, The Nature Conservancy
