Bluebirds and house wrens

You can make the nest boxes more favorable to the bluebirds and less appealing for the wrens, there are websites about it but my connection it too slow right now for me to help much.

Google: bluebird houses no wrens

http://audubon-omaha.org/bestofbbml/wrens.htm

Is your bluebird nest box in an open area away from brush and trees? House Wrens may be less likely to fly out into an open area with little cover. Also, have you tried putting up a small nest box for the wrens? Hope your bluebirds can regain their nest box!

This sounds insane, but it is true.  Hubbo paints the bluebird houses blue, and faces them to the Southeast.  We have 3 of them here, and all three have baby bluebirds in them.  He also said to put them about 4-5 feet high, on a post or a tree, away from the house.  The wrens try to nest on the porch in the houseplants.

Having one of those, "well, where have you been?" moments. Out to lunch, apparently.

We have a couple of Bluebird houses on the fence line behind the pasture. Even though they are visible from the house, I must confess to not paying much attention to them. Two years ago, they were empty all season (except for a wasp nest in one!) Last year, a pair of Chickadees nested in one. Just this morning, while feeding the animals, I heard the sounds of baby birds cheeping from one. I didn't even know it was occupied! I watched to see what sort of birds might be residing there this year, and saw an unmistakable flash of blue leaving the box. Ok, so we've had Bluebirds feeding here for years and years, but this is the first time we've had them nesting here.

My Bluebirds return to this house year after year.  It faces west,  and is about 6 feet up on a telephone post.  I love the way they line up on the telephone line and wait for me to stir up bugs.

We have numerous house wrens who seem to like to put nest in buckets I have hanging in the barn.  The more junk in the bucket the better.  I've had them make nests in horse blankets.  Once I had to delay the use of a riding helmet due to it being occupied by wrens.  We have to keep the garage closed or they'd build a nest in the motor of the garage door.  

I've got a pair of chimney swifts who put a nest in the corner gutters.  So fun to eat lunch while the parents flitted back and forth to feed their young.

The wrens are determined! I have hanging baskets up front with fake ferns because I can never remember to water the front. She did a brood there. Then I bought real ferns for the back, so she moved. While they were building, I kept pulling it out, I don't want to water the babies and she had it right on the surface of the soil.

So she moves to the other plant, and places the nest up in the leaves. So, I left it. I can water the plant without watering the nest. Not sure why she couldn't stay out front, she was successful there. Unless it's a 2nd pair of birds. The timing was perfect for it to be the same pair though.

Robins are nesting, and we have PRIME robin territory with the ducks and all the water. Add a compost pile, and it's worm heaven. So we seem to have 3 pair of Robin in neighboring yards, who meet and fight in our yard. Everyday they are screaming at each other and tussling around at the compost pile. There's a 4th male hanging around, haven't seen a mate for him though.

Sparrows and starlings in the dead tree off to the side, bickering and fighting nonstop... prime territory for them too with the mulberry tree and local bird feeders. The starlings try to kick the sparrows out, and they start a whole flock war. Husband wants to cut the trees down, but I wouldn't want the sparrows, starlings, and squirrels in the other tree looking for a new place on our house. Even the squirrels had to fend off the birds!

We have so many birds.. I'm not adding any houses!

Blue birds have specific nesting requirements. Try to build specifically for them to reduce the odds of someone else stealing it. They're rare because they are mild natured and also have specific nesting. They like being in the open near woods, off of a tree line. Wrens like a little more security. When you drive around the country and see bird houses on fence posts, or on stakes in a field about 4-5 ft up, those are for blue birds. Usually too low or open for other species.

Wrens have a habit of taking over all nests in their vicinity and filling them with fake twig  nests. This gives the main wren pair more territory. Wrens like more cover than Bluebirds, but sometimes that doesn't help.  We just put up more nests.

We are trying to attract purple martins and this year added a string of natural gourd houses. Now we find that the bluebirds and tree swallows really like the gourds.  Apparently the swaying does not bother them but other species do not like the swaying houses.  Go figure.

Put up more houses:)