If anyone knows how to help the Bluebirds and Tree Swallows deal with the
hyper-aggressive killer House Wren, please let us know.  We have the same
problem with "cute little Jenny Wren".
	

-----Original Message-----
From: Upper Valley Birders [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Chris Rimmer
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 8:27 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [UVB] Red-bellied Woodpecker

I heard a Red-bellied Woodpecker calling as I walked our dog through 
Hillside Cemetery in Norwich at 7 am this morning.  The bluebird nest 
there fledged 5 young last Sunday.  The other box had a Tree Swallow 
nest with one egg on Tuesday, and the female was sitting inside on 
Wednesday when I peered in (I assumed laying a second egg).  Yesterday, 
however, there were no eggs, and I heard a House Wren singing in the 
vicinity.  The nest itself is very skimpy, with fewer materials than 
normal and no feathers.

This morning the swallow pair was duking it out with a male wren, and I 
noticed that several twigs had been added to the nest.  There has never 
been a wren nest in either box during the 10 years I've been monitoring 
this site.  House Wrens are notoriously fierce competitors for nest 
cavities, and they will remove or destroy eggs of other species like 
swallows or bluebirds.  I can't help hoping the swallows will prevail at 
Hillside, but I'm not optimistic...

Chris

-- 
Chris Rimmer
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
P.O. Box 420
Norwich, VT 05055
802-649-1431 ext. 1
http://www.vtecostudies.org

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