By Staff
It happens to me every year. I have great intentions of getting my bird houses in tip top shape, however, as spring starts to creep in, there always seems to be more immediate projects.
I assure myself that the weather is still too nasty for birds to start housekeeping but then all of a sudden, it's too late. They've either shunned my unkempt houses or, worse yet, moved in to ones that are so ill prepared that death to the babies is imminent. Birds are on a tight schedule and don't wait for nice weather to do their thing.
This year, I've reformed and am just finishing up maintenance chores. I'm none too early, either. A screech owl has already laid claim to the wood duck house across the creek. Bluebirds are vying for the houses along the driveway and a Carolina wren is checking out the clay pot house hanging from the cabin eave.
Any day now, the tree swallows will arrive to squabble with the bluebirds over housing rights and just maybe this might be the year purple martins find the martin house down at the pond acceptable. Martins are scheduled to arrive here in southern Michigan around April 10, but typically scouts sneak in several weeks earlier to scope out the housing situation. The time to give your birdhouses attention is right now.
Going beyond cleaning and repair, there's one critical thing that's very often overlooked – predator protection. Without some form of protection from predators you are suckering the birds into a death trap. Lots of critters out there are really fond of omelets and chicks and if they are not thwarted nesting success drops to near zero. In this area the primary nest box predators are squirrels (both red and fox), raccoons, snakes and ants.
Be sure the nest box is far from adjacent trees or limbs for squirrels can leap as much as 20 feet horizontally. If the box is mounted on a tree wrap a three-foot wide strip of sheet metal around the trunk below the house. It's still not squirrel proof from above but better than nothing. A camo paint job makes the sheet metal less obtrusive.
For nest boxes mounted on a pole or small tree, a predator guard is essential. Don't even consider the saucer type squirrel guards, raccoons navigate past them with ease. I like the "stove pipe" style which, when properly installed and maintained, defeats all predators. However, most commercial ones billed as raccoon guards are only six inches in diameter and I've seen 'coons shinny right up those.
Better is a section of eight-inch diameter stove pipe from the hardware store. For aesthetics, I get black ones and spray on blotches and streaks of gray, brown and green paint in a camo pattern.
To attach the stove pipe to the pole I make a cone shaped cap of sorts from galvanized steel hardware cloth with quarter or three-eighths inch mesh. Screw on a strip of the hardware cloth around the top of the pipe with about five inches extending beyond the pipe. Cut out pie shaped wedge sections from the cloth to allow you to bend the screen inward and shape it around the nest box pole.
Be sure the screen sections overlap to block snakes. Use a hose clamp (from the automotive store) to tightly clamp the hardware cloth to the pole. In the process, insert several layers of thick cloth around the pole behind the clamp with plenty left hanging out. Keep this saturated with ant poison to prevent ants from invading the nest box. It has to be recharged regularly but it's much preferable to putting the pesticide directly into the nest area which cannot be good for the chicks. Mount the guard as high as possible so critters can't jump up past it.
You now have a do-it-all predator guard. The stove pipe fends off squirrels, 'coons, cats and such. The hardware cloth clamped tight to the pole blocks snakes and the pesticide soaked cloth eliminates ant issues. The bird family is now secure. Carpe diem.