Bluebird Friends - and Enemies

I rubbed my eyes on November 29 at the appearance of eight Bluebirds around the meadow at Halibut Point.

The flock vindicated Peter Van Demark's report the previous week of a special sighting for the Brookline Bird Club's monthly Sunday outing. 

Eastern Bluebird

Some of the birds "posed" obligingly on the mast of Purple Martin gourds in the middle of the meadow. What were they doing here at this time of year? Indeed, they are an unusual appearance at any time, in my experience.

The Bluebirds' interest in the gourds brought to mind some earlier incidents and ironies. A dedicated team managed nesting boxes for them in the spring. November is not nesting season, however. Perhaps the birds were looking for winter shelter. A fellow from the Boston area once told me he found several Bluebirds bundled together in a bird house on a frosty day in his back yard. Are we in for this kind of luck?

House Sparrows

Occupation by aggression has kept the Purple Martin gourd array under the control of House Sparrows ever since it was put up four years ago. Tree Swallows have also tried to nest in them but are always driven away by the sparrow gang. Since the recent demolition of the Silva House, condominium central for the sparrows, they seem even more determined to hold on to the gourd array.

Tree Swallow at the Bluebird box,

with nesting intentions

Around the perimeter of the meadow are the four Bluebird nesting boxes installed this spring. The project originated with Ann Banks satisfying a requirement for her Audubon Birding Certification Program, coupled with the interest of Park Interpreter Ramona Latham. To keep the boxes free for Bluebirds they had to ward off the Tree Swallows displaced from the gourd array by the sparrows.

House Wren a-building

Lo and behold, House Wrens turned out to be the most determined competitors in the Bluebird boxes. The wrens would set to rebuilding their nests within minutes of cleanout by the box vigilantes, who interceded daily with firm views on good and evil. The bantam invaders have a dastardly reputation for destroying the eggs of other cavity nesters, and they chatter (sing?) incessantly.

November 29

Just prior to our current blustery weather the Bluebirds inspected the nesting boxes inside and out, unexpectedly rewarding their housing benefactors and the rest of us as well.