Tweeters,

When I arrived back at Roy on Friday (2/29), a pair of Western Bluebirds
appeared to have homesteaded one of the three nestboxes I put up last week
(at the insistence of my wife, who said that if bluebirds were in the
neighborhood, why not put the boxes up a bit early?). Unfortunately, it
appears that House Sparrows co-opted the nestbox the bluebirds were intent
on. The House Sparrow would sit on the roof of the nestbox and "defend" it
from the bluebird, which was perched on a branch that almost overhangs the
structure. Even though the bluebirds, who appear to arise earlier than the
sparrows, had settled on the box early Sunday morning, the sparrows soon
drove them off. (I don't know what the attraction is about that particular
nestbox site - it appears to be the one that the Tree Swallows duke it out
over most, and has been occupied by Black-capped Chickadees, Tree Swallows,
and House Sparrows. The latter apparently killed a late-nesting pair of Tree
Swallows last year - the swallow bodies (two adults) were incorporated into
the sparrow nest.)



I put up a few more nestboxes, one of which is in a more open area near one
of the larger Douglas-firs that the bluebirds seemed to favor, in hopes that
they will take to it. (I also removed the start of sparrow nesting material
from the other box.)



Other notes: Tree Swallows either returned or were passing through early
Sunday afternoon. A Northern Shrike was vocalizing yesterday afternoon, and
during the early evening, I heard a strange sound coming from the wetland
area to the southeast - WILSON'S SNIPE were winnowing.



May all your birds be identified,



Denis DeSilvis

Roy, WA

Mailto: avnacrs4birds at q.com