It’s that time of year again. Time to clean out your Wood Duck and Bluebird boxes. In just a few short weeks the first Wood Ducks and Bluebirds will be returning to the northland and right now is the time to get ready for their arrival. Cleaning out your nest boxes sounds easy enough but there are a few things to consider before jumping out of your Lazy Boy and running out to clean your boxes. You will need the following items before heading out. Gloves, ladder, plastic bag, dust (particulate) mask, and a 3 inch putty knife.
I start by using my ladder to carefully climb up to the Wood Duck nest box. Most nest boxes are located over or near water, so getting to them now before the ice melts make it a lot easier. Always use a dust or particulate mask to avoid breathing in the dust when removing the contents of the nest box. Mice often use these boxes during winter and these four footed creatures can carry several airborne nasty diseases. Position yourself upwind so when you are pulling out the nest material any dust and debris blows away from you. Gloves serve well to keep your hands warm and protected.
I often find one or two infertile eggs remaining from last season. Be extra careful when removing these. If you’ve ever had one of these eggs break, you know what I mean. The smell of the rotten contents can be overwhelming. Handle these eggs with caution. This is where the plastic bag comes in handy. Remove and dispose of the eggs away from the nest box. You don’t want to attract raccoons and other predators with the rotten eggs.
In addition to removing the infertile eggs, I always remove the soft downy feathers that line the nest box. The female woody will replace the feathers to cover her new clutch of eggs. If the woodchips at the bottom of the box are soiled, I often remove and discard the top layer. I have never found it necessary to remove all of the wood chips. Consider replacing all of the chips if they are wet or moldy.
Before adding any addition wood chips I use my putty knife to scrape off any spider egg casings. The egg casings are the white fuzzy balls stuck to the inside corners of the box. Also make sure the wire that the young ducks use to climb out of the box is secured before adding the extra chips and closing up the box. Also, now is the time to make any necessary repairs to the box.
Bluebird boxes tend to be a bit easier to clean out. First of all, you don’t need a ladder to reach the box and they rarely have any leftover smelly eggs to remove. However, if you left the Bluebird box closed all winter you might have to deal with mice.
You’ll know if you have mice because you’ll find a large round ball of plant material for a nest and it will have a strong odor of urine. Don’t be surprised if a mouse jumps out at you either. All the same rules apply when cleaning out the Bluebird box as the Wood Duck. Wear a dust mask and gloves.
I clean out all nesting material from my Bluebird boxes. I also remove the nesting material from the area near the nest box. The discarded nest material can attract predators to your Bluebirds boxes. I have lost too many baby Bluebirds to domestic cats and raccoons to loose any more.
If your bluebird box is urine soaked from mice, I recommend leaving the door open for a couple weeks to dry out before closing. Also, consider installing a predator guard at this time. You don’t want to install these wire guards after the birds have moved in.
This is also the time to consider adding some new nesting boxes. Why not greet your favorite birds this spring with some brand new nest boxes.