Keeping Peace Between Bluebirds and House Wrens

Key Moments:
00:23 - What a house wren is and why they can sometimes cause an issue
02:04 - Step 1: Adding a second nest box
02:21 - Step 2: Optimizing nest box locations to better manage peace
03:42 - Step 3: Adding a wren guard after the first egg is laid (DIY Video below)
04:02 - Step 4: How to buy time until you can put up a wren guard
04:52 - Step 5: Pairing a wren guard with a sparrow spooker (tutorial video below)
05:24 - Step 6: Applying the right distance between nest boxes
06:15 - Birds will protect their nest (warning - footage shows 2 birds fighting but neither is harmed)
07:00 - Recognizing that we're dealing with wild birds and can't control and protect everything
--------- Other tips---------
1. blocking sight lines between nest boxes with a big bush or side of the house can be helpful. Though it can't always be done.
2. Don't have the nest box holes face each other.
3. Sometimes there are bad years. Sometimes this just doesn't work. It's unfortunate, but part of the process.
------Article with more tips and considerations-----
nesthollow.com/8-tips-peace-b...
--------About This Video----------
The native house wren is known for invading bluebird nest boxes and the nest boxes of other cavity birds. They'll poke holes in the eggs and try to remove them. Or worse, they'll try to throw out very young nestlings.
Despite this, it is possible to have peace with both nesting in your backyard, and in this video, we tell you what to do if you found a house wren in your yard while you have bluebirds or chickadees.
---------Related Videos---------
1. How to make a wren guard: • DIY Cardboard Wren Gua...
2. Easy DIY Sparrow Spooker Tutorial: • Super Easy DIY Sparrow...
--------- Interested in what Camera we use to get nest box footage? ---------
One of the most highly recommended nest cams for monitoring birds is the Blink Outdoor Cameras from Amazon*. Here's a link to get yours:
amzn.to/3xwwAAD
--------- Interested in more bird resources? ---------
Visit our website www.nesthollow.com. Our goal is to empower every backyard birder into taking better steps toward bird conservation.
We do this by providing resources to help you manage your native backyard birds better as well as providing a store with products selected especially for helping our native birds.
--------- *Disclosure ---------
Links to Amazon are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after having clicked the Amazon link, we get a very very small commission (cents). This does help support the channel, and it does not cost you anything extra. So we are grateful for your support.
Thanks.

[@user-PM12]

Great video, thank you. Yesterday we noticed a pair of Tree Swallows showing interest in our empty box. (I still have the fishing line on it). Wrens were hanging around the box for awhile but I think they were deterred by the fishing line. We have a pair of Bluebirds working on their second brood in another box. The sparrow spooker really works! (I made my own after watching your video). Thanks again!

[@nesthollow5159]

I love hearing about so much diversity in your yard. So glad you're making a way for all of them.

[@underthetrees4780]

My grandfather was able to have wrens and bluebirds on the same 1 acre property. He put out gourds for the wrens. His problem was the sparrows and starlings

[@nesthollow5159]

That's awesome! Gourds are a great idea too. They seem to attract quite a few types of birds. And yes, the house sparrows and starlings feel like a never ending battle unfortunately.

[@susanl10]

Your advice is excellent. Thank you.

[@PatShew-zm5fg]

Thank you, this video is helpful :)

[@nesthollow5159]

I hope these tactics help. Sometimes, it's just a bad year. House wrens can be such a challenge. This video gives the best we can do while still acting responsibly and protecting native birds. Good luck with it.

[@jameslomenzo1139]

I remember in the old days, people would made a 2in 1/4 wide bye 1in' entrance so they can carry long sticks in.

[@nesthollow5159]

Wow! I guess now it's a matter if predator and competitor exclusion. And some how they manage to get the sticks in even with a hole reducer. They're pretty quick too!

[@gregsmith3410]

I personally like house wrens.. Always look forward to hear their bubbly song ,sure sign of spring.. Also any bird that stands up to the dreaded House Sparrow Hoards is a plus in my book.. Have you heard of any thing about declining populations in Wren numbers? 2nd straight season , strangely silent.. No Wrens at my boxes.

[@nesthollow5159]

House wrens are really neat, but their infamy is what makes it hard for some to appreciate.... and it can make people a little hostile toward them (hence the title... keeping the peace). I've wondered the same thing about their numbers especially given the bad wrap they get. At some point, I'll try to look into that.

[@gregsmith3410]

@@nesthollow5159 👍 look forward to that !!

[@anitacoogan4822]

Thanks enjoyed video,. I live in a condo, no trees, no feeders allowed and tiny yard, have a Catbird pair that visits a birdbath but that is it, Your yard looks great having Wrens and Bluebirds WOW. , A friend & I rescue songbirds . A recent youtube video shows us in Newark NJ, the video is named ( Volunteers give migrating birds injured in N.J’s biggest city a second chance )' Also TRT made a older video when we first started named ( Window Strikes in the Business District ) of us picking up injured Warblers. Funny just like humans the location is super important. BTW English Sparrows are mean as when the migrating birds hit the skyscrapers and fall to cement pavement. most do not survive the hit, those that do I have seen English Sparrows quickly come and mob peck the injured bird inflicting more wounds , so another reason when a birds it stunned need to take then out of harm's way quickly. I read an article about a Bluebird that was sitting on her eggs, and then English Sparrows pecked her to death as they wanted her nest, English Sparrows will gang up on other birds.

[@jameslomenzo1139]

That's nice you're around a Catbird, cousin to mockingbirds. Good luck cleaning out the HOSP.

[@mountaingoat79]

My Bewick wren built 3-4 nests, but it was partly due to the house sparrows kicking them and the chickadees out… and then all nested. This year I shooed the house sparrows away more and the local birds seemed to remember last year and try to get them out of the bird house before Spring commenced. Housing is going much more smoothly this year and the Bewick wren already having their partner stayed with the first house they selected the morning after I put it up and there was a little bickering when they went insect hunting near the chickadees, but they all worked it out with them and the bluebirds… my bluebirds and chickadees seemed to get along 25 feet apart from each other until the bluebirds layer eggs and so I turned these chickadee house around to face the wrens since it has some vegetation between them and then I planted a crepe Myrtle and that seemed to help a lot. All four of the bluebird nestlings fledged recently and the wren and chickadees are still feeding their babies.

[@nesthollow5159]

This is so great when you have multiple native species in your yard to watch - and even better when they're getting along fairly well... as well as can be expected for nature.

[@wjm9604]

So far I’ve had wrens go in my birdhouses with the Green Backyard cameras but they probably didn’t have a mate and no nest was made. I’ve caught them with the Van Ert trap while trying to trap house sparrows… which might be good in a way. They fly above the camera looking for a way out and hopefully the memory of that persuades them to find another nesting place. I’m still looking to have a bluebird pair in my small town. I’ve only had a pair visit the outside of the birdhouse a few years ago. So close. Might have to get one of their long range Wi-Fi cameras and put another birdhouse next to the farmer’s field about 100 yards in back from my house. The wrens shouldn’t bother it there.

[@nesthollow5159]

Yep there have been unintended catching of native birds and it can sometimes dissuade them to go in thay box in the future.... or at least for a time anyway. Of course, some birds are ultra curious and keep coming back.

[@Vermagerber]

Just lost 5 bluebird eggs to what appears to be a wren. Found the eggs on the ground just below the box with punctures. Nest camera was turned off but I have a wren nesting about 150 feet away on the other side of the house. I'll have to try a baffle.

[@nesthollow5159]

I'm so sorry. That does sound like a house wren then. For house wrens, you will want to try adding a wren guard once the first egg is laid. I like to combine it with a sparrow spooker as well. And it helps to have a few spare boxes out to keep house wrens busy. Here is how to make a wren guard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f53HiaiFm66pZpY And here are tips about managing both bluebirds and house wrens. No tactic is 100%, but it can certainly help. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXu8mXivo955e8k I hope this helps. Good luck 🐦

[@cathybenish9871]

I mean illegal? The bluebird is also native and constantly in the state I live in it is not invasive why would I prioritize the rent over the bluebird we have wrens everywhere they are not endangered in any manner. They’re all over my garage they nest everywhere but I have one arguing with the bluebird and I can’t tell which one of them owns the nest anymore they have both been after this nest since probably March

[@jeremyb5740]

I have some great crested fly catchers nesting (Specifically made nest boxx from Coveside)....do they muck around with the bigger birds? Its about ehhhh....17 FT high...I feel like flycatcher are like other birds and not at the nest much during incubation...but around as there vocal obviously lol

[@nesthollow5159]

I really can't say for certain if a house wren would be a threat to flycatcher eggs and nestlings. I'd say, if they're desperate and the box is unattended, they might toss out eggs. They're birds. I've seen house wrens take some big risks. But, if you're using a larger box like a Flicker box for the great crested flycatcher, it may have less to do about the bird being bigger and more to do with the box being bigger. A house wren went into my flicker box that I put out for a Great crested flycatcher. I got a bit worried. But it never returned. I can only assume the house wren didn't like how big the box was. Building a nest in a big box like that would be a painstaking wasted if energy for them, especially when smaller vacant boxes are available. And those are usually what the house wrens around me choose. The challenge with great crested flycatchers is that they like the more wooded areas, which is the same preference as a house wren. In the end, I can't say for certain. And wild animals can always behave unpredictably.

[@hdtripper1]

You mentioned reducing the hole to 1 1/8 ". I thought 1 1/2 inch was needed for bluebirds. Will that deter wrens with that size? Or deter bluebirds?

[@nesthollow5159]

Can you give me the time stamp please.

[@thesimplesojourner1062]

What if the house the wren is building in is the box the BB is going in and out of? I have another BB up but that one is the one a HOSP killed the last BB babies and now the HOSP is guarding that one I have traps in it. So the only option is the one the wren and BB are both going for. :( This is also my 1st year with boxes of any kind. I feel so bad for the BB

[@nesthollow5159]

This is definitely rough. If the house wren is already building its nest in the box that the bluebirds were investigating, I would recommend adding another box - if you can, for your bluebirds. I would put that in as much of an open area as you can. You could also find some smaller house wren boxes to hang up maybe under a tree or in a shaded area or by a tree line since they like to build dummy nests - that may keep them occupied in an area they like better while your bluebirds can build in the more open box. Since house wrens build dummy nests, you can pull some sticks out here and there to keep them busy. But if they have a large amount of sticks in there already and you see some spider egg sacks in there, there's a good chance they're getting ready to lay eggs. And it's a good thing if they're laying eggs because that should hopefully keep them busy to where they won't invade your other bluebird box as much. The other thing, just to keep the bluebirds from wasting time in the box that the house wren is in is adding a 1 and 1/8 inch hole reducer to the box the house wren is building in. I would do this after you got yourself another box for the bluebirds. This will exclude the bluebirds from that current box and force them to look at the other box. Again, it's never easy managing it all. It's so intense. You really start to see how brutal nature gets when you start hosting nesting birds in your yard.

[@thesimplesojourner1062]

@@nesthollow5159 ok I will try these segregations thank you so much

[@Yzabeaux1]

I have a wren that I have formed a bond with. It comes every morning to sing to me. I put up "two" bird houses 5 feet away from each other. The wren has started nesting there & I am absolutely overjoyed. Then suddenly a bluebird shows up and starts trying to take over the wren nest when the other birdhouse is just 5 feet away & unoccupied. But, the picky bluebird wants the "wren nest" & not the empty one. Meantime, i am chasing the bluebird away from the wren nest for fear the bluebird may kill the wren babies.

[@nesthollow5159]

Aww that is sweet with the wren. For house wrens you can add a 1-1/8 inch hole reducer to the wren boxes. This should exclude the bluebirds. Then they can find the actual bluebird house and be all set. Once the blues have an egg, I would add a wren guard. Then you've protected both birds in all directions.

[@Yzabeaux1]

@@nesthollow5159 God BLESS YOU, Dear Soul, fir your knowledge.😁🙏🙏🙏 Where can I find those fittings?

[@nesthollow5159]

@@Yzabeaux1 a wild bird shop will have the hole reducers. If you're handy with woodworking, they can be made with a small block of wood and the appropriate size hole saw. Then you just screw the block of wood onto the house. For the wren guard, you can make one out of cardboard. There is a video tutorial on how to do that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f53HiaiFm66pZpY

[@Yzabeaux1]

@@nesthollow5159 Thank you so much, Dear Soul!😁🙏❤️🐦 I checked the local bird shop & they have them.😁😁🙏👌🏻GOD BLESS YOU!!🙏😁

[@nesthollow5159]

@@Yzabeaux1 excellent. They'll get you all set up.

[@ThePhotographyHobbyist]

I don't have issues with house wrens being interested in my bluebird house. The most annoying pest is the house sparrows. They've harassed my bluebirds sometimes, BUT both of the bluebirds (male/female...and especially after they have eggs/babies) will chase after the house sparrow. I like to see that, but at the same time, I hate that they have to spend time and energy chasing off sparrows (so I do it myself if I see the sparrow around 😂). This spring it got too cold and the first batch of bluebirds babies died :( They're nesting again right now and have 4 eggs mama is sitting on. I've been feeding them (live mealworms & live waxworms) twice a day since I felt bad for all the work they did only to lose the babies to cold. The box is on an old wooden fence post out in the open (by itself), about 20' from my house and 10' from a post they like to sit on. They have plenty of places to hang out nearby to watch the box but the box itself is in the open. They've been nesting there for the last 10 years or more, every single year. It's fun to watch the whole family splash in the birdbath once the babies are old enough to leave the box :) The bluebirds are a sweet little bird and I'm glad I can help them out and make their nesting time as easy as possible. I have a large garden and property for them to hang out in along with other birds. The wrens have nested in an old 'See Rock City' box I have but I failed to clean it out early enough this year so they didn't nest in it this year...but I bought a new box I'll put up that's made of wood and has a door that can open for cleaning. That'll work out nicely. There's plenty of space between where I'll put the wren house and the bluebirds (on different sides of my house, maybe 100' or more separating them and each in the appropriate type of space they like....open space for bluebirds and near some small ornamental trees and shrubs for the wrens, but positioned as best I can to avoid predators from being able to reach the box easily).

[@ThePhotographyHobbyist]

OH!...speaking of pests...a sneaky cowbird thought she was being funny and laid an egg in the chipping sparrow's nest (which was in a small pine tree). :( I removed that right away and the chipping sparrows hatched (3) but, I'm afraid something got to them. Possibly a crow. I see them hanging out here and there and the bluejays and others scream and chase after then, but this chipping sparrow nest was probably a bit TOO visible from above (even though it was well hidden from below and the sides with lots of thick pointy pine needles all over that tree)...so I'm just assuming another bird came down and got them. Sad. Poor little chipping sparrow sat faithfully on those eggs in the chilly and wet weather...only to have someone come and get her babies. Yeah, I know nature is cruel sometimes and that's survival, but you know, I like to consider any birds that nest in my garden as 'mine' and they get my protection and help if I can give it. Oh well. Overall I think they still benefit from the sanctuary I provide for them.

[@fredmcmurray6308]

Lost a clutch of 5 bluebird eggs saw the mother go in one evening checked it a few days later and all eggs gone, no sign of a struggle like pieces of egg shell or feathers just empty. I had to be either a snake or a very delicate eating racoon.

[@nesthollow5159]

I'm so sorry. Did they try to nest again?

[@fredmcmurray6308]

@@nesthollow5159 nope have not seen them at all, just moved it to a metal conduit pipe and put a 6" duct pipe 18" long along with 1/2 " square opening hardware cloth around the opening ,like the predator guard flowing river farm

[@Majorvideonut2]

i have a wren that doesn't quit filling up every birdhouse and my Martin condo... ugh

[@nesthollow5159]

Thats tough! So sorry. How high is the Martib house? Is it in a fairly open - at least 50 feet from a tree line?

[@jasonashley9853]

Can't stand House Wrens. I've had to move my bluebird boxes numerous times in my neighborhood because there is virtually nowhere they will not go. They like moving out into the open late into the season for no discernable reason. Despite there being multiple plots of woods around here they decide the woods aren't good enough. I'll be quitting with nest boxes next year. I'm going to move. Won't miss House Wrens. They're most of the reason I never have a 2nd brood of Bluebirds succeed. 15 seasons and they've caused me a lot of grief and wasted time.

[@julieackerson3111]

I don’t have bluebirds in my area because it’s too urbanized for their liking. But I think they’re beautiful birds, and I feel your pain. I’ve heard and read from numerous people that they have a much harder time containing house wrens than they do house sparrows. Numerous reasons, but one being that house wrens don’t like to share “habitat” with other birds. And once it turns into a “house wrens habitat,” they will even puncture and destroy other bird eggs, including those that are non cavity seeking.

[@jameslomenzo1139]

I'm just ten minutes from downtown Nashville, TN and Bluebirds have been nesting since 1989 in my yard, park, every year putting up houses. I have alot of pasture and they love it plus all the house's, Tree Swallows, Purple Martins nesting close also with them but BB don't like HW, House Wren did nest in a tall open open land in martin gourd 2019 but hurt nothing, did great... wonder if they act differently in each state, beautiful song.