REMOVING WREN DUMMY STICKS

A male house wren may put "dummy" sticks in many bluebird boxes in hopes of attracting a female to one of those boxes.  In 1989 Larry Hood, then Director of the Migratory Bird Department, Midwest Division of the U.S. Fish& Wildlife Service, assured BBRP that removing the dummy sticks [only ] is legal.  It is, of course, illegal to remove them once the female has chosen a box and started her real nest of fine grasses and feathers.

At this fall's North American Bluebird Society Board meeting in Minneapolis, that ruling was questioned once again, so we decided to go the top: Cyndi Perry, Chief, Branch of Bird Conservation, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Arlington, VA.  Her reply follows:

December 7, 2000

  "Thank you for your November 25, 2000 letter regarding the problem of house wren predation of your bluebird nest boxes.  The short answer to your query is that you may legally remove the dummy twigs placed in the nesting cavities by the house wren.

"The issue you raise, regarding the legality of removing nesting material from nest boxes - or other locations - does merit clarification from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  In general, inactive nests may be legally destroyed, while active nests may not.

"A permit is not needed to destroy nuisance empty nests of non-colonial species of birds (those that do not cluster nests in colonies).  This includes nests in the process of being constructed.  If live eggs or nestlings are present in the nest, then the nest is active and may not be destroyed without a permit.

"The law prohibits possession of migratory bird nests without a permit, so anyone removing inactive nests should take care to destroy them at once.

"If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again."

Sincerely,
Cyndi Perry
Chief, Branch of Bird Conservation

Posted with permission from the February 2001 Bluebird Recovery Program Newsletter "BLUEBIRD NEWS"

07/17/11

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