Cleaning out bird nesting boxes today brought to mind the old fable named in the title of this blog. Over half of the nesting boxes were stuffed with twigs. When the boxes were first posted they were intended for bluebirds. No bluebirds have been seen but they are very popular with tree swallows.
So why did 'Dog in the manger' come to mind? Wrens had stuffed more than half of the boxes with twigs to prevent other birds from nesting in them. The wrens don't use them, but they prevent other birds access.
Next year I'll try a different approach. I'll leave the boxes open until there are many swallows present. Hopefully the swallows will claim them before wrens stuff them with twigs. When there are no swallows near a box, I'll open it so see if it's full of twigs. Perhaps removing the twigs will allow swallows their use.
These boxes have been up a few years. To ensure their stability I added two additional anchor screws.
Takk for alt,
Al
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