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Index of Subjects There are many ingenious devices designed to keep predators out of nesting boxes. Most are designed to keep larger predators from reaching in and down to grab the nestlings or eggs. This is done by extending the depth of the entry-hole, See: http://www.bluebirdsforever.com/baffles.html However, the chipmunks are small enough simply to crawl in. They will kill nestlings of birds which may compete for seed, such as the birdseed left out by us humans. It seems to be a fact of behavior, that the competition is worst where the food supply is great: excitement builds on the discovery of a rich resource. For example, I never see ducks squabbling and fighting quite as much as when being fed with abundant corn. It may be a case of a super-normal stimulus. As some readers have said, we seem to be taking sides here in condemning the chipmunk by calling him “murderous.” Of course, it is applying human terms to animals, and the tongue-in-cheek element is missed in email messages. Nonetheless, people generally sympathize with certain animals over others. Thus everyone loves dolphins, and we feel bad about their being occasionally taken in tuna nets. No one seems to feel as sorry for the tuna, because it doesn't squeak appealingly, and do tricks at Marine World. People may lament about the dolphins over a lunch of tuna sandwich! I actually like chipmunks, but it is perfectly proper to manage one’s local wildlife, just as is done in all parks and reserves, and is inevitable on the Earth as a whole. Almost everyone traps mice which get into human houses. I have live-trapped red squirrels which had found their way indoors, and deported them far away, into the woods. It was important to get the invaders out of the house, and prevent their spreading to their friends the secret of their way in (which cost me deep in the purse to find and correct). When I snap-trap a nice Deer Mouse, it is true that its young may starve and die. It is unavoidable, but little worse than the fate of almost all wild animals. Dying of starvation in a comfortable nest might be preferable to being torn apart by a predator, which is the ultimate fate of almost all mammals, even predators themselves. Even old lions are abandoned by the pride, and fall prey to hyenas. In the African bushveld, perhaps only elephants (and possibly hippos) have a chance of dying of old age without being killed and eaten by predators. Because I am so ridiculously soft-hearted, and anthropomorphise even mice, I have been known to transport live-trapped mice out of the neighborhood, thereby using fuel, and crowding the mouse population, spreading their diseases, causing muscine territorial conflicts, and perhaps helping them into some other human's abode. The mice I treat so generously probably get eaten by a predator, anyway. Now back to the Nuthatches: a nestbox mounted on a piece of metal electrical conduit, well greased, will probably be predator-proof. Some people put a metal cone on the conduit to deter climbers. On 18 May 2010, at 1:53 AM, Steve Shaw wrote: > Hi Paul, > Regarding putting up a nest box like you say below, what is the > nature of a 'predator guard' that a chipmunk (or a squirrel) can't > get by, but a small bird can? Please describe, sounds useful. > Steve > > On 17-May-10, at 5:21 PM, Paul S. Boyer wrote: > >> In the case of the grieving Nuthatches, please tell your friend not >> to plug the hole!! The birds may try again this season. He could >> put out a trap for the murderous Chipmunk (with peanut butter for >> bait). >> >> Also, tell him to put up a nest box with a predator guard. >> Nuthatches and other cavity-nesters will use nest boxes. >> >> >
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