Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Blue Bird Nesting Boxes

Gonna build a couple this weekend. Saw one today and it got me going.

Lot's of plans and placement instructions on the net.

Any pointers?

They used to nest between my weatherhead riser and meter globe base. I tacked them a house on the side of the shed and they use it now.

So much for that jive about 1-1/8” hole 5ft off the ground

seriously no pointers, our’s are not picky

Take out the kestrels.

Cool stuff... good luck. Post pics

This.

It's goshawks around here. And raccoons. I'll shoot one. Not the other.

I did a basic design and mounted on fence posts. They usually return every year

similar to this design, can lift up roof to clean out, Use cedar

https://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/R...gDIdijyltjq292glj0u-g4pUAEBoCv2cQAvD_BwE

i make them and put them all around my property. the sparrows compete with the bluebirds for them. learn to tell the difference in the nests and rip the sparrows out and shoot the sparrows if you get a chance. make them easy to clean out. nothing fancy, mine are about 6x6x12 with about a 1.5" hole. i make the roofs flat slightly sloped so water runs off them.

Take the hole saw bit & rough up the inside of entrance piece. Gives em a little purchase.

Out West we have some other critters that like them bluebirds

Lay in a supply of mealworms so you can feed them initially to help keep them there. 5-8' off the ground is fine. Hole size is critical so starlings can't get in. Inside of house needs rough lumber on board with the hole so babies can claw their way up and out the hole.

Not a whole lot of starlings or English sparrows around our place. Lots of other birds. Chickadees, etc. We have several violet green swallows around in the summer. I know they compete with bluebirds for nesting sites. Read that with tree swallows you're best to put a couple boxes very close to each other. That way blue birds will use one and the swallows the other. Not sure if that holds true for violet green swallow.

Ladies club in town started blue bird boxers years ago they have really done well.

Cool. I built a few out of old, 1x6 planks from a fence the neighbor tore down. They lasted a few years and the birds didn't seem to mind that they had been made from repurposed materials.

I've got some red cedar fence planks that I plan on using.

Seen a couple bull snakes down the hill on the Yamhill side. Never any up here.

Around here the violet greens will use the bluebird boxes Steve:





Matters not to me which one uses them. They're bug eaters and that makes me happy.

I wondered about that.

But one never knows.

I've been "raising" bluebirds for 31 years. I figure at least 350 have been fledged on my 5 acre property in that time. Along with tree swallows, chickadees and others. Never do have any sparrows. I build nest boxes using plans from the North American Bluebird Society, nabluebirdsociety.org. That's your best place for info. I had about a dozen bluebirds at my feeders today. This is the third year in a row I've had them overwinter here. They come and eat the suet. Get the nest boxes up as soon as you can!

A two liter bottle with the bottoms cut out solves the snake problems for us.
As for the Bull sparrows the 17 RFM solves their bullishness !