Did you have problems with animals getting into your boxes? I had a snake get in one once that was it. Mine were about 6 ft. off the ground so I could take the young out to band. Nice to see them anytime. Always like seeing a Blue Bird sky.

can you expand on that?

I place two BB boxes and one wren box at each location to ease competitive nesting(works 90% of the time, especially if a BB takes one) also BB will most often second nest in other box if cleaned before the renest. I have a bear currently that has taken my houses down as fast I can replace them( up to 2" fence pole, bent like noodles). Even connected one pole to electric fence and no deterrent. Have let a couple bear hunter try to remove it but no luck yet. The more you can predator/pest proof house the more they will nest year after year in same house, IME. Oval hole layout is two 1 3/8 holes 5/8" above/below apart. Easiest to use hole saw bit, start first hole but don't go thru, cut second hole, then go back and finish first. Chisel or rasp sides of hole flat/parallel. Deburr outside and inside edge of hole. Outside screen guard really do help deter reach-in predators(secure them well as coons will really work them if they can get to box. I have had few problems just 1/4 screen floor of nest box to allow pest larvae to fall thru. Good ventilation is important. BB's will nest in boxes that are far more open that most realize. Some of my older split sided boxes are the most used. No leak roof is most important. Extra thick roofs and at least S.walls aid survival. I double space(air can flow between inner and outer wall) the back and west wall of my Peterson design boxes and extra ventilate and face hole NE and have my best use/survival of 50ys of BB boxing.

I put up several boxes on my property while the builder was still building my house .That is more than 30 years ago .Before I moved into my house the end of April that year the bluebirds where building a nest .I have had at least one successful nesting every year since .Some years I had as many as 12 young fledge and leave the nest .Drill some holes in the bottom of the box so if it rains hard the nest does not get water soaked .And if you have cats nearby do something so they can not get up to the nest .One year one of my boxes that is not a high as it should be had a cat that would jump up and hold on to the front of the box .It used 1 leg to hold on and the other one to reach In to grab a young bird .You will get a lot of satisfaction doing it Good luck and have fun

l run a bunch of boxes. Don't make them out of wood unless you want sparrows. I make mine out of pvc pipe. You will normally only get tree swallows and blue birds in them. You will get wrens if you are setup too close to timber. Look up gilbertson box. That is the only kind I will use through trial and error over the last 25 years.
Set them in open grazed pasture or mowed area. No trees needed. We have both eastern and western. Western are mostly west of hwy 281.

Donnersurvivor,

Heres the poles that have stood the Minnesota weather for 15 years allowing No Pests to climb , xcept bugs.

***set screw at the top through the pole holds the BB box facing a certain direction.

The last picture shows the blue mealworm feeder.
This BB box although old, is one that has Successfully hatched 2 batches of Bluebird fledglings each of 15 summers here. Also its right out my back window.

ttt

I built 25 this year.

Eastern Bluebird box recommended height from ground 3-6 feet
Size of hole in box, 1 1/2" diameter (round), or 2 1/4" high x 1 3/8" wide (oval)
I place our boxes on 3/4" smooth conduit and place box about 5'-6' from ground.

Mice, shrews and snakes can climb conduit with ease(I've watched them). Boxes mounted on it can be pest proofed more readily with the funnel top of a 2 ltr plastic bottle cut off and slid on conduit. Put a screw thru twist top area to hold in place. Vaseline conduit under the cone and fill gap around it at guard opening and you will deter most ants as well(lasts most of summer under guard).

I built this one last night, thought I'dtry the "anti sparrow slot" we'll see ? Won't put it up until next season.

Holes are only for perfectionist. Get it up now. There is still a wave of bluebirds that seem to come around the 1st May at my latitude.
Nice rough sawn lumber something they need to climb out each time
Put an anti drip line on the underside of the top. It is a shallow saw mark 1/8 " deep at an angle, 1/4 to 1/2" across the front, water curls inside; comes to the line and falls off the 1/4" side and does not go inside the box.

try building some Gilbertson boxes. Promise you will love them. You won't have to worry about sparrows cause the cavity is too small for their liking. You stab a 3 ft piece of rebar in the ground and put electrical conduit over the rebar and it holds up your houses. You can check your boxes by simply squeezing the pvc removing the box then squeeze again and replace the box. They are slick, sparrow free, easy to check and the easiest to clean. Way cheaper to build as well. I won't use nabs boxes any more. I kept track for many years and the gilbertsons always out produced all my other boxes.it might be different up in your country, but our most respected bluebird organization ( blue birds across Ne.) highly recommends the gilbertson boxes.

try building some Gilbertson boxes. Promise you will love them. You won't have to worry about sparrows cause the cavity is too small for their liking. You stab a 3 ft piece of rebar in the ground and put electrical conduit over the rebar and it holds up your houses. You can check your boxes by simply squeezing the pvc removing the box then squeeze again and replace the box. They are slick, sparrow free, easy to check and the easiest to clean. Way cheaper to build as well. I won't use nabs boxes any more. I kept track for many years and the gilbertsons always out produced all my other boxes.it might be different up in your country, but our most respected bluebird organization ( blue birds across Ne.) highly recommends the gilbertson boxes.[/quote]

"The disadvantage of Gilbertson's box-opening system is the same as that of top-opening wooden boxes - because you have to reach in from the top, you can't get at the bottom of the nest when there are eggs or nestlings in it. So you can't monitor for blowflies or easily change a wet or soiled nest" credit: NY's Bluebird Society.

You will never have a wet nest in the gilbertson boxes because it doesn't have a huge slot opening to let in the rain, and the entry is close to the top of the overhang of the roof. Do yourself a favor and at least try one and you won't go back. Like I said I have tried all the boxes and have kept records for over 25 years. The gibertson always out performs all others in my area. The post was done by a Nebraskan, so I was stating what the head of our bluebird society recommends to use.

It does not surprise me but it is great to see so many trappers are involved in helping out a bird that was declining in population . Once again the real nature of trappers on display .Because so many people have made nesting boxes blue birds are thriiving

I have built and maintain about 50 for Mtn. BB. I also face them east and away from brush to try to keep house wrens out. If tree swallows around, they will out compete the BB, so I will put some boxes back to back and both get to nest. My holes I use a 11/2"drill bit, then open it just a bit more. Don't open them too much since starlings will then take them over. They will peck a BB to death and nest on top of them! Vermin!!! I also have trouble with wasps. Boxes with sticks mean that a house wren isn't using the box, has a nest nearby. He's just cutting down on the competition from other wrens.

Gary, there is a group here in Nebraska called Bluebirds Across Nebraska ( BAN). I went to a couple meetings over the years. Good group. I made boxes off and on for the last 25 years or so. Always made wood boxes from thick boards. Use a 1.5" entrance hole. Made sure the boxes had plenty ventilation under the roof . Seems like BBs like fairly open country. Also seems they like a fence strand or something to land on next to their nest box.... but not always. Sparrows and wrens can be a pain close to trees or a farmstead. Tree swallows can be a pain to.... but they are a good bird.... unlike sparrows. Put up plenty boxes if you are having trouble with other birds encroaching on the BBs .I mount my wood boxes on studded Tee posts about 5 to 6 ft high. This year I started making boxes from 4" PVC pipe. But not the thin stuff most use. I used sch 40 thickness. Mount those with a piece of 1/2" electrical conduit slid over a 1/2" rebar post. 5 ft high. These boxes work great too. Don't get down if you have boxes that never get a bluebird, or have to fight the sparrows or wrens. Move some boxes around after a year or so. Always clean them out each year... maybe a couple times each year. This is a well worth while project if you love the outdoors. It's always a joy to catch a streak of blue around your boxes as you take a drive in the country.

They have done some interesting studies with the uptake of pesticides with these birds, particularly the necnictinoids.
10 years down the road I wonder what the elevated levels will be, as it accumulates in the waterways and these birds feed on the aquatic insects that emerge.
We all know what it is doing to the bee population.

Does everyone put screen or something for the BB to climb up inside? Do they have trouble getting out of the PVC pipe? I want to do this right!