Hi Sarah I have managed a major trail here in RI for over 20 years. I have had box's placed like yours close to the edge of the woods and the bluebirds have avoided them for years. As soon as the box was moved to a more open area in the yard i got bluebirds. Never place more than 1 box if you do than the other box is used to trap sparrows. If you with three box's allow tree swallows and bluebirds to nest side by side they will both fight off any sparrows if house wrens use that box they will return and if you have bluebirds in that box they will toss the chicks out. Dont allow wrens to use that box. And move into the green grass area in the wide open. ---Ray

This is excatly what happened to me, as I stated above, although the nest I found the bumble bee in wasn't inhabited by Dees, at least not yet, but there was some nesting material inside, so one of my backyard birds had started getting ready but most likely abandoned it due to the bee. I know how you felt, it was scary, not knowing where the bee was hiding or whether or not it would try to sting me. I'm just glad that you got to the bottom of it and that nobody was hurt in the process. Linda

Hello svDousman. Great to see you have an eastern bluebird pair. The second hole is not a big deal. To prevent predation of the nest the best thing you can do is put the box on a slick metal emt pole with a stovepipe baffle. There are actually two hole boxes you can buy because they help better protect against house sparrow attacks giving a bluebird inside under attack an escape hole. There are other ways to protect against them too like a sparrow spooker. Does the box open? The nest should be checked a few times a week to make sure all is ok. Yes the birds will return each year to the same box if they were successful previously. I would like to invite you to share your story and join the blue bird nut cafe forum. It is similar to this website but much more active and if you post your question there, you will get more help and answers. Hope to see you there. http://bluebirdnutcafe.yuku.com/ -Tyler

pife, Painting nestboxes is not necessary, but if you want to preserve the wood, you only need to paint the outside. To keep them cool, use a light color. Painting the exterior of the box white or light tan (before nesting season begins) can help reduce interior temperatures. Here is a great site for reference about nestboxes, safe setup, and monitoring. You can also do a site search there for more info about paint and nestboxes. BlueBars Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sialis.org/index.html