Well, one of the funniest things I remember seeing was a whole passel of birds and squirrels drunk on fermented dates and pyrocanthia berries--at least I guessed that's what it was. They were definitely drunk, and that's what they were eating. I'm sure they didn't think it was funny the morning after, though. Our most interesting bird is the scrub jay. They have absolutely no fear of humans and will eat nuts and seeds right out of your hand. The next most interesting is the huge pilliated woodpecker. Their call sounds just like the birds you hear in jungle movies. I've never seen a PB live and only occasionally do we get to see a finch in its loud colors. They're still in their winter feathers when they're down here. Last year I had a titmouse w/o a wife who made love to himself in every car mirror and window reflection he saw. He visited every single window in the house as the sun moved over the house, and he pooped all over our cars. He finally found a mate which saved my sanity.

I saw mine really early. April 4th. Now they are gone. I hate it when everything around us is in bloom and they stick with the invasive honeysuckle and the native jassamine and totally ignore my yard. They will be back and I'll enjoy them all day though.

Mine came back, also. But I was surprised that they actually both entered the nestbox which we just put back out. We set it up on a new pole contraptions and were checking it out. I guess they were, too. Is it normal for them to enter a nestbox? I live outside of Houston, so I expect them to be here all winter.

Meant to tell you that I love Fairhope- such a charming little town. I would think that if the female isn't going in to lay anymore eggs or to incubate them, that they're not going to move forward at that location for right now. Are you sure she's not going in there? It could be that the Chickadees are hesitant to move forward wondering if the bluebirds are going to come back. If you know that the bluebirds aren't entering the box, my sense would be to remove the eggs & nest. If you don't have any continued activity or new activity, I would definitely get the box out of the tree & on that pole you purchased. I guess you could wait until your pole & baffle arrive- & if no changes, remove material & put the box on the pole with baffle at least 15 feet from tree, but close to it since it's a location they seem to like. I would put any houses that you have on a pole. You could actually move the baffle around according to where you have activity. The golf course side could be another desired location, since it sounds like it may be more open, which is what bluebirds seem to like. How awesome would that be if you had Chickadees in one location & bluebirds in another! As far as the snake repellant, maybe it is ok if it's herbal (& powder at that). I thought that what I sprayed last year should be harmless, but 2 of the fledgelings couldn't yet fly, so they were hopping around in my courtyard for 2-3 days until they died. They were so adorable! I actually took the last one to a rehabber when I realized that it seemed stressed & wasn't accepting food from the parents. As soon as we pulled up to the location, the baby died. It took me about a month to get over losing them. One died in the box, too. Again, wondered if was due to the spray that I used. My neighbor saw the one that flew out into my front yard a few days after it fledged & it seemed fine. Just not going to chance using that spray again during nesting season. You're right though- it's so hard to know exactly what to do because all we want to do is help them, not harm them. If you get a chance, would love to hear what happens. Again, great experts on bluebird nut.com. Nicole