That is very, very sad..... A new pair will come. Be strong. Ann

Thanks so much for your input Bet. That particular flock moved on after about 4 weeks. I am now hosting a small flock of 10 Eastern Bluebirds. They showed up on Dec. 24th, and have been here numerous times a day ever since. They were waiting for their breakfast this morning. They watch me fill their feeder from high in a tree about 40 feet away. I feed them mealworms and suet crumbles from a recipe I found at your site. I even found the instructions for making the feeder at your site. Thanks so much for putting in all the time to share all that information with us.

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

Nicole, my mom's best friend found them her hospital's gift shop! I will see if they have more! You've been my hugest support through the bluesy bluebird year! I think I am going to display them and never wear them though! The other present was from my nurse practitioner's 10 year old daughter who I let have a peek at the babies before fledge. We don't have robins here but it was such a sweet sentiment!