most cold winters kill off any virus or germs or mites ect. but just in case it does not hurt to clean them out and wash them with a few drops of bleach in a pan of water. with that small of hole i would assume wrens or chickadees or other little birds. we would usually in early spring leave a little pile of dry grass or straw and maybe bits of string or yarn close by. you might check to see what they used to make the old nest and supply them with a little of that

Thanks dklucius. I took your advice and cleaned it out. The nest proved to be made entirely of tiny twigs, more than likely from the old redbud tree from which it hangs. There will be plenty of those available for the taking again this year and every year so long as the grand old tree hangs in there.

Sounds like you had house wrens nesting in that box. Chickadees (Carolina and Black-capped) line their nests with moss and soft fibers. Wrens fill the box with sticks and twigs.

Maybe so, kendra2. The birdhouse hangs free on a chain and twists gently in the breeze, but no matter what adjustments I made to the chain I couldn't get it to face my window when it stopped moving so I never did get to see anything going in and out. I didn't consider wrens because the ones at the feeder look just a little too big to fit through that small hole. Thanks.

teri2

As a nature photographer, your plight has offered me so much excitement i scarcely know where to begin.

I sympathize with you at the lack of birds, i don't know how i would get through my winter days if it weren't for all the birds at my feeders but before we address how to run that hawk off, I would strongly encourage you to grab your camera and get as many photos as you can. It is a rare opportunity to see a hawk close up.

I was especially excited when you mentioned the white weasel. I suspect what you saw was a STOAT (Mustela Erminea) commonly called a "Short tailed Weasel. The Stoat ranges throughout the northern temperate and arctic range, although they are generally nocturnal and extremely elusive. In summer they are brown and called stoats, but in winter they have a white coat and they are properly called Ermine. In the fur industry the white pelt of an Ermine is prized higher than mink because unlike Mink, the Ermine cannot be raised in captivity. They are extremely difficult to trap because they will literally chew their own foot off to escape a leg hold trap. Just getting a fleeting glimpse of an Ermine is a once in a lifetime event.

Now let us consider how you might deter the hawk. About the only natural enemy of the hawk is a large owl.
they make a large owl decoy that is primarily used by gardeners to deter birds from their gardens. Erecting such a decoy where the hawk likes to perch would probably deter the hawk, but on the other hand, it may also deter the smaller birds in the same way the hawk is doing now.

I can think of one other method that may work. Most marine stores or boatyard stores stock an inflatable snake which is about 6ft long when inflated. They principally place them on boats to deter birds from roosting in the rigging and making a mess on the deck or superstructures. I don't know how effective it would be in winter, but considering that the inflatable snakes are rather cheap, it would certainly be worth trying. you can also find those inflatable snakes listed in garden catalogs, or they may have them in the garden shop at your local big box store.

I would agree with it probably was a House Wren. Also keep in mind House Wrens, like some other cavity nesters, will fill nearby cavities with nesting material to discourage others from moving in. Most people refer to these as dummy nests. Last summer, I watched a House Wren and a House Sparrow fight over a box that both were using as a dummy nest. Both would bring nesting material in and throw the others out, all the time maintaining a real nest in another location. I also watched a Starling physically pull out a House Sparrow out of the same box even though the box was too small for the Starling to enter. That box saw alot of action and never had an active nest.