How wonderful. Congratulations. There is nothing like knowing you are helping bring more Blues into the world.

Depends where you are located. Are you in town or on the outskirts? For the most part Bluebirds are not in town so to speak but that all depends on the town itself as far as how big the lots are and how much open land there is. I know in town here closer to the edge of town I do hear Bluebirds. Is your birdhouse easily visable from the air or trees? Putting up a bluebird feeder will not attract Bluebirds since Bluebird need to be trained to come to a feeder so you need to actually have Bluebirds around before you can start feeding them. Bluebirds primarily eat insects, in Winter or cooler months or if bugs are scarce they will eat suet or berries though. But during nesting season they pretty much stick to bugs. Pretty much putting up a house and waiting is what you need to do to attract Bluebird so you are doing things right, especially if you have read and followed the advice on silais on how to properly install a nestbox. Have you had any interest in your birdhouse from other birds? Have you seen or heard any Bluebirds in your area? Donna

Mac, Hi, my name is Linda and I'm a bird addict (esp. bluebirds, I'll admit). LOL I started with bluebird boxes in 2004 and have gone through all the stages that you describe except the BB gun (knock on wood, I don't have problems with HOSP but don't even breathe the words 'house wren' to me...long story). You will find that you will wake early and the first thought on your mind is 'how are the birds'? And you will go to bed with the words 'hope the birds will be ok.' As far as info, besides the link to sialis.org, this board is the best place I can think to come to ask questions, the place you come when things have gone bad and you just want to cry to someone, the place where you won't be judged because you have mealies in your fridge. As Lisa so aptly put it: you have just begun. It's a long story but I was recently seen throwing a kitchen implement at a bird who was causing problems. In a past year when it was extremely hot, I put not only 1 reflective umbrella over the bluebird box but I dragged my patio umbrella from the back yard to front, along with the heavy base, and put it over the umbrella and the box. We are certifiable. But we have each other :) Hang in, enjoy what you can, accept that there will be times when things won't go the way you want them to. bluebird blessings, Linda...

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