Oh my I just looked at this photo and can't believe that these 3 babies are sticking around NH for the winter. They look so cold and yet still manage to look adorable at the same time. This is a great photo!

My bluebirds have been building a nest since early - mid week last week and look about finished, here in N.E. Ohio The latest weather I just saw, after 3 straight 80 degree days, says we are gonna be in the 40's by the end of the weekend! BAD!!! Cherry, Dogwood, and Magnolias have ALL broke out into bloom! Other trees are pushing out leaves. The trees are WEEKS ahead of normal. Really hope my blues don't get a cold spell. Like tobygirl, I also lost a nest of blues to a sudden cold snap. One evening they were very poorly tending to the young. It was around 70 then. The next day, 50! 4-5 nestlings starved to death. I pulled the plug on the attempt after observing them laying in the nest stiffly, with no ability to chirp and couldn't raise their heads. When there were winds and cold rain. ~Tim~

Linda, If you look at these picture you can see how I put eye screws in the top of the box. Then I tied a couple 3/4 inch washers on the end of the fish line for weight, that's so the line doesn't blow around and get tangled up. You don't want it hanging too close to the opening or there is a risk of the blues getting tangled in it. Then put it through the other eye screws and tie washers on the other end. If you look closely at the second photo you can see where I filed a very narrow notch in the roof so the string hangs in the same place all the time. Just pull it down tight in the notch being carefull not to break it. Also in the first picture you see the silver mylar ribbons hanging on the box. That is the curly gift wrapping ribbon type stuff that you put on Christmas or birthday gifts. It's waterproof and it blows around in the wind. For some reason I can't explain, the sparrows won't go near it. I learned that trick from another Bluebird web site. A woman researcher in CA. discovered that the sparrows don't like it. As far as the screen inside, I left mine in so the nest is off the bottom of the box so it stays dry. There are vents that let the air circulate and that also helps it stay cooler since the box is out in the open sun. I also left the pegs in because the blues will roost on them during cold weather. They didn't seem to be in the way when the adults were going completely inside the box to feed the little ones or to remove the fecal sacs. In the pictures it looks like the box is close to the fence, but it's about eight feet away from it mounted on a pole with a baffle and grease on the pole below the baffle. After the babies fledged I cleaned the box out the next day and the nesting material was free of any bugs and completely dry. Leaving the box just the way I bought it seemed to work just fine so I won't change it. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is my motto. I hope this helps you, I had a successful nesting and now the parents are bringing the young ones to my feeder for the mealworms I put out every day. My success is a combination of luck, research and all the help from members of this forum. I hope I get lucky and have another nesting but it's getting late in the season and the nights are already getting pretty cool here in the mountains of eastern WV.

Your photos are amazing! Thanks for sharing them. I wish I could get some good ones, but I'm sure I would need a better camera. This is my 1st year having bluebirds. I had five in my yard this afternoon; some were feeding on the mealworm feeder and others sitting on the birdbath. I was so happy to see them all at once. I think they may have all been fledglings, but not sure. I live in southern WI and I thought they were long gone from the area. I have not been outside much this fall (family medical issues that I have been gone from home assisting with) and had not seen them. How long do they usually stay in this area?