Many of the birds you mention aren't cavity nesters, so a nest box wouldn't matter. Probably chickadees are the most likely. If you put up a box for chickadees, of course make sure it's protected from predators with a baffle on the post or pole, especially since you mention cats and racoons. The hole size is 1 1/8", small enough that house sparrows and starlings won't be able to enter. One thing I read is that chickadees might prefer a larger hole to start with, like 1 1/4", and then once they have established use of the box, you can put a 1 1/8" hole reducer on. Much depends on the habitat in your yard and in the surrounding area. Chickadees seem to like the nest box to be on the edge of a woody or shrubby area. A chickadee box might also attract house wrens, so I guess it depends on whether you want to potentially host them or not. You don't mention what state you live in, so I don't know if you have house wrens. Other suggestions for nest boxes could be wood ducks (since you live near water), or even screech owls, which could use the same box as wood ducks. Or, you could try putting up an Owl Shack in the fall. I've got two up, no luck so far with screech owls, but the woodpeckers sure like to drum on that nice resonant box! If you have many dogs and cats running around your neighborhood, then you might not get anything at all. If that is the case, then you might not want to try and attract wood ducks, because they have to jump out of the box to make their way to the water, and would be easy targets for cats.

Joe, The bar is there to keep the hole the correct size,I make mine 1-3/8" from the bottom of the hole to the bottom of the bar.The space above the bar is for ventilation.In these plans the bar is also being used as a hinge,the door(front of the box) would then lift up from the bottom.I myself prefer the door to swing down from the top.I only had the bar on the door,not going through the side of the box as shown in the plans,I then made my hinge on the bottom.I just used a seperate piece of the bar for the pin lock.For the bar and pin,I used a piece of 1/8"brass welding rod,but am sure you could use any 1/8"rod you can find,maybe aluminum.I guess you could have the bar like in the plans and still have your hinge on the bottom,but you would have to fish the bar through all the holes every time you opened the box. Matt

Awwww..so sorry to hear of this. That storm came through my yard too, and took one of my Bradford Pears down. It landed across my driveway, and luckily did not hit the house or our basketball goal. Gosh, it came through really fast. If you are not seeing them back at the house at all, then they have abandoned the nest. You don't need to wait the 2 weeks to remove the nest. Give it a few days, and when you are sure that they have abandoned, go ahead and remove the nest. Maybe they will build there again. There is still plenty of time.~~Angie

Sue, tell us about your home-size, sgl story or two story, insulation properties of walls, attic, and underneath. you refer to a furnace. Don't you mean boiler? there is no existing ductwork now. Correct? you have a decent crawlspace where ductwork can be installed? ductwork should be installed to code for your area. check with building inspectors for your city/county. If you are considering central AC, I probably would opt for a high eff HP system. Keep in mind you want a system that qualifies for the fed govt tax credit. size of condenser and accessibility for installing ductwork will determine pricing. I have never liked the idea of using a person who does HVAC on the side. You may save some bucks but you most likely will get the quality of install that you deserve. I assume there are similar homes in your area. check around and see how they have handled adding AC. I want a dealer who has demonstrated experience in homes like yours. IMO