Scully, yep - we are a bit warmer here, but it's the overnight hard freezes that crack birdbath basins. On cold winter days, if I notice an ice skim forming, I'll add warm water too, but if I'm gone for the day the risk of freezeover escalates. The heater works 24/7. We've had a warm fall too, but if the Old Farmers Almanac is right, once it gets here, we're in for it this winter. Btw - Everytime I open this thread I get a mental picture of Woodstock ice skating on the birdbath - brings a smile to my face ....... thanks! Another little aside is that in the heat of summer, I take a pitcher full of ice cubes out to the birdbath - the flapping about definitely increases when I cool it down! :o) Love my birds!

Birdhouses should be mounted on a slick metal pole (conduit) with a predator baffle. A raccoon doesn't need to chew through a nestbox and probably wouldn't, all they have to do is reach their arm inside and pull the babies/eggs and or incubating adult out of the box, they have a pretty long reach too. Raccoons can and will climb up a conduit pole also which is why they should be baffled. Boxes mounted on trees or woodens posts of fence lines all make an easy target for raccoons snakes and other predators. If I see a box on a tree/post or fenceline either in pics online or irl and I have an opportunity to say something I will so hopefully people will change their setups to ensure a safe nesting for the birds they are hosting. Donna

Thanks for the replies! The thing is, there HAS been a nestbox available both years. Last year it was on a pole (and I've got an extra baffle for the pole if necessary), and this year I've used it as a HOSP trap and mounted it on the house and then on a tree. The blues have never shown any interest in the nest box, where ever it was. Never even seen them go in or sit on it. They nested their first brood last year in another snag that had a hole about 20 feet up, but that snag fell over last summer so they moved to the one they like now. The only birds showing interest in the nest box have been the HOSPs (trapped 1 last year, 2 this year with the Van ert) and some HOWRs last year after which I removed their sticks and left the box open. Fortunately this year the HOSPs have since stayed away more or less and no sign of any HOWRs. X my fingers they stay away. I speculate that perhaps these birds were raised in natural cavities and that is what they're most comfortable with? There must be some way to baffle the tree?

Hello - Not sure if anyone can help me, but I have a nest of chickadees in a yard light pole in front of our house. The nest is about 8-12" below the hole where the cross bar used to be. My concern is that the babies will not be able to get up the smooth pole to get out. Parents are still feeding them, and when we peeked, they appear to have some feathers. Should we just leave them alone and see if they get out?