I am so sorry. Does your pole mounted box have a RACCOON baffle. They won't always stop a snake but often can and will definitely stop a raccoon so it's always necessary, IMHO, to have one on every single nest box.

Please check out this link (Sialis). It's a great link period but I'm specifically linking the page on snakes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis/snakes

I feel terrible in saying that my box was fence mounted! I had never thought about a snake as I was so focused on keeping them safe from HOSP. I am going to have to have my husband construct a pole mounted box and put on a baffle of some sort on the pole. Poor Mom and Dad BB are so confused. They keep checking the box, but no babies.

I am really sorry.It could have been a snake/racoon/cat/any other climbing animal.BB nest boxes should always be on a slick pole with a baffle.Please go to the sialis website and read about the proper method for mounting a BB nest box before you offer the nest box to another pair of BBs.We all learn the hard way.
michelle

You can find baffle plans on the Sialis link. I buy mine (about $35 each) from wild bird specialty stores but I'm told they are fairly easy to make for around $10. Raccoons typically tear some of the nesting material out of the box so I doubt it was a raccoon but with a box on a fence, it's hard to say what got it..... including the possibility of a cat. A squirrel baffle, which you can usually find at Home Depot type stores, will NOT stop a raccoon so don't waste your money on that.

My first box was mounted on a privacy fence. Fortunately I found the NABS (North American Bluebird Society) website and from that site found this forum. I moved the box as soon as I had the right info. and thankfully I did not have problems with that first nesting before I moved the box. You can place it in the same area but be sure the pole is placed at least 10 feet from the fence or anything else that a predator could use to jump from to the box, i.e. tree limb or heavy duty shrub.

Good luck and hopefully you'll have another nesting this season.

I just found the plans on sialis on how to mount a box and how to install a baffle. I am going to drag my husband to the store tonight (I hope) and get the box down and re-mounted. I would love to give them another chance to successfully nest. Last year I had the privilege of watching to babies fledge from my box and it was so COOL! I would love for that to happen again!

luvtheblues,

I had the same thing happen recently and I did clean out the nest. Female built another nest right away and laid eggs. That nest is now in a new box with baffle and eggs have hatched. Needless to say, I hold my breath every time I check that box.
Linda C

We have put up the nest box on a pole which was purchased from a wild bird store. I also purchased a raccoon baffle which is also mounted on the pole. This was done last night and I have already seen the male and female BB this morning, checking it out. I hope they like it. I have a couple of questions:
1- The pole is securely mounted but does sway slightly, is that a problem?
2- The house is ~5 feet off the ground. Seems low to me but that is the height the pole puts it at.
3- Will a raccoon baffle deter snakes? The man at the bird store said yes, I hope he is right.
Thanks for everything.
Alison
Leesburg, VA

As long as the pole is secure, a little sway won't hurt. 5' high is acceptable. Unless you have a telescoping pole, any higher would make it more difficult to monitor. The baffle will deter snakes but nothing is 100%. You just have to make a potential meal more trouble than it's worth to force predators to get an easier meal someplace else.

Good luck on your next nesting!

Linda

Alison,
Sounds like you did good,I would add some grease to that pole,just to add alittle insurence.

Matt

"Ditto" to the grease! Ants can be a huge problem climbing a pole. Some people use vasaline (which will wear off in time and with rain) but I use axle grease and have never found an ant in a nest box.

And "ditto" to you did good! Great job!

Hi Alison, I'm really sorry that your babies were lost. We all have made mistakes but the most important thing is that you learned how to do it right and you DID IT RIGHT AWAY. Good for you. I hope your bluebirds reward you with another nest and lots more blue babies. Let us know.

Anita

So many folks start out this way and become GREAT Blue Bird hosts.

So sorry about your babies - misery loves company. I have been so bummed since Sunday when I found a snake in one of my boxes!! I was about to show off 3 week-old babies to my daughter and found a rat snake curled up inside instead. We (DH, DD, and I) killed the snake - he had a large lump, so I'm quite sure this had just happened. This was the second nesting in this box and the first time I've had a problem. I have all the required elements - slick metal pole, raccoon baffle.

We do live in the country and the snakes seem to have been unusally active around the house this year. I've found a king snake in the garage twice. Doesn't really make me feel better though.

outsideplaying,
The nestlings were eaten by a snake, so, the snake has to die? I don't understand that, and I strongly disagree. Please visit the link Janie_May gave above, and do all you can to PREVENT this happening in our nestboxes. But don't kill snakes. Wouldn't you rather hawks have the snakes to prey on? Even bluebirds eat small snakes! Yes they do.
In my state, Maryland, all native snakes are are protected by law. The fact is that snakes are beneficial to man and hold an important place in the ecology of all parts of the world where they occur. They can effectively control the populations of small mammals, like mice and rats. They are important food sources for hawks and other predators. The negative opinion in our current society has caused many snakes to be killed indiscriminately. Unfortunately, many times when snakes and people come into contact, the snake is automatically killed. And this is not a good thing to teach our children.
Invasive non-native species are another matter.
BlueBars

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/snakeinfo.asp

Anyone would have been repulsed seeing a snake curled up in a nestbox with an obvious bulge from a recent meal. That's normal and totally expected. The emotional reaction to kill the "offender" is also normal-to act on it, is something else.

We put out feeders to draw birds which draw rodents which draw snakes. Our nestboxes can very easily be a meal on a stake.

It's a meal of opportunity. Make it more difficult to get at the nestboxes and provide suitable habitat elsewhere (which will draw it's own prey source for snakes.

Thanks for the site, Bluebars. I have always found snakes facinating and totally misunderstood. They are beautiful, adaptable creatures with extreme value in the food chain.

Linda

Well consider me fully chastised. First you need to know that I generally do not kill any snakes at all. (Or anything else for that matter.) My friends think I'm weird because I do tolerate them and find them interesting. The king snakes around the house should still be there - we actually nicknamed them Buddy and son-of-Buddy since they've been hanging out for several years now. It was truly an emotional response to the rat snake and the circumstances. And you must know it was not done in front of children - my DD is 37 and shoots at the range quite frequently.

I used to visit this site a lot but due to demands on my time I've mostly lurked recently. Another reason is that I jumped over to another garden forum that is infinitely more supportive than what I've seen here recently.

See ya,

Sometimes what we write can be misinterpreted. From reading your post, it sounded like killing snakes is OK. I disagreed with it. We all have opinions and it is OK to disagree. Glad to hear that you generally do not kill snakes. Had no idea the age of your DD, but people of all ages do visit the forums and learn from what we post.
Here's hoping those nasty old snakes stay away from your nestboxes (and everyone else's too)!
BlueBars