Very nice. I made a wren box this year. Turns out I'm not a carpenter and I had to piece together some miscut boards, but the measurements are right. I think birds prefer "rustic" anyway.
Around here you're supposed to place two boxes for bluebirds back to back. Well not always. Yet if you only use one box the swallows may move in and take over the nestbox. I don't know why placing them back to back works, but the swallows will move in one and seem to prefer having bluebirds living in the other one rather than other swallows.

Awesome. That must be the mountain bluebirds.

My boards were all 'random oak' so I had the same situation. A board tapered to different widths at times. I still have (2) 10'ers but they're really screwy. I'm not a fan of table saws yet, so my Dad is going to help me make them all one width, next time he journey's here.

Thank you,

Dax

Beautiful nest boxes but please don't leave the bluebirds and swallows vulnerable to predation by coons. On sialis.com they explain how to make baffles. It's not worth the heartache to skip that important step. Once you protect the boxes you can mount another box within 20 ft for tree swallows at each location, the two birds kind of protect each other.

You did a fabulous job with those houses. They are really, really nice. Lexarose is right that they need a guard to prevent predators from climbing the pole to eat the contents of your boxes. Anything from snakes to squirrels will climb up and snatch the eggs or young. Below is a link to a squirrel climbing a pole to get to the nests of a purple martin house.

If you want to monitor the boxes (which is suggested) you also may want to make one side or the front open-able so you can check on the nests. There are many ways to do this which you can look up on the Sialis site. I just put hinges on the side panel and a locking hook and eye.

Here is a link that might be useful: pmca-squirrel climbing pole

I'll add baffles to each. Good to know. Thanks.

I like to build with screws. Each face has (4) screws and I'm in the box. Easy. Question: may I open the box while the bluebirds have inhabited it? I know there's anticipation on some folks part to want to look inside, however, I just want the bluebirds to have a house, and, I really don't need to look in the box, nor had I intended to do so? Just curious.

Thank you for the compliments.

Dax

You are welcome, they are very cool. Like Kendra says its best to monitor so you would need easy access to box. Just to make sure there are no wasps or ants or whatever that may hurt the babies. Bluebirds are awesome birds that have a lot stacked against them so people try and help them as best they can. There are certain times you shouldn't monitor but the rest of the time the blues don't mind us checking.

You have some perfect habitat for bluebirds! Like the others said...please get baffles on these asap...stovepipe are the easiest to install. It is much easier to install on round poles vs fence post like this though as they need to wobble. What is the distance from the hole to the floor of the nestbox? I know it is hard to tell in photos....hoepfully it is at least 6" to prevent a bird like a starling from poking its head in and grabbing a nestling or egg out. Also..did you put kerfs on the insside of the front of the nestboxes for Tree Swallows if they nest there? Blues don't need to have them but Tree Swallows really do. Make sure also that they are facing away from prevailing winds and not towards the afternoon sun to prevent rain from getting in and also to prevent them from heating up too much during the nesting season.

It is always best to monitor nestboxes to spot potential problems and intervene if possible. Such as wet nests, blowvly larva, dead nestling etc...

Good luck and hope you get to see many BLues in your boxes next season!

Everything is in the recommended parameters. All face east or partly/minisculey east/south, but most are dead east facing. Holes are six inches up, that's from the very bottom of each entrance hole, to the base of each nest box.

I did not put kerfs in for tree swallows, however, I've only seen barn swallows here... and I have a ton of them. I'm nearly 100% sure there aren't any tree swallows, here. Should I be at all concerned with kerfs, yet?

Lastly, wasps like to build on and around my home, deck, greenhouse, etc-. I will watch however if they venture into the pasture to the nesting boxes - same for ants. I have a zero turn mower so I'm always up and close to everything.

Thanks for the encouragement & wisdom, and I'll be posting in the future. The good news is that I know bluebirds arrive each year here, already.

Dax

Dax, Another easy thing to do before the Bluebirds arrive in the spring is to rub plain soap on the ceilings of the nestboxes. This helps deter wasps from attaching nests there in the first place. Of course you always get the occasional wasp that will stick its nest to the side. But it does help reduce the numbers that tend to fill the boxes otherwise.

Thanks for the tip.

Dax

As far as kerfs go,if you build it they will come. I didn't notice treeswallows around here till I put up nest boxes. They benefit bluebird babies too, but like Donna says they are needed by tres. If you get a pair of blues and tres at each location(if you pair boxes) that's some good times...

They'll be kerf-ed. I don't want the bluebird nestlings to die inside the box, either. Looks good. Simple remedy.

I want to understand the 20' proximity mounting of more boxes a little clearer. Anything I've read states emphatically to not put another nest box within 100 yards, otherwise, the bluebirds will be in competition and I may end up with anything but bluebirds.

Dax

I've put kerfs in all of them.

Next month I'll do the baffles.

Regards,

Dax

Hi Dax,

The 20' proximity is called "pairing" boxes. If you live in an area with a lot of Tree Swallows, it is useful. Tree Swallows don't like other TRES too close, and Bluebirds don't like other Bluebirds too close. However, they will nest near each other. I keep two boxes that are about 30' apart, and the TRES nest in one and the Blues in the other. If you don't have TRES, then it would not be helpful. The pairing of boxes is great for those that want to attract both TRES and EABL.

Right on.

Two nights ago I was fortunate to have a swallow in my garage and was able to see it very up-close. It was indeed a tree swallow. In the field while mowing the undersides of the swallows following me are not bright white but a duller color I'd say is more like cinnamon. This bird in my garage had a full on white belly & the angle I was able to observe it at was 100% identical to this photo of this tree swallow. Maybe I have both here and just didn't know it. It would seem so...

Did get my (2) other boards ripped over the weekend so I can build more nest boxes. I sorta want to wait and see what happens next year with the current nest boxes. I can always add more, or my plan was to sell the remainders on ebay. I think I'll wait. I've spaced what I do have ideally for bluebirds.

Again thanks, everyone.

Dax