Squirrels will kill adult birds at feeders also. When I lived around them I had squirrel baffles on the poles and all my feeders had grids. My platform feeder had a 1" grid over it also to keep out the starlings and cowbirds that bully the song birds. Keeping the feeders and birdhouses quite far from fences and trees helps also. Squirrels can jump really far. I have a friend who calls them flying rats. I also had a clear dome over one niger feeder. It's a lot of paraphernalia but I felt like I had to protect them if I was going to lure birds to the feeders. Here we have trouble with hawks that sit on the fence and wait for the quail and small birds to get distracted. There's kind of a downside to feeders and bird baths I guess. Birdhouses are easier to protect. Sounds like you have a good plan for the houses. So nice that you are looking out for the babies.

Many years ago while driving home one Saturday from a junkyard I saw a baby bird standing in the middle of a country road. I stopped and picked it up, it's eyes were still closed and looked to have been pushed out of the nest high in the tree by a grackle. I spent a number of days tending to the bird, a bluejay, until it was ready to be released. When a flock of bluejays came around I released the bird and it flew up into the flock. Lots of raucous noise while they introduced themselves to each other and then they flew off, the young bird included. About a week later as I was tending the feeding stations a flock of jays showed up, one bird seemed to be acting strangely so I held up my hand like I often did and called the name I gave it 'sassy' and that jay flew down and landed on my finger like it did many times while I was feeding it. The rest of the flock was very vocal about it's landing on my hand, we spent a minute or two conversing (in bird talk) then Sassy flew back up to the flock and they left. The bird never identified it's self ever again to me when the flock of jays came to visit the feeders, just that once to tell me thanks and it was doing OK with it's new family. Lou.

Aww. Although bird nests can clog my gutters, the baby birds are so cute. We had a hummingbird nest last year and the one hummingbird baby (well, no longer a baby) still hangs around drinking from our feeders. I don’t think they could have left that early. I mean, that’s really early! I would expect them to stay for at least 15 days, but it depends on the type of bird.

I'll have to check I out, gaz! The other day I was trying to post my observations of the parents bringing their babies to the feeders. I watched Papa Downy bring his baby and feed it as it sat in the privet bush. The baby kept trying to land on the suet basket but never made it. Papa fed him then suddenly flew off leaving baby to screech. Baby finally flew after him. All the birds have given me a great deal of pleasure this week.