Hi, I'm looking into 'Blue Satin' as my 'Blue Bird' (at about 7 feet) died one spring - likely from a cold winter. Does anyone grow both of these, or at least 'Blue Satin'? Is 'Blue Satin' really more hardy? Does it get to a good height or what kind of height can you expect? Love to hear from anyone on this topic. Mary

Are there any nests in the boxes? I also think they are Tree Swallows. If they are in there from last fall or summer they are probably babies that could not get out of the boxes. Tres need a ladder if you will to help them fledge from the nest. All that needs to be done is to make some deep scratches or kerfs on the inside of the box leading up to the hole to help them climb out. There is a website that will give you all the info you will ever need about Bluebirds Tree Swallows and any other cavity nesting birds. www.sialis.org We will also help any time you have questions Cathy Here is a link that might be useful: sialis.org

Thanks everyone! These guys are unique. I have listened to them for weeks now! I thought I would post a pic of one of the babies that surfaced this morning... He is ready for his flying lesson and Mom is on alert! One at a time I guess, the others are just hanging out poking their heads out every now and then.. Such a wonderful experience.

Thanks, Jordanwalker, for responding to my question. It makes a lot of sense that those are the Blue Jay's eggs. They seem too big to be the Cardinal's eggs and we have a lot of Blue jays here. The missing egg theory is interesting and it's kind of scary too for them to eat their own eggs/nestings! In some ways I'm not too surprised too as they're pretty aggressive birds. One Summer, they built a nest over out garden arch and three little birds hatched. The parents were very protective of them and kept sqawking at us whenever we walked under the nest. They always bully other birds including the Cardinals that regularly visit our garden. The Cardinals aren't aggressive, but they sure are brave enough to not to give up their ground easily.