I would try again if you have wrens in your area. Some birds just take longer to figure it out than others. I know it is gut wrenching to watch but it is for their own good. I've had to take it off too and try again so don't feel bad. Does it have sides? No sides does help at first but I recommend adding them. I have seen wrens repeatedly crawling all over a box trying to find a way in. I've done this for 6 or 7 years now and the Blues always find a way in eventually. I had a female last year that was not getting it at all. I had to cut a flap in the guard right in front of the hole and tape it back so she could see the hole and when she got used to that I taped it back down. Is there at least 2 1/2" in front. I leave 3" at least until they get used to it. Good Luck Cathy

Hey Anita, I thought that too until one day I watched my momma Bluebird go up under the wren guard on the Chickadee nestbox. She was getting a bug on the ground before that and must have seen the hole when she was on the ground. So while it may take a bird longer to find a nestbox with a wren guard I don't think it is fullproof to stop HOSP as they could easily find the hole too if on the ground or by observing another bird going in and out of the nestbox with a wren guard. Just my opinion really but that it how it seems anyway. Donna

I have no idea when they would be "positively" safe but I'd wait at least 7 to 8 days with bluebirds and 12 to 13 will smaller species like Chickadees or Nuthatches. Linda had a thread here regarding a titmouse baby, 13 to 15 days old, still being harassed by HOWR entering the box. It was a single baby, the HOWR had already gotten rid of the others when they were younger, but the HOWR didn't seem to mind that it was close to fledging age and too large to physically remove. Thankfully that little TITU did fledge safely. In my last nesting of BHNU I left the wren guard on till they were 14 days old.

It's been a while, but here is an update! Wrens did appear the day our chickadee nest was emptied, so we are guessing they were responsible. The mother chickadee spent one more night on her empty nest before abandoning it. We ended up putting duct tape over the hole so the wrens couldn't use it and boy did that make them mad! I've learned that we may have played a role in the chickadees demise. Three years ago chickadees nested in our yard, but the next year wrens did. We kept removing the sticks, but they promptly replaced them. The wrens are hard workers, I'll give them that. Finally we left the wrens alone and they completed a nest, etc. From what I've read, once you let wrens nest in your yard, they become very territorial of it and it is almost impossible for chickadees to have a successful nest there. Last year we put up two very low bluebird boxes and the wrens built dummy nests in them. Also we had put a few wood chips in our nest box. I think the reason chickadees like a box with wood chips is that it mimics an old woodpecker's nest. If woodpeckers successfully nested in a spot, there is probably a higher chance it will be successful for chickadees. So maybe we gave them a false sense of security. Well, we live and learn. Every once in a while now I will be outside and I'll hear two chickadees calling and they will fly close to me and flit all around and it makes me really happy. We now have flickers nesting in an old woodpecker hole in our birch tree. Starlings recently fledged from that hole, and there have been a few brawls, but I've got my fingers crossed. A few times I have gone out and banged pans to frighten the starlings away and it seems to work! Good luck with your nest boxes Donna! Thanks for the pep talk, it was nice to talk with someone who could relate! Annie