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That would work. Don’t use the Shepherd’s hook option. Go with the Advanced Bird House option with the Racoon baffle. The store can help you with the parts selection if it does not come as a package.
btw – I noticed that the brochure is from the Lancaster WBU store. Are you near Lancaster/ Mount Joy area?
David
Stafford, VAGood to have you aboard, Dennis. Do keep us informed on the activity at your nestboxes. Good luck on the nesting.
David
Stafford, VAHow could I forget, Wild birds Unlimited also has a big selection of poles, baffles, and other things that you could use. They are more expensive than the “do-it-yourself” model that I described but it is another option.
David
Stafford, VAEach year I put a 3″ coating of Lithium Grease around the base of the pole, a 2″ strip above the top of the baffle and another one below the mounting flange to stop ants from climbing the pole go get into the nest.
David
Stafford, VAI have both a Home Depot and Lowes near by. I bought the 1 1/2″ PCV pipe and the 24″ Stove Pipe and cap from Lowes. I cut my pipe to 5′ and stood it in a concrete footer block with a hole in the center and filled it with concrete. Then I drilled 2 holes 180 degrees apart and inserted 2 3″ large screws to hold the baffle. I cut a 1 1/2″ hole in the stovetop cap, slid it over the pole to rest on the screws. Since I have snakes in the wooded area behind my house I used some hardware cloth to make some sharp edged disks that I also put on the pole before I put the stovepipe on. I then stuffed some crumpled chicken wire into the stove pipe to deter the snakes.
I also bought a 1 1/2″ flat mounting flange that I screwed onto the bottom of the nestbox. I mounted the nestbox on top of the pole but did not use pipe glue to secure it (you could use a screw to hold it on but I found that too much work to redo after you take the nestbox down – It never seems to line up right). This way I can remove the box and clean it out after each nesting.
Hope this helps.David
Stafford, VACarol, Julie, and Sky have given you some good information. You may be reluctant to deal with extreme measures with the HOSP – but I am sure that the view of a destroyed nest with the broken eggs, or worse the mangled remains of the dead female or the dead young birds will give you second thoughts about what you need to do. While trapping the birds does not harm them, moving them to another location just transfers the problem to another Bluebird monitor. It’s a tough choice but I am sure that you can do it.
David
Stafford, VAGreat news Julie. I have added this nesting to our stats list for 2022. It looks like a lot of us are going to have late “first” nests this year.
David
Stafford, VAStebet, a wooden fence post allows predators such as cats, squirrels, racoons, snakes, etc. to climb the post to get to the nestbox. Several contributors have mentioned the use of slick metal or PCV pipes (like the one I use) and a baffle to keep the climbing predators out. And starlings do make very large “targets” (and they are not a native, protected species) if you are so inclined. I have mostly eliminated this threat from my yard.
David
Stafford, VAStarlings are not a protected species and are fair game for trapping or other means of ridding them from your yard, nestbox, etc. I use my pellet rifle to “scare them away”. Haven’t seen many this year.
David
Stafford, VAAnother option that might work for you is to buy or build an small inexpensive wren house and mount it away from and out of sight (if possible) of the BB nestbox. These little wren houses are in the “bird food” shelves of Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc. I have used them on occasion when a wren pair seem to want to nest nearby. I just put the box up and clean it out as they put nesting materials in it.
David
Stafford, VAMy female is in the 3rd day of incubation. She comes out ot the box when I take the mealworms to the feeder and perches in a tree in the woods behind the nestbox. Yesterday she flew to the shepherd’s hook close to where I was loading the feeder. Maybe thinks that I will leave more worms.
David
Stafford, VAThis is so true. If you have house sparrows around you really do need to trap them to get rid of them. Or, if you feed other birds with seed from stores, do not use the cheaper seed that contain millet, rape, corn seeds. Sparrows love them. I had House sparrows for a while and used them for target practice until I read about the cheap seed that attract them. I have been using seed from Wild Birds Unlimited and the “Premium” seed from Walmart that contains fruit, nuts, sunflower and safflower seed (none of the cheap grains) for several years now and have not had house sparrows at my feeders or bothering my BB for quite a while. This is not a proven solution but it seems to be working for now. BTW This is not a promotion for either of these stores. They are just convenient.
David
Stafford, VA
