CovesideBird Habitats Sparrow Resistant Bluebird House

We recently purchased a new house next to some open space and was psyched to see Eastern Bluebirds at our bird bath. I bought this and put it up this spring along with several other slot and 1.5 inch round opening bird houses. I even moved this house off a fence to a pole in an open field (supposed to be safer) and the bluebirds kept finding it. That said, there are some house sparrows nearby (aren't they everywhere?) and they initially seemed to prefer the houses with the round holes. That was fine as I could catch them in the bird house and get rid of them. Male house sparrows however are smart (and mean) and once one saw the bluebirds had built a nest in this house he evicted the bluebirds. Fortunately it was prior to egg laying so I trapped him and disposed of him. The bluebirds promptly moved back in and raised three young. Again...I second the [...] suggestion if you're thinking about putting nest boxes up. It's really a lot of work and only after extensive trapping, attaching a sparrow spooker, and fishing line was this able to be a proper and "safe" home for bluebirds. Even then the remaining sparrows were still checking out this nest box even when there were 6 empty ones on my property. House sparrows are non-native, intelligent, aggressive, persistent and resourceful and while this box was loved by bluebirds it wasn't nearly enough to put it up and relax. It was a ton of work! If nothing else this exercise made me appreciate all the work and danger native birds have to deal with.

Box itself is great. And it did seem like sparrows rejected it. Then a pair of bluebirds started building a next & I was so excited. Very next day watched a sparrow enter the box. I went out but was too late. It killed the male bluebird. As of now I’m done. Will donate all my houses ti bluebird projects. I do hope many others have success, though! House really is built well.

I highly recommend educating yourself with this website or The Bluebird Monitor's Guide from Cornell before buying a bluebird box. This box is one option, with which I am currently having success. But there are lots of other choices, some also made by Coveside and available on amazon. I have a family of bluebirds doing well and about ready to fledge in my box. But I made quite a few mistakes before learning the ropes and would do it differently if I had it to do over again. I previously rated this three stars due to the difficulty mounting it to a tree, only to learn that a tree is not the best place to mount a bluebird box (too accessible to predators). There are also quite a few independent "garage" manufacturers of bluebird houses out there who make great boxes, and it's fun to try different styles. The website I reference has links to those builders, and a wealth of information on how to attract and take care of bluebirds and other cavity nesters (like tree swallows).

This product arrived promptly and was very well made. It included useful information about bluebird nesting habits. Unfortunately, the morning after I installed the box on a post outside my house, a male sparrow decided to lay claim to the house. This guy spent weeks trying to lure a female to move in with him, but to no avail, in spite of an abundance of sparrows in the neighborhood. After about 3 weeks a pair of bluebirds took an interest in the house. They built a nest, ignoring loud protests by the male sparrow. Recently, it appears that the bluebirds have given up. Continuous chattering and aerial attacks by the sparrow seems to have been too much. I am impressed that the bluebird pair liked this house while female sparrows steered clear. Now, if I can find a way to deal with those moronic males...

I purchased 3 of these boxes and replaced them with 3 older Blue Bird boxes that's I've had for years, moving the old ones far away from their original location. It bothered me to find two adult Blue Bird males pecked to death by Sparrows inside 2 of my old bird houses within one week so I read up on these 'Sparrow Resistant Bluebird Houses' and decided to purchase 3. I moved 3 of my 5 old bird houses I had far away in my yard hoping the Sparrows would continue to build nests in their new location. (There were babies in the 2 so I didn't disturb them) Within minutes of putting the new ones up onto poles the Sparrows began to go into them and build nests. I spent the next week emptying the houses out as soon as I'd see a nest creation. It was a full time all day job as the Sparrows would return and attempt to build nests constantly throughout the day. To date, one of these new boxes remains empty but two are still being taken over. It seems they like the Sparrow resistant boxes just as much as my old ones. I will keep them and hope that things improve but they are NOT Sparrow resistant. I purchased a PVC Blue Bird house and that seems to be more resistant to the Sparrows so far.

The media could not be loaded.  These houses have been so effective at attracting Bluebirds (and Tree Swallows) that I have now purchased and posted 4 of them,and given 2 away as gifts. While I am sure everyone's experience is different, I will say that the people who put this box up, didnot have success (or get the "right" birds) need to be patient.I also got The Bluebird Book (Stokes) here on amazon, and one tip in particular has been amazingly accurate...despite everything elseyou hear from "experts" the fact is that you CAN mount these boxes near your house (we have 2 sets of 2 about 50 yards apart on ourbackyard fence) and that BOTH bluebirds and tree swallows can move into houses that are less than 5 feet apart. [This is happeningright now 5-19-11]They do not fight, and actually seem to protect each other from "shoppers" like sparrows.Further, the sparrows that have even attempted to inhabit these houses have given up in short order. In 2 years of having these boxesup (and we live in a totally suburban area) we have had only tree swallows and bluebirds....good luck!

Well made