Roosting box (2 Viewers)

[BobinCt]

I’ve made two roosting boxes that are insulated . One has an entrance hole of 1 1/2 and the other is 1 3/4. They are both about 6 ft off the ground and I used 5 ft stove pipe to prevent predators from going in. All seams were caulked to keep the drafts out. I’m just trying to provide shelter for any kinds of birds for out cold winters here in Connecticut. They probably have been up for 4-5 weeks and I haven’t seen a bird use either of them. My backyard is fairly open as u can see all of our neighbors backyards. I also have a heated bird bath back there with 7 bird feeders. Should I be concerned ? My backyard is only prob 25 yards wide by 25 yards long. Any advice or input would be great . Thx

 

[Torchepot]

Hi Bob

I'm having trouble visualising how the stove pipe is set up. Any chance of a photo?

 

[S_Man]

5 feet of piping sounds like a lot... maybe they are not used to that kind of infrastructure?
I know some birds occasionally use my nest boxes for the night and to take shelter from very strong winds and other bad weather etc. but the boxes are mostly used by rodents during winter (I'm in Europe, so not sure what the species situation is in your area).
That said birds usually don't suffer from cold temps, as long as they have enough food or reserves, so maybe don't worry too much...

 

[Torchepot]

Are the birds meant to travel along the pipe to reach the box? If so it seems very unlikely that many (any?) would try it.
Maybe I've got the wrong idea of the setup?

 

[Andy Hurley]

It sounds like the pipe is keeping the box above ground and in accessable to rodents.