Houses for Red-Headed Woodpeckers, Bluebirds, Robins, and Sparrows

Looking for ideas for mounting a red-headed woodpecker box Steven and  I made, I took a close look at one of my bluebird houses and saw pine needles leaking out of the bottom, a sure sign that the house sparrows who had moved in days ago were building a nest.

And a close look at my robin ledge, mounted on a 10-foot high PVC pipe just as I planned for the woodpecker box, showed droppings that revealed the ledge is being used for roosting this winter.  I don't know if was the cardinals that seem to live in the Colorado spruce trees surrounding the ledge or the tree sparrows or house sparrows that fly out of our hedges when I walk by.  I had never seen any activity there so I didn't know it was being used.

It pays to take a closer look!

I learned a lot--including how to mount the red-headed woodpecker box and quickly got it up without falling from the ladder.

My bluebird house in Maryland only attracted house sparrows.  The baby peeking out must be a baby house sparrow.  (Photo by Don Comis)

I haven't seen my red-headed woodpecker for a while in my front yard in Ohio.  The first bird house I built in Ohio is for this bird, which is being overtaken by a scarcity of cavities and the success of my favorite bird, the red-bellied woodpecker.  (Photo by Don Comis)