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Birdhouse Maintenance - Monitor, Prevention and Repair

Monitoring Birds

Monitoring includes periodically checking to see what species of bird is using your birdhouse as well as how many eggs or young are in the nest. Weekly monitoring is recommended to avoid problems with parasites or losses due to predators. Choosing an easy to open birdhouse with a mounting bracket makes monitoring easier.

Different birds have different incubation periods and fledgling maturity rates, The incubation and growth period ranges are found in the chart below:
Chicadee with young inside a birdhouse
Chickadee with young

Diet, Clutch Size and Growth Rate of Birdhouse Birds

Scientific Name

Common Name

Diet

Clutch Size & ID

Incubation Period

Nestling Period

Aegolius acadicus Saw Whet Owl small mammals 5 - 6 white eggs 26 - 29 days 27 - 34 days
Aix sponsa Wood Duck seeds, insects, arthropods 5 - 15 white eggs 28 - 37 days 56 - 70 days
Baeolophus bicolor Tuffed Titmouse seeds, insects 5 - 6 white, brown dotted eggs 12 - 14 days 15 - 16 days
Bucephala albeola Bufflehead Duck insects, fish, eggs, aquatic plants 6 - 11 white eggs 28 - 32 days 50 - 55 days
Bucephala islandica Barrow's Goldeneye Duck insects, fish, eggs, aquatic plants 4 - 12 greenish white eggs 28 - 32 days 24 - 36 hours
Carpodacus mexicanus House Finch seeds, berries 4- 5 greenish-white, black spotted eggs 12 - 14 days 11 - 19 days
Certhia americana Brown Creeper insects, seeds, arthropods 5 - 6 white, brown spotted eggs 12 - 14 days 14 - 20 days
Colaptes auratus Northern Flicker insects 6 - 8 white eggs 11 - 14 days 24 - 27 days
Dryocopus pileatus Pileated Woodpecker insects, berries, seeds 3 - 5 white eggs 14 - 18 days 24 - 28 days
Falco tinnunculus Kestrel insects, small mammals 4 - 5 pale brown, brown dotted eggs 26 - 31 days 28 - 31 days
Glaucidium brasilianum Pygmy Owl small mammals, amhibians, insects 3 - 5 white eggs 28 - 29 days 28 - 30 days
Hirundo rustica Swallow insects 6 - 8 white eggs 26 - 30 days 28 - 31 days
Megascops kennicottii Screech Owl insects, small mammals, birds, amphibians 3 - 4 white eggs 26 - 30 days 28 - 31 days
Melanerpes carolinus Red-Bellied Woodpecker insects, fuit, seeds 4 - 5 white eggs 11 - 14 days 24 - 27 days
Melanerpes erythroceph Red-Headed Woodpecker insects, earthworms, seeds, berries 4 - 7 white eggs 12 - 14 days 24 - 31 days
Melanerpes lewis Lewis Woodpecker insects 5 - 9 white eggs 13 - 14 days 24 -31 days
Myiarchus crinitus Crested Flycatcher insects, berries, fruit 4 - 8 white, brown spotted eggs 13 - 15 days 13 - 15 days
Passer domesticus Sparrow seeds, berries, insects 3 - 5 white-bluish-green, brown spotted eggs 11 - 14 days 12 - 14 days
Picoides pubescens Downy Woodpecker insects, berries, seeds 4 - 5 white eggs 11 - 12 days 18 - 21 days
Picoides villosus Hairy Woodpecker insects 3 - 6 white eggs 11 - 12 days 28 - 30 days
Plectrophenax nivalis Snow Bunding insects 4 - 6 white, redish-brown spotted eggs 10 - 16 days 10 - 17 days
Poecile atricapillus Black-capped Chickadee insects, seeds, berries 6 - 8 white, brown spotted eggs 12 - 14 days 12 - 16 days
Poecile cinctus Siberian Chickadee insects, seeds, berries 6 - 10 white, brown spotted eggs 15 - 18 days 12 - 16 days
Poecile gambeli Mountain Chickadee insects, seeds berries 6 -12 white eggs 12 - 15 days 17 - 23 days
Poecile rufescens Chestnut-backed Chickadee insects, seeds berries 5 - 8 white eggs 12 - 18 days 18 - 21 days
Progne subis Purple Martin insects 3 - 6 white eggs 15 - 18 days 27 - 34 days
Protonotaria citrea Prothonotary Warbler insects, seeds, berries 4 - 6 white to yellow eggs 12 - 14 days 11 - 14 days
Quiscalus quiscula Grackle seeds, insects, arthropods 2 - 6 brown spotted eggs 12 - 14 days 20 - 23 days
Sialia currucoides Mountain Bluebird insects, berries 3 - 8 light blue eggs 12 - 14 days 18 - 21 days
Sialia mexicana Western Bluebird insects, berries, seeds 2 - 8 light blue eggs 12 - 14 days 18 - 22 days
Sialia sialia Eastern Bluebird insects, berries, seeds 3 - 7 light blue eggs 12 - 14 days 17 - 21 days
Sitta canadensis Red Breasted Nuthatch insects, arthropods 5 - 8 white, brown spotted eggs 12 - 13 days 18 - 21 days
Sitta carolinensis White Breasted Nuthatch insects, seeds, berries 5 - 6 white, brown spotted eggs 13 - 14 days 24 - 27 days
Sitta pusilla Brown Headed Nuthatch insects, seeds, berries 6 - 8 white, brown spotted eggs 13 - 14 days 18 - 20 days
Sitta pygmaea Pygmy Nuthatch insects, seeds 5 - 9 white, red spotted eggs 14 - 17 days 14 - 22 days
Sphyrapicus varius Sapsucker Woodpecker insects, berries 5 - 7 white eggs 12 - 13 days 25 - 30 days
Thryomanes bewickii Bewick's Wren insects 4 - 7 white, brown spotted eggs 12 - 14 days 14 - 16 days
Troglodytes aedon House Wren insects 4 - 8 white, brown spotted eggs 12 - 14 days 14 - 16 days
Troglodytes hiemalis Winter Wren insects 3 - 8 light speckled eggs 14 - 16 days 16 - 17 days
Troglodytes ludovicianus Carolina Wren insects 4 - 6 white, brown spotted eggs 12 - 14 days 12 - 16 days
Tyto alba Barn Owl small mammals, birds 5 - 6 white eggs 29 - 24 days 50 - 55 days

When to Clean Out Old Nests

As soon as the young birds have fledged the nest should be cleaned out. With smaller songbirds such as chickadees, nuthatches and wrens the parents will be flying back and forth from the birdhouse every couple of minutes or so to keep up with the diets of the growing young. As soon as the young have fledged you will notice no action to and from the birdhouse. You can gently knock on the birdhouse to ensure there is no movement before opening and observing the interior.
When is the best time to clean out a bird nest?
Nest ready to be cleaned out

Cleaning Out Old Nests

Easily clean out a birdnest from a birdhouse
Cleaning out an old nest from a birdhouse
 Many birdhouses have no way of being opened and should be assumed to be made for decorative purposes. While these ornamental birdhouses may be nice to look at, they do not provide the features that are essential for the welfare of the birds. As mentioned above, the top priority when it comes to birdhouse maintenance is cleaning out the nest immediately after the birds have fledged.

By cleaning the birdhouse as soon as the birds have fledged, you are more likely to keep moisture levels low, and lower the chance that pests and nest parasites will inhabit the birdhouse. With regards to wrens and bluebirds, if the nest is cleaned out immediately after the birds have fledged, it is possible to get a second and even a third set of birds in the same birdhouse in a single season!

When removing old nests from your birdhouse ensure that the drainage holes are clear. Removing debris with a small twig might make a big difference for the next family of birds moving into your birdhouse. Many people wait to clean out their birdhouse in the fall, but if it is cleaned regularly birds can be removing insect pests from your yard throughout most of the growing season.

If the next box interior is soiled, a mild bleach solution can be used to help remove any parasites or pathogens from the birdhouse body. Be sure to allow the birdhouse to dry before re-mounting. Ensure all hardware is still firmly in place (if any) before remounting.

Re-coating with a Non-toxic Preservative

After four or more years a birdhouse can be recoated with an environmentally friendly preservative that is non-toxic for the birds. We recommend using PolyWhey due to it is extremely low VOC level when applied as well as the durable waterproof coating it provides. More information can be found on the Staining, Painting or Preserving section.

If built properly, a birdhouse can last over a decade. The hexagonal birdhouse in the picture to the right was taken in 2013, 19 years after it was mounted on our barn.
Recoating your birdhouse to make it waterproof
Using a paint brush to apply PolyWhey coating


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