u/BlueEmu

This is an update on the improved cage that I posted about earlier to protect from a pileated woodpecker. It appears to work well. It's funny how it investigates each side to find a way in. I'm glad that I used a thicker gauge wire and screwed it to the house because it's alarming how much the house gets jostled when the bird flies away.

Sorry about the bad focus (camera limitation) and it didn't capture the bird landing because there's a short delay between motion detection and recording.

I was chilling in the yard when a Pileated Woodpecker landed on a tree in front of me. Beautiful bird, but before I could get a photo, it flew to the bee house and grabbed onto the front.

I was wondering why a few of the nesting spots had been reopened in the evenings. Last year I lost most of the bees in the front of the house, likely to this or our resident Flickers (another woodpecker). That’s why I put up the mesh, but it was only about 1.5 inches from the nesting block, and the woodpecker’s beak is up to 2.4 inches.

The second photo is my hastily engineered solution, using some leftover cage fencing. It’s over 3 inches from the block. Hopefully this does the trick.

Anybody else seeing them using the half size holes at the bottom? I’ve seen them barely squeeze in. This didn’t happen in previous years, but this year there are far more bees than housing.

Unfortunately the light fixture manufacturer made the drain hole the perfect enticing size. I saw several Mason bees entering and exiting. I guess I’ll have to clean it out this winter. And yeah, that’s a squished houdini fly next to it. A bunch were hanging around.