Stokes Select Wren & Chickadee Nesting Bird House, Natural Wood

Nice construction and nice small hole for the Chickadees .

I bought this based on the specifications, and the Stokes name. I own many Stokes guide books and Stokes books with detailed observations of the lives of different species, their nesting requirements, their life cycle, their raising of offspring. I used to regularly watch their television show on public broadcasting. Therefore it is with considerable disappointment that i opened my box and discovered that the opening is 1 1/4 inches, not 1 1/8. The Stokes would be the first to point out that this difference makes a huge difference, so it is hard for me to understand how they could put their name on a mistake, and a dishonest one at that. If you are going to make a birdhouse and call it wren/chickadee then be honest about the fact that the opening is too big to keep out sparrows - the biggest invader to wren and chickadee nest boxes. But to call it a wren/chickadee house knowing the opening is big enough to let the invasive English sparrow use this box, and to give an inaccurate measurement? I don't understand that. All a birdhouse is is wood and measurements designed to best support what they need to raise new babies. How do you put your name on that, and once you do, you make us question it everywhere else it appears. I trusted their information on so many things over the years, birds, butterflies, consulted their books it to find out about everything from mice to moose. This has me flummoxed!Otherwise, the house looks good, and the other measurements seem appropriate. The front door does hinge to open, making it easy to check inside and clean.I now have to send it back, or get an entrance restrictor, or monitor and get rid of the english sparrows eggs, none of which I wanted to have to do when I selected a birdhouse made by Stokes. I'm disappointed to have lost trust in two naturalists I trusted for years, and to have lost the time until I can get a new one from a more reputable company. I was very excited to get this feeder up today, the birds are ready and so was I. Quality control really does matter.

I purchased the first two birdhouses for our yard ever off of Amazon and they came together in the same box. One birdhouse was the Kettle Moraine Wren and Chickadee house and the other was the Stokes Wren and Chickadee House. Upon comparing them I noticed many differences in quality. My review for the Stokes house is below!Stokes~Entry into house was 1 3/16 inches plus a little but not quite 1 1/4 inches.Lumber was pretty, very well sanded and smooth but boards were very warped and bowed with some cracks in the board that made the floor.The front door was not square on the right hand side near the clasp (a gap is present that started from near the top) which makes the door barely fastened shut by the closure.From the bottom of the entry hole to the top of the floor was 2 17/16 inches.The two screws that came with it were short and I needed longer ones so I furnished my own to attach it to a tree. One pre-drilled hole was towards the bottom inside the house compartment and it made it tricky for our Dewalt drill to center up on it to fasten the house.Front door opens easily to clean out however seems to be just rotating on a plain screw, I'm wondering if after repeated opening and closing the door with break or come loose.Nice small vent along the back wall of the house that is pretty narrow.A functional house but doesn't have the handmade quality detail that you'd find elsewhere for a few more dollars. I won't buy this house again.In my photos of comparing the two the Stokes house is on the left hand side in the pictures. Thanks for reading!

I love this simple little house! Within 1 day of hanging this up on my back deck post, I noticed string and twigs sticking out from the hole. Within a couple of weeks I met one of the birds that took up residence in there. I'm pretty familiar with a majority of the birds that visit my yard, but it was dark and difficult to see all of its features. It appeared to be very small and gray. I'm hoping to spot it in the daylight to get a better look. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because the 1 1/4" hole is a bit large for a wren and chickadee house. To reduce the hole size I had to order a 1 1/8" predator guard plate and attach it over the existing hole.

Bought 3 of these for my Dad who is 87 and pretty much a shut in. He has bird attractors all around his windows. Put these 3 houses up on poles 8 feet high - looks strange and not a great house landscaping look, but keeps him happy. And best of all - WE GOT A FAMILY OF CHICKADEES NESTED IN ONE THE FIRST YEAR!!!! So, the birds seem to like them. Thank you.

VERY WELL MADE.. STURDY AND COMPACT.. I SET IT UP VERY QUICKLY AND EASILY WITH THE PERKY-PET POLE. IT'S UNFINISHED, I WILL HAVE TO PURCHASE SOME PAINT OF STAIN TO PROTECT IT.. IT CAME FULLY ASSEMBLED, ALL I HAD TO DO WAS CONNECT IT TO THE POLE WITH THE ENCLOSED CONNECTER THAT CAME WITH THE POLE.....NOW ALL I HAVE TO DO IS WAIT AND HOPE FOR A LOVELY LITTLE BIRD FAMILY TO MOVE IT... :)IT HAS BEEN UP NOW AND THE SIDES ARE CRACKING WHERE THE SCREWS WERE PLACED, IT HAS NOT RAINED , BUT WHEN IT DOES THIS BIRD HOUSE WILL NOT MAKE IT WITHOUT A PATCH OF THIS ONE SIDE... OTHERWISE THE 5 CRACKS WILL FALL OUT ONE AT A TIME.. MAYBE A HEAVY PAINT JOB WITH CALKING.. OR WIRE TO BIND IT.. BUT IT WILL NEED SOMETHING...

Exactly as depicted. I love that the entire front opens for easy & thorough cleaning. I also like that it can be hung as is, as long as it's not hung where it can be weathered/rained on. However, being of natural wood, you can choose to paint it your own style - making sure to leave the inside alone (including around the entrance hole) and top it off with an animal friendly sealant. I'll probably end up hanging it as is, directly onto the side of my house, under my 3 ft overhang... because the front opens for cleaning, it can be screwed directly to my wood siding. I will treat the back of the birdhouse with a sealant just to be sure nothing grows back there!! Over all it was a great buy!

Delivered as described! A sturdy nesting box but comes unprotected or without a sealer to protect the raw wood from the elements.