Nestbox repair

Last Thursday we had a severe thunderstorm with strong winds. A combination of aging plastic and the storm caused the brackets to fail and the box fell off its pole with five Eastern Bluebird nestlings inside. They had hatched about two weeks ago so were fairly mature. My next-door neighbor heard the parents in distress and saw the box and the babies on the ground. He gently put them back in the box and came to get me. The parents were sticking close by so we had to do something super quick. Yes, this is duct tape and a canine cone of shame for a baffle. We knew it only needed to last a few days so it was ugly but functional. The parents were right back in there feeding them on a very regular basis. As of today, I’m happy to report all of the babies fledged and I was able to enter a closed and successful nest attempt. Long live the bluebird babies and their parents. RIP nestbox.