Predators can wreak havoc, so take precautions against raccoons, cats, opossums and even larger birds and squirrels by using a Bird Guardian on your birdhouse. It’s an elongated access tunnel that fits over the entrance hole of a birdhouse. This anti-predator device can protect nestlings from the reach of predators, and also serves to discourage squirrels from enlarging the opening on the nest box and claiming it for themselves.
In this photo you can see a Bird Guardian mounted to a birdhouse used by a Red-breasted Sapsucker. The Bird Guardian is a birdhouse predator guard that protects eggs, baby birds and even the adult bird from larger birds and other wildlife that might disturb the nest and occupants. You can easily attach it to the front of your nest box to help prevent raccoons, opossums, cats and even squirrels from bending their forearms to reach the nestlings inside the house. The Bird Guardian also prevents larger birds like crows and jays from squeezing their shoulders into your birdhouse, for added protection. Its tail-brace allows the bird parents easy access to their nestlings.
It’s always best to start the nesting season with a Bird Guardian already mounted to the birdhouse, so you do not have to change anything once the parent birds have moved in. But, if you suspect an existing house has been, or could be, disturbed by a predator animal, you may want to add this protection to the house. As always, never have a perch on a birdhouse—it is too useful to predators.