Stokes Select Bluebird Nesting House - Natural Wooden Birdhouse for Outdoor Garden, Backyard, and Wildlife Habitat - Attract Bluebirds & Enhance Your Garden Decor

The "house" was quality crafted and has been accepted by the birdsVery happy. We have multiple bird houses in our yard but no birds build nests in the houses. I read on the Audubon Society what attracts the birds to a bird house and this is why we purchased this particular bird house. By the next morning a finch was popping in and out. By the next day it was building the nest. Love it !Just two weeks after I put up this bluebird nest box we have a nesting pair. I’ve never seen a bluebird on our lilac farm before now! I joined the North American Bluebird Society and this bluebird house matched their specs the closest of all the nest boxes I found online. You can do more harm than good if you don’t follow the NABS guidelines, it’s very important to follow their guidelines in order to help the bluebird populations.This is an other product which would be so perfect with just a bit more attention to manufacturing detail!Pros: The size is great. Drainage is good. The design as a whole is great. Here in the Northeast you need a predictor guard, it has one. I do not want a metal birdhouse, if it is placed out in the open for Blue Birds or Tree Swallows. This isn't.Cons: The bird box isn't Cedar. Just call it softwood. This can be fixed by treating the outside of the house. The roof is put together so fast it doesn't seam in the middle. You need to fix that. I got two of these. All ventilation, roofing and drainage where different for each. AKA one took longer to fix.This being said the Blue Birds and Tree Swallows love them.....now.I find the design of this box to be almost perfect with the exception that the roof overhang is not far enough out; but that is where the positive ends. I purchased two of these boxes. This box is not cedar as other reviewers have stated. Upon close inspection you will also find warped wood, and cracks all over. Inattention to detail is another issue. The slot on the bottom for rain is nice, but on one of the boxes the slot was twice as big as the other box. This could easily allow part of the nest to fall out, and a glaring invitation for insects, also in early spring a lot of cold air could come through. I should have heeded the warning that this was made in China. It is upsetting that business owners do not take pride in their work anymore. They outsource their products to China for mast produced junk. How disappointing this is because this box has the potential to be so nice. I don't think I am alone in saying that I would be willing to pay more for quality. So I am back to my quest to find a quality Bluebird house.I was pleased with the construction of this birdhouse but it is made out of fir or hemlock so it needs to have a finish applied to it for weather protection. I used some deck stain I had on hand and that worked well. Paint would also be fine. Had it been finished or made from cedar I would give it five stars. We were a little late getting it up this season so we're still waiting for the bluebirds to use it.We put this bird house up April 26th. It's away from the house, facing east as suggested. About 9 feet off the ground on a wooden 4 x 4. We had two bluebirds visit our bird bath, but so far no one is interested in moving into the house. Maybe we are too late putting it up. I would buy this Blue Bird house again. I may put some wood stain on it though to help preserve the wood. Grey like our decking.High quality wood, very well crafted. Wood is also white, and usually has beautiful training. Very easy to clean out and stays shut as needed. Buy this one first, once you get it home, you won't want any thing else like it. A good idea is to go out to Home Depot, get wood outdoor polyurethane and put a couple coats on and your good to go for years of use.