See Monitoring Nestboxes. A bluebird landlord should be prepared before opening the nestbox to check on a nesting, in order to deal with predators, parasites, wet nests, etc. The following items will come in handy: 
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- Deep bucket (e.g., cat litter or spackle) or canvas bag to hold your supplies
- Ziploc plastic bag (e.g., to dispose of used or blow fly infested nests or other problems liked dead birds) or leftover grocery bags
- Spatula, metal putty knife, paint scraper, wood lath, or “hive” tool (to scrape out boxes or squash wasps)
- Screwdriver if your boxes are screwed shut (make sure you have the right bit(s)
- Telescoping car mechanics inspection mirror to look into nests that are high, without disturbing the contents (you still have to open the box) – (Available at Amazon – e.g., K-D Tools 2108 Telescoping Mirror
– or Ace Hardware). Get a smaller one if you want to look in through the entrance hole – you may need to bounce the light from a flashlight off of these to see anything.
- Some soft DRY grass/timothy hay (in case you need to make a replacement nest)
- Bar of paraffin wax, Ivory (bar) soap, or Vaseline and paper towels, to coat the roof interior to keep paper wasps away
- Insect repellent (for ticks, mosquitoes, black/deer flies, etc.)
- Nestbox insert trap (to trap House Sparrows) and a mesh laundry bag (to remove birds)
- Record keeping sheet/book and pencil or pen. It’s useful to keep a paper/spreadsheet that you can print out that tracks activity in each box, or one that at least shows last week’s record. Another option is a handheld tape recorder/PDA.
- Roll of fishing line (to deter House Sparrows) and scissors
- Spray bottle of 10% bleach solution (to spray mouse nests before removal, and to disinfect box interior after removing used nests – Chlorox Cleanup is pre-mixed.)
- Hole restrictors (in case a hole has been enlarged, or you want to protect smaller species.)
- Spare screws
- Some folks monitoring nest cavities that are very high are using extendable painter’s poles with a fiber optic camera plugged into a tablet or small laptop, or a wireless camera. This allows them to monitor a nest without having to raise or lower the nesting box on each visit.
- Optional items that might be useful:
- Duct tape (for emergency repairs)
- Gloves (for handling mouse nests, dead birds, etc.)
- Camera
- Step stool for high boxes
- Spare nestbox in case you need to replace a damaged or destroyed one.
More Information:
- Nestbox Monitoring – Why, How To
- Monitoring, Convincing someone to
- How to do a nest change
- Preventing Hypothermia
- Problems & Solutions, Predator ID
- Mice and roof rats in boxes
- Paper Wasps in nestboxes
Be Prepared…always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.
– Robert Baden-Powell, the English soldier who founded the Boy Scouts, in his 1908 handbook, Scouting for Boys
