Nest box installed

Looks like a squirrel is trying to make a nest. I had to remove the wet hay and put wood chips back in.

Again I had to remove the wet hay from the box and replace with wood chips.

I might be loosing the battle with the squirrel - I had to again remove wet hay and replace the wood chips.

I again found most of the wood chips removed and hay in the box. Assuming the squirrel was still trying to use the box I removed the material, once the material was on the ground I noticed there were eggs in the material, turns out they were grackle eggs.

Kestrels have not been seen in the area in the last few weeks. We are in mating season now. I will continue to monitor the box.

So I again found most of the wood chips gone, replaced by hay. The hay was very dry. I did not see any eggs. I removed the material and added more wood chips. This is not looking good for kestrels, but I will continue to monitor.

Sadly these are not kestrels eggs, they are European Starlings. I checked the nest with a endoscope to avoid disturbance. I debated on whether to take this nest out considering the starling is an invasive species, but instead I left it. It appears this box is going to be used by other birds this season - No Kestrels.

Last nest check - Flushed a European Starling when I checked the nest. This does not appear to be a good site for kestrels, but great for starlings. I will be removing the box from this location.