I set out the bird feeders right away and in two weeks they were emptied by all the common birds.
I'd read that the hulls of sunflower seeds has a detrimental effect on plant growth so since the feeders were above an area I planned as garden, I bit the bullet,spent the bucks and bought a sack of hulled sunflower seeds.

Turns out, hulled sunflower seeds is one of the few human provided foods a bluebird will eat.
Long story short, I have bluebirds here too and they'll come right up and eat from the feeder as I sit less than 6' away. Mostly males, brilliant blue with rosy chests.

So I'm cheered...what cheers up your day , especially these damp,dismal rainy, cold days?

I am cheered when I see new growth each year. Right now I have toothwort, a few Trilliums, and a couple of spring beauties appearing.

When I am not traveling, I try to walk outside a little every day, in spite of cold and wet, to check and see what is coming up. Mother Nature never fails to surprise and entertain.

Now we are supposed to protect bluebirds from the common house sparrow/English sparrow.
Not bad enough you have to worry about snakes getting into nesting boxes but the house sparrows sound positively like murderers of both the chicks and the parent.

So, I've given up on the birdhouses idea.
If the bluebirds are here and have been here all the time, they know where to nest.
I'll just have the feeder in the winter.