Interesting about the brass entry hole, I have to try that!
Today still two feet of heavy wet snow, and a BB was on a small tree just outside the window during dinner. Healthy, fat, and handsome.
In the winter they are just hard to spot, you just need to listen for their distinctive chur-ups to know they are present. We do have a lot of cover and forage, so we may see the stragglers more than most.
I may try a purple martin house this year, a local store has some great cedar ones. From what I understand you have to put some nesting materials in there to "seed" the birds. It sort of tricks them that it was occupied safely before and they may move in.
