Audubon Coppertop Cedar Wood Bluebird House Model NACOPBB

Audubon licenses its name so various companies can put the Audubon name on their products and charge more for them. The listing describes this as made by Woodlink, having a copper top, and being handcrafted in the USA. None of those claims apply to the birdhouse I recently received after using Amazon's "Buy it again" link from my 2020 order history when I last bought one of these and all the claims were true. From the Woodlink web site, it appears they no longer make Audubon branded birdhouses. The house I received had "Panacea Products Corporation" and "MADE IN CHINA" on the label, the top was covered by a piece of galvanized steel, painted to look like copper, and the overall build quality was poor. The front cover had an uneven gap on the left side and the entry hole was not centered in the block of wood screwed to the front. The steel top was supposed to be bent to fit the block of wood below it tightly and be held in place by 6 brad nails but the block is too small which resulted in a gap on one side that caused two of the nails to break. This would be a decent birdhouse if it cost $20 but at its premium price of close to $60, it's unacceptable. Audubon should be embarrassed by having their name on this product.

In my opinion this house is very well-made. We did have a lot of rain and the bottom swelled up so I couldn’t open it as easily so I shaved it just a little so that it would open up correctly. Bluebirds have visited but sparrows have taken over which they always do. So I have to clean it out to keep the bluebird coming back to make their nest. It hasn’t happened yet but sparrows are still their trying to do their thing. Very easy to clean and very easy to set up

UPDATE July 2014 -- Tree swallows successfully nested in the box, the young fledging last week. As far as I know, no magpies (or any other predator) took any of the babies. It was a good purchase! (BTW, by drilling one more hole and using bolts and nuts instead of the provided wood screws, I was able to easily mount the box on a metal fence post that has holes 6 inches apart.)ORIGINAL REVIEW July 2013 -- I've been looking for a house suitable for tree swallows. Boxes sold as tree swallow boxes are hard to find, especially if you also want a simple extension of the entrance hole to help keep magpie heads out of the box as the babies grow. I believe this box is adequate on all the suggested specs for swallow houses. Inside floor is 4 x 4 inches; roof overhangs the predator guard; middle of hole is 6 1/2 inches from the floor of the box (some literature recommends 7-8 inches, so 6 1/2 may be somewhat less than ideal); the predator guard extends 1 inch out from the box (some literature recommends 1 1/2 inches, so this may also be somewhat less than ideal--though not much if you take into account that the front wall is also about 1 inch thick). And there is a nice place (cedar not covered by copper) for the adults to comfortably perch on top of the box.As others have written, this box is well made in the USA of 7/8-inch unfinished solid cedar and screws (no nails or staples). It weighs 3 pounds 10 ounces, and there are two holes drilled 3 inches apart through the back wall for mounting with the 2-inch wood screws provided. I'm looking forward to using it next nesting season!

It made it one season. My mom painted it, that’s why it’s white now. Bluebirds did use it and enjoyed perching on top all summer. Now that the main season is over, a woodpecker obliterated the guard easily. I’ll probably go with a metal cover next time.

I bought this because I was gifted an Audubon copper top birdhouse 12 years ago. It is still in use. This is not nearly as nice. My biggest complaint is the misleading “Coppertop” part of the listing. It is NOT copper. It is copper paint which had scratched before I ever put the house up. Seems that everything declines in quality as companies try to figure out how to reduce manufacturing cost and increase profits.

Solid construction overall. The latch did not extend far enough to lock the front closed.

Upon first impression, this is a very nice sturdy bluebird house. We installed it today so please keep that in mind when considering this review. This Audubon Copper Top is made of cedar, so I’m pretty certain it will hold up for years. I’m guessing the copper top keeps the birdhouse roof from leaking?We had bluebirds nesting in a box without the entrance predator guard. It was heartbreaking when I watched a woodpecker fly over me with a newborn bluebird in its mouth! Over a three-day period all five babies were snatched from the nest. I don’t hold it against the woodpeckers for doing what comes naturally, but I didn’t intend to assist them in their baby snatching!We installed the Audubon Coppertop on same pole as “bad” birdhouse. We even took the perfect pine needle nest from old house and put it in new one. Apparently, Daddy Bluebird was watching as we worked. As soon as we were done, he was checking it out. We’re hopeful he will convince the Mrs. that they should start another family in the Audubon Coppertop.Finally, we didn’t discard the original birdhouse. We will mount a predator guard over the entrance before using again.

I purchased this bird house and when it arrived it was missing the copper top, just the remaining glue on top.