Ron Kingston displays the stovepipe baffle he devel-oped. Ron is the longtime chairman of the speakersbureau for the North American Bluebird Society.

Ron Kingston of Charlottesville, Virginia. Kingston'sbaffle is simple, lightweight, and low cost. It can beused on all types of small-diameter poles, includingones that telescope.

Metal air-conditioning duct can be substituted forthe stovepipe. It comes in flat pieces, 60 inches long.The long edges are grooved to snap together and locktight. If you fudge the numbers a little, you can cutthree baffles, each 20 inches long, from one piece.

TIn snips (offset snips work best) are needed toconstruct and mount the baffles. Be careful to foldover any sharp corners that might be dangerous.The baffle isn't fastened to the mounting pole; itsimply rests on a metal strap that Ron attaches tothe mounting pole.

One reason this baffle is so effective againstraccoons is because it is not bolted tightly to themounting pole - it wobbles. The motion makes itimpossible for a raccoon to hold a grip on the pipe.

The hardware-cloth plug used in Kingston'sbaffle is more effective against snakes than a solidtop. The snake can see the nestbox and smell thescent of the birds from inside the baffle, but thehardware cloth stops it. It is likely to remain in

STOVEPIPE BAFFLE

Pole-Mounted Baffles~

the baffle, the victim of its own limited reasoningpower, rather than climb around the baffle on theoutside - which a large snake can do. For addedsafety, a Krueger snake trap (p. 117) can be addedabove the stovepipe baffle to capture any snakethat makes it that far.

Be careful to place the baffle high enough thatcats can't leap to the top and use it as a platformfor raiding the nestbox. Consider using a telescop-ing pole to raise the baffle and the nestbox out ofa eat's leaping range.

A coat of paint will make the baffle a little morepresentable for use with a backyard nestbox. Andthe paint won't lessen the baffle's effectiveness.

A telescoping pole baffled with a stovepipeshould deter any four-legged predator other than abear. If you apply a thin ring of fresh grease on themounting pipe under the baffle, climbing insectswill be excluded as well. The grease will also revealif snakes are trying to reach the box. When theyslither over the grease, they'll smear it around. _

A commercial snake guard similar to Kingston'sis available but is only about 8 inches tall. This isnot high enough to deter snakes, which can easilyget over it.

Large versions of Ron Kingston's baffle canbe made to fit over large-diameter poles, woodenposts, and even utility poles. Just snap together twoor three sections of metal duct pipe. If the bafflecan't be lifted over the top of the mounting pole,it can be built on the pole. Baffles 12 inches indiameter or more don't need to wobble; they canbe attached rigidly. Raccoons can't hug a cylinderthat large.

A wobbly section of large-diameter PVC pipebaffles raccoons as well as stovepipe does. Manynestbox monitors are now experimenting with

Make the baffle by cutting 'I2-inch hard-ware cloth into a 9-inch circle. Make asmall hole in the center so that the cir-tie will slip over the mounting pole.Bend the edges of the circle down sothat the hardware cloth fits snugly intoa 24-inch-long section of 8-inch diame-ter stovepipe. Cut four tabs on the topend of the stovepipe and bend themover the hardware cloth.

To hang the baffle, bolt metalstraps (plumber's tape) around themounting pole for support. (Severalwraps of duct tape around the polebelow the metal straps will help keepthem in place.) Slide the baffle downover the top of the mounting pole untilit rests on the metal straps.