Welcome the Bluebirds!

Bluebirds are a bright patch of color in the brown, winter landscape.  They are insect eaters in the summer garden, and can be encouraged to stay in your yard and raise a family or two this summer.  Bluebird populations declined for many decades because of competition with aggressive European Starlings and House Sparrows for nesting sites, and they benefit from having nest boxes put up that favor them over these non-native species. 

Typically, male bluebirds will start selecting a home in mid-March, but because of our unusually warm winter, my husband and I decided to play it safe and put up houses for them early this year.  We have been seeing bluebirds at our suet feeder for a few weeks, so last weekend we hung up three special nestboxes for them around the place.  We did not make them ourselves, but there are plenty of plans for homemade versions.  They like particular dimensions and entrance hole size, and a house without a perch at the entrance will discourage aggressive non-native birds from moving in.  A good source of information is the North American Bluebird Society, which has nest box guidelines on their website.  Stores such as Holdridges and Wild Birds Unlimited also sell bluebird houses.    http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/

Bluebirds like to perch within a few feet of the ground and scan for insects, diving down to grab them when they spot one.  I was lucky to be able to observe this feeding behavior yesterday as a reward for spring raking one of my flower beds.  I saw a bluebird on a fence post admiring my work and flying down for an occasional snack that I had uncovered for him.  I was even more excited to see a male perched on the top of one of the three newly hung nest boxes!  My husband saw one on another box yesterday, so they are at least considering the neighborhood! 

The ideal nesting box will be hung about four feet from the ground and in or near an open meadow.  We attached ours to trees facing our open lawn even though it is considered more ideal to place them on a post, away from possibly troublesome squirrels.  Another way you can help the bluebirds is to monitor the box during the nesting season, according to Geoffrey Krukar of the Connecticut DEEP Wildlife Division’s Avian Program.  This does not disturb the bluebirds, but allows for the removal of European House Sparrow nests and for the removal of the bluebird nest after the babies have fledged so that it is easier for them to raise a second family during the same season.

 Krukar wrote an article about box preparation and monitoring in Connecticut Wildlife magazine last January (2011) which can be found on the DEEP website at the following link.  The Wildlife Division appreciates hearing about any successful bluebird nests.  Because of low numbers, they track bluebird populations and distribution in the state. 

http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/wildlife/pdf_files/outreach/connecticut_wildlife_magazine/cwjf11.pdf

Bluebirds benefit us with their beautiful colors and songs and with their appetite for insects.  If you would like to see them around your home, provide them with suet in the winter and a house made especially for them in the spring!