Bluebirds have been searching for the perfect home for raising their babies for weeks now in the Cumming area. The easiest way to attract them is to put up a nest box or two in your yard.
Bluebirds are insect eaters and less competitive for nesting space than are other cavity nesters. Therefore, placement of nest boxes should be in locations away from heavily wooded habitat preferred by tree swallows and house wrens and near open fields where insect hunting, maneuverability, and visibility to avoid predators is adequate.
Examples of good habitat include pastures, fields, edges of country roads, cemeteries and golf courses. The closer you get to buildings or urban areas, the more chance you will have problems with house sparrows which will actually kill bluebirds and their young. It is also a good idea to avoid areas where insecticide use is high.
Nest boxes provide better opportunity for bluebird utilization if they are placed in pairs at 100 yards apart. Distance between boxes in a pair should be about 10-20 feet. Pairing, as seen in above photo, will allow a more aggressive bird species such as the tree swallow to nest one of the boxes first, but will leave open the other box in the pair for bluebirds. Bird species rarely allow another like species to nest in close proximity to their own nest, but will let a different species such as the bluebird nest.
Wood is probably the safest and best material for nest boxes. Wood mimics the natural cavity, is readily available, and provides good insulation qualities. The best woods to use are cedar or redwood, which withstand the elements without being treated.
Choosing between different designs of wooden boxes available shouldn't preoccupy a majority of your time since most offer the same result for the birds. Simply insure floor dimensions are at least four by four inches for eastern bluebirds and five by five inches for mountain bluebirds. Avoid thin wood which will not maintain tolerable temperatures inside the box. Also, do not use varnishes or stain inside the nesting box. These may be poisonous to the birds.
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Both ventilation and drainage holes should accompany any box. One-half inch vent holes in the side of the nesting cavity will insure proper temperatures are maintained inside the nest box. The same sized holes can be drilled into the corners of the floor to allow moisture to escape. Entrance holes for eastern bluebirds should be one and one-half inches in diameter and about one-quarter inch larger for the mountain species. Holes in an oval shape have also been developed now under the presumption that birds can access with less difficulty. The entrance hole should be about six inches from the floor of the nest box.
It's best to mount your house to a post rather on a tree to help keep predators away, such as snakes and racoons. A baffle on the post is also a good deterrent. The recommended height for bluebird houses is four to six feet from the ground. Face the front of the nest boxes away from the prevailing wind and in an easterly direction to avoid the hot afternoon sun from shining into the access hole. More important than this, face the box in a direction in which the young fledgling birds can reach a perch, like a tree or tall bush within about 100 feet.During the spring and summer, Bluebirds mainly feed on live insects. Supplying them an alternative of live mealworms will help sustain them during the year, especially when they are feeding their new hatchlings. It is a fact that baby Bluebirds have a high survival rate with a steady diet of live mealworms. Mealworms can be fed from any feeder, but a specially made mealworm or Bluebird feeder is advised. You may want to especially use a specialty mealworm feeder or Bluebird feeder to keep other and bigger species of wild birds from eating all your mealworms before the Bluebirds get a chance to eat them. Just about all species of wild birds will eat mealworms.
Feeders should not be too close to the bluebird house. Since other birds will feed from them as well, they can scare the bluebirds away if they are in the immediate area.
Bluebirds will often raise 2 or 3 clutches of eggs each season, so if you don't have a house yet, it's not too late. Visit www.WildBirdGoodies.com for all your bluebird needs.
Happy Bluebirding!
