Bluebirds

All blue birds are not bluebirds, a fact you should know.
You can't always find bluebirds wherever you go.

The bluebirds are rare, and their numbers are small;
In some places you simply can't find them at all.
But when they're around - oh, what a sweet sound!
Just the sight of one somehow can make your heart pound.

They're a pretty soft blue, with a rust orange chest;
If you put up a bird house, they'll pose for you best.
A bluebird's a blue bird, that everyone knows.
But not all blue birds are bluebirds, as you now know.

--excerpted from a poem by Ruth E. Goodwin, 
as published in Sialia vol. 12, no. 1, 1990

Many factors contributed to the decline of the bluebird. As cavity nesters, bluebirds prefer old woodpecker holes, holes in rotting wooden fences, or dead trees for nesting sites. The use of metal fence stakes and the clearing of dead trees have caused a decline in suitable nesting sites. Furthermore, the far more aggressive house sparrow and starling, imported to this country from England in the 19th century, have taken over most of the natural cavities bluebirds need.

Loss of their preferred habitat -- open areas with scattered trees -- further contributed to their decline. Additional factors such as pesticide poisoning, natural predation from snakes, raccoons, rats, cats, and harsh cold winters reduced the bluebird population by as much as 90%.

However, due to the tireless efforts of enthusiastic volunteers who have built, erected, and maintained hundreds of bluebird nesting boxes, bluebirds have made a remarkable recovery in the past 20 years.

Local birder Ron Kingston erected 12 bluebird boxes at Ivy Creek Natural Area in 1986 and still maintains them. In that time, 402 bluebirds have fledged at the Natural Area, and bluebirds are again a common sight at Ivy Creek as they fly from tree to post to ground and back in full view of visitors.

Bluebirds can provide hours of enjoyment. to observe them best, sit quietly some distance from their nesting site -- especially early in the morning -- watching and listening to their cheerful warbling song.

Can you tell what they are doing? Are they building a nest? Are the parents feeding their young? Which is the male? The female? Can you hear their song?

Food In summer, bluebirds eat insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles. In winter they eat berries. The dogwood trees, so plentiful in this area, provide one of their favorite foods. Some bluebirds migrate south.

Family Unit The female builds the nest; both parents feed the young. They have 1 to 3 broods with 3 to 5 pale blue eggs per brood. Incubation lasts from 13 - 15 days. The young fledglings leave the nest 16 - 20 days after hatching. The young often remain near the parents and may feed later broods.

Winter Bluebirds are not strongly migratory. Many will linger in cooler zones if there is plenty of food and shelter available. They will use protected nesting boxes for shelter and live on a diet of fruit and berries during the winter. Bluebirds particularly enjoy dogwood berries, wild grapes, sumac, Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose hips and poison ivy berries. Feeders filled with raisins, meal worms, dogwood berries, or a mixture of suet, corn meal, and flour will attract wintering bluebirds.

You can enjoy bluebirds to the fullest and help them survive. All over the country, young bluebirds have fledged from nesting boxes made by concerned citizens such as yourself.

Here's how to get started.

1. Obtain one or more nesting boxes.

2. Mount your box(es) in open habitat that has scattered trees and low ground cover. Place boxes 100 yards apart.

3. Mount boxes 4 to 6 feet from the ground on smooth metal poles. Place the box so the hole in front faces a tree 25-50 feet away.

4. Keep the area mowed -- do not use pesticides.

5. Bluebirds breed from April through the summer in this area. To increase the chances of more broods, remove the nest from the box as soon as each brood has fledged .

6. Inspect, clean, and repair boxes in late winter each year. Check drainage.

7. PREDATOR CONTROLS:

• Vaseline on the inside of the roof will help prevent wasp nests.
• Soft grease on the pole will help deter predators.

NAILS: Use #4 galvanized finishing nails.

FRONT: Cut one board 5½" x 10". Drill a 1½" hole centered 2" from top. Be precise!

SIDES: Cut two angled boards 4½" wide; back side 11" tall; front side 10" tall.

BACK: Cut one board 5½" x 16½". Drill holes as shown.

BOTTOM: Cut one board 4" ×4½". Cut ¾" off corners for drainage. Recess bottom ¼"

TOP: Cut one board 7" ×6½". Cut a ¾" cleat 3+7/8" long. Nail to underside of top as shown.

Cut a ½" dowel 5½" long. Drill 1/8" holes for easy nailing.

Dowel and cleat help to position the removable top; top is secured by 1½" #6 screw with washer.