Mounting Instructions
To achieve success with your bluebird nesting box, place it in an open area with scattered trees, particularly with low branches for the birds to perch on and watch for insects. Pastures, parks, large lawns, and golf courses are good locations for bluebirds. Heavy ground cover will interfere with their ability to find insects. Place the nesting box where insecticides are not used, for the safety of the birds.
The best height for the box is from three to five feet above the ground. Lower makes predation easier, and greater heights attract more sparrows. The box should face a tree or shrub with low branches within about 50 feet, so that when babies leave the nest, they may perch safely from predators. It should also face away from prevailing winds, to lessen the chance of rain driving through the entrance hole.
Fence posts make convenient locations, as do utility poles (with permission), and even mailbox posts (facing away from the road). A predator guard on the post will help discourage climbing predators.
Put a screw or nail into the side of a tree or fence post, leaving about 1/4" sticking out. Place the metal hanger at the top of the back over the head of the screw or nail. Place a second nail or screw through the small hole at the bottom of the back and into the post, to hold it securely.
The Bluebird
The bluebird has long been a favorite bird in North America. It is loved for its beautiful blue coloring, as well as its gentle disposition and pleasing voice. The bluebird is the symbol of love and happiness in many of our songs.
There are three species of bluebird: eastern, western, and mountain, and they belong to the thrush family. The eastern bluebird breeds in every state east of the Rocky Mountains. It is bright blue with a rusty red breast, similar to the robin's. The western bluebird breeds in the western states from Canada to Mexico and east to Colorado. It has a blue throat, and the red color extends to its upper back. The mountain bluebird breeds in the Northwest, east to the Dakotas, and north into Alaska. It is entirely blue, with a white underbelly.
The spring courtship rites of the bluebird are among the most enjoyable to witness. The male selects a suitable nesting cavity and devotes all his energy to luring a female to it with song. He sings and sings, as the female sits passively by, enjoying his effort. When she inspects the nesting place, he interprets her interest as acceptance and his song becomes even more passionate. But the final selection of the nesting place is hers, and if she finds his choice unacceptable, he must search for something better.
The female builds a nest of dry grass or pine needles and other plant material. The nest is typically about three to four inches deep. There the eastern bluebird lays an average of three to five clear blue eggs (though occasionally they may be white), with the western and mountain species adding one or two more. They hatch in two weeks and the baby birds leave the nest in 15-20 days, ready to fly and soon be able to feed themselves.
By fall the pair has raised two or three broods of young and may migrate south if their food supply runs out or it gets too cold.
The bluebird's chief competitors amoung other birds are the house sparrow, or English sparrows, and the starling, both of which like the same type of nesting space. Sparrows will break the bluebird's eggs in a nest, or move into the nest during the winter when the bluebird has migrated. Starlings will drive bluebirds out of an entire area and occupy every available nesting cavity, unless people intervene.
What can we do?
We can assist in the return of this lovely bird by providing suitable habitats, winter shelter, and food supplies. Plants that bear berries throughout the winter (Bittersweet, hackberry, dogwood, American holly, privet, honeysuckle, bayberry, sumac, and others) will provide food for not only bluebirds, but many other species.
Winter roost boxes provide shelter in the coldest season for many birds. In areas where bluebirds find sufficient food, they may stay all year, and a roost box will allow them warmth on cold nights.
And specially designed bluebird houses, with predator guards on the entrance to keep out squirrels, raccoons, and competing birds, will give the bluebird a safe place to live and rear its young. Nests of sparrows and other competitors must be cleaned out of the bluebird house on a regular basis.
What is a "Bluebird Trail?"
People sometimes create a "bluebird trail" by hanging many bluebird houses in an area, about 100 yards apart, to give the bluebirds an abundance of housing. They are often placed on fence posts, giving the appearance of a "trail."
Tree swallows often find bluebird houses to their liking as well, and this problem can be lessened by hanging two houses close to each other, or even back to back on a post. Two bluebirds will not nest near each other, so this gives the swallows one house an the bluebirds the other. The swallows will even help protect the bluebirds from other competing birds.
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 "Observation Bluebird House")
