Tips for Attracting Bluebirds

Whether you live in the city or the country, sites and sounds of a bluebird near your home can be a real treat. Most homeowners however, have a hard time attracting the elusive bluebird to their yard. Luckily, Don and Lillian Stokes of Stokes Select® have shared with us their insider tips and tricks for attracting bluebirds.

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Attracting more bluebirds to your yard is much easier than you would think. According to Don and Lillian Stokes of Stokes Select®, bluebirds can be found throughout most of the country and are easy to attract with the right nest box placed in the right habitat. A few minor additions to your home can make all the difference.

Materials Checklist

Stokes Select® Bluebird House
Blain # 463334
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Stokes Select® Squirrel Baffle
Blain # 463348
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Instructions

Choose a nest box that is made of wood, has no perch, and has a 1-/2" diameter hole for Eastern and Western Bluebirds. The box should have drainage holes in the bottom and ventilation holes at the top of the sides. The diameter of the floor should be about 4" x 4".
Choose a nest box that is made of wood, but not pressure treated and has no perch. Make sure the box can be readily opened from the front, side, or top, so you can clean it out and monitor the nesting progress.
Place the box in open, mowed habitat at least 100' from brushy, wooded areas. Good areas are large lawns, open fields, farmland, pastureland and parks. However, not in areas where pesticides are used as bluebirds eat insects during nesting and hunt by swooping down to the ground.
Mount the nest box about 5' high on a metal pole, facing any direction. To keep predators from climbing the pole and reaching the bluebirds, place a baffle on the pole. Try to put boxes up by early March, before nesting starts.
Check your box at least once a week during spring and early summer. Record the number of eggs, nestlings, etc. Opening the box will not hurt the birds. Touching the box and leaving your scent will not or cause them to abandon the nest, as most birds do not have a well-developed sense of smell.
Bluebirds make nests of fine grasses or pine needles and have 4-6 blue eggs. The incubation period is 12-14 days and nestlings fledge at 18-21 days. Do not open the box after the young are 12-14 days, it could cause them to fledge prematurely. After the bluebird young have fledged and left the box, remove the old nest after each nesting. Bluebirds may have two or more broods a season.
For even more success with bluebirds keep a clean bird bath filled with fresh water for drinking and bathing. Bluebirds are very attracted to mealworms and may feed them to their young. Offer mealworms in a dish or feeder with straight sides that prevent the mealworms from climbing out. Bluebirds may sometimes eat suet mixes formulated for bluebirds as well.