Attracting the Bluebird at Bluebirds Forever!

ATTRACTING BLUEBIRDS!
....Compliments of Bluebirds Forever

Bluebirds are a member of the Thrush family related to the American Robin. Three bluebirds make their home in North America: The Eastern Bluebird, The Western Bluebird and the Mountain Bluebird. The bluebird is very beneficial to us, eating large quantities of insects, such as cutworms and grasshoppers, considered damaging to our crops and gardens. These beautiful birds were once very common in the United States. However, over the last century their numbers have diminished due to loss of natural habitat, overuse of pesticides and predators.

We have compiled the following information to help you understand and attract bluebirds to your backyard and help protect this valuable bird. Offering food sources and nesting boxes or bluebird trails can help increase the number of bluebirds.

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Identification, Range and Habitat

EASTERN BLUEBIRD: 5-7", male bright blue on back, wings and tail, throat and most of underparts orange-rusty, white belly. Female paler, back tinged with brown, throat rusty. Found in most of Eastern U.S. Prefers open country, farmlands, orchards, open woodlands and sparse trees on mountain slopes.

WESTERN BLUEBIRD: 5-7", male bright blue on head, wings, tail and throat, center of back and most of underparts orange-rusty, belly white. Female sooty gray above with dull blue wings and tail. Range is the rocky mountain states and west. Prefers open pine forests, farmlands and bushy deserts in winter.

MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD: 6-7 1/2", male is turquoise blue with a lighter blue breast and white belly. Female grayish brown, wings and tail blue. Found from the eastern foothills of the Rocky mountains west to the Pacific Coast. Prefers high open mountain country in summer, plains and prairies in winter.

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How to Attract Bluebirds to Your Backyard

Bluebirds prefer to live in open park lands, pastures and meadows. Bluebirds eat large quantities of insects. In fact 60-80% of their diet is insects. They like to perch on fence posts or small trees and swoop down to eat insects on the grassy ground. Bluebirds won't typically visit your seed feeders, but will enjoy berry or insect suet.

Bluebirds nest in natural tree cavities and old woodpecker holes. When natural nesting sites are scarce, bluebirds will readily use nesting boxes built to correct dimensions. Mount bluebird boxes on a fence post or pole, low to the ground no higher than 4-5'. Situate along woodland edges facing open land. Keep as far from human habitation as possible.

Providing nesting materials is a strong factor in attracting nesting bluebirds since collecting nesting materials can take 100’s of trips. Bluebirds like soft grasses and fragrant pine needles as nesting material. Provide these nesting materials in a specially designed container, an empty suet cage, or simply gather bunches of material and situate in the bark of a tree.

Bluebirds, like all insect eating birds, get thirsty! Offer plenty of water sources in your backyard habitat.

Plant scattered fruit and berry trees, mixed with open lawn and herbaceous flower beds to make an excellent habitat. Bluebirds enjoy the berries and fruits of dogwood, red cedar, sumac, bayberry, Virginia creeper, holly, blueberry, hackberry and elderberry.

Try offering chopped fruit, suet, berries and chopped peanut kernels in a special bluebird feeder or platform feeder.

Mealworms are like filet mignon to bluebirds! Use a special bluebird feeder to offer them in.

Learn more about bluebirds, see our books on bluebirds.

ATTRACTING BLUEBIRDS! ....Compliments of Bluebirds Forever

Identification, Range and Habitat

How to Attract Bluebirds to Your Backyard

ATTRACTING BLUEBIRDS!
....Compliments of Bluebirds Forever