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bluebird newbie

13 years ago

Feeding backyard birds for 12 years and first time I've seen and had bluebirds. Early February in Maine, first day had one pair now three pair. Been reading horror stories about nest boxes. I am rural and have all wildlife a plenty. Would love to set up nest boxes but wondering is askng for trouble? Leaning toward slotted style houses.

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Comments (2)

rayinri
13 years ago
Those bluebirds are stressed. They are far north of there wintering grounds
many winter here (RI) from the far north then in march migrate north please
the reason why that bluebird if holding on to the suet holder is they love suet
and peanut butter. Please add some small cuts of suet nearby that way they
can feed. If you have 1.5 acres of open space they will nest nearby. Slot box's
are ok. But no box is sparrow free. The population of house sparrows in Maine
is nothing like southern NE. If you live out in the country far from development dont worry about sparrows. They favor very developed area's
and less comon in the country. If you place a bluebird now in the center of
your yard and not near a tree they will roost at night in the box. The box should be on 1 inch conduit pipe that will keep down most predators in Maine.
Just make sure dont place box on a tree. And center of the yard.
Right now there food supplys are running low thats why they are at the feeder
they like bittersweet,mulitiflora rose hips,winterberry,holly. To name a few.
If you get ice please set out some food that is ice free that way they can feed.
Its not worth it for them to migrate now. They are probably the oldest birds
in the town and will try and over winter since they know there is a good supply of food nearby. If they fly south and we know they are local Maine
birds they could fly into a area well south of them that is much worst and
most if not all would perish if the area is ice cover and they have no idea of
local food supply's the birds are now dependent on you! The bluebirds are probably very old and some may even have a mild injury thats why they have been left behind. MId february many of my birds start to return and by
april 1 start to nest. Its much warmer here so things happen much sooner.
If the weather stays snow and ice free in New England we could be looking at a great season for the birds since so many have done well here this winter.
Hundeds more will start there trip north in late february. Sadly many are killed in late season snow storms since they have no clue where the food supply's
are and the stress and cold kill many. Best of luck! --Ray
kendra2003
13 years ago
Sorry you've been reading horror stories about nest boxes. If you set them up correctly, you can have a very successful nesting season. You need the right kind of box, pole, predator guard, etc. A great place to learn how to set the box up correctly is at the Sialis website. If you do things right, you may be surprised at how rewarding it is. I had three successful nestings last season, with 5 young fledging each time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis
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