Bluebird Housing - ?x?x?x?

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bluebirds are starting show up and I'm thinking I should provide some housing. I seem to recall that the diameter of the entrance hole is important in the scheme of things. any favorite bluebird-birdhouse kind of websites you guys can recommend and/or how about that hole dimension? thanx.

-- B. Lackie - Zone3 (cwrench@hotmail.com), April 25, 2002

Answers

Cornell Lab of Ornithology has various plans for nest boxes on their Birdhouse Network website. Make sure you check out Next Box Cam. Too cool!!

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), April 25, 2002.

My husband just built me 3 about two weeks ago. The diameter of the entrance hole is 1-1/2 inches. Two of the three already have bluebirds moved in. I think the empty one is too close to another one, I understand they are somewhat territorial. We'll have to move it.

-- Sharon (cheesyemailaddy@notreal.com), April 25, 2002.

I remember seeing a similar question posted on another homesteading type forum a while back. Someone gave the web site for the North American Bluebird Society at: http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/plans.htm That should answer all of the questions that you may have. Here is another site also given: http://daycreek.com/

The other forum is at http://angelfire.com/tn/gaelio/frame.html

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), April 25, 2002.


boy howdy. the http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/plans.htm link is pretty comprehensive. thanks all for the quick turn-around.

uh, you can always move that problem house to my place Sharon...

-- B. Lackie - Zone3 (cwrench@hotmail.com), April 25, 2002.


typing before thinking again. just looked at Bren's link and it's most excellent as well. time to bang some nails.

-- B. Lackie - Zone3 (cwrench@hotmail.com), April 25, 2002.


Last year was my first year for helping bluebirds with nesting boxes. I put up one box to learn the ropes. That first box is only about 15' from kitchen door. So much habitat is being destroyed and with it the old natural snags and nesting cavities in trees. The bluebirds were successful using the box last year with three batches of little ones and a total count of 13 new bluebirds. Lots of fun watching them.

So, last winter I built five new bluebird houses according to the NABS plans for Eastern Bluebirds and mounted them on metal poles about 400' apart at various spots around the farm. I made predator guards from stovepipe, hanger material and hardware cloth. We have a lot of black snakes in the area, plus the normal assortment of other egg eaters. It is my observation that the predator guard was what made three successful fledges possible. I used poplar and left the nesting boxes unfinished, but painted the poles and predator guards green.

Remember that other cavity nesters such as Chickadees may also reside in your bluebird boxes. There is one male Chickadee that has been sitting on a branch near one of the new boxes every day for the last two weeks. It's kinda like he's looking for a girlfriend, but no girls seem to be taking any interest in him. My wife said maybe he's an ugly Chickadee.

It is very important to keep sparrows from building nests or taking over your bluebird box. Sparrows are not protected, are considered a serious pest and will kill other baby birds easily with their large beaks. Be sure to learn how to identify both the nests and the eggs in your boxes. Click Here For Our Pictures of Bluebird Eggs and Nest

Bluebirds didn't seem to mind it when I opened the box and checked on their youngsters. I've read that some people put out mealworms for the bluebirds. We have plenty of insects, so I didn't mess with the mealworms. I was very diligent about cleaning out the old bluebird nest after the brood has departed and disinfected the box before the next residents showed up. Keeping ants out of the box is important, especially fire ants. Vaseline or grease on the pole helps keep climbing critters off the pole and also cuts down on the ant problem.

The new boxes that I put up this year must be working. Yesterday, I saw a female bluebird coming out of a new box down behind the barn. And, by the way, it is the female bluebird that chooses the nesting cavity. The male locates the box or cavity, but it's mama bluebird who decides whether or not to rent the place. I can identify with that. When I’m clearing brush and thinning trees, I always leave several old snags in place for the woodpeckers and cavity nesters.

Have fun and enjoy the bluebirds.

-- Ed (ecpubs@lynchburg.net), April 26, 2002.


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