By Mark Fike
I run a youth outdoor club and each year we partner with a local building supply chain and receive donated supplies for the youth to build bluebird boxes. The activity teaches the kids how to use tools, measure, do some basic math and it is also a great opportunity to learn about backyard birds.
The bluebird is present across America and is easily observed up close in backyards. They are tolerant of human activity and therefore are a good species for the entire family to watch. We have had a bluebird house in our yard for years. After speaking with the game warden and hearing how he has his box literally on his deck, I was intrigued to know just how close the birds would nest.
So, we put our bluebird house on a long piece of conduit to keep it out of reach of the cat and put it just off our porch. The results were amazing. The bluebirds readily nested in it within a few weeks and have been raising their young in plain view of us while we cook and eat in the kitchen and dining area.
Bluebirds were once in decline but the habit of many to put up boxes for nesting has undoubtedly brought them back. Bluebirds thrive in open settings with fields or lawns but need trees or bushes nearby to perch on from which to hunt for food.
The male attracts his mate by fluttering and sometimes hovering in front of her. At some point they may perch together before she accepts his advances. When nesting time comes, the female does most of the nest building using hair, twigs, straw and small vines or litter to construct a nest in a hole in a tree or a bluebird box.
She then will lay 2-7 eggs which she incubates for 13-16 days. Then the work begins. Both parents forage for insects by hovering, darting and diving to catch insects on the ground or in the air. At our house the parents are at it nonstop from daylight to dusk feeding those big open mouths. If nothing else, seeing this hard work is a good reminder to your kids how much effort goes into properly parenting. I feel bad for the parents of the little birds! They don’t get a break.
It takes approximately 18 days for the young to fledge. The male will sometimes assist the newly fledged birds by feeding them for a week or so after they launch from the nest. They usually will hang around the area and will sometimes help the parents raise another brood by assisting with the feeding. Bluebirds can raise 2-3 broods per spring and summer.
If you plan on putting up a box, put it up to 20 feet off the ground and be sure your box cannot be sabotaged by a raccoon or cat. Snakes are very good at finding bird nests too. For that reason, I prefer to put mine in plain sight where I can keep an eye on it. Putting it on conduit as I suggested earlier in the article is a good idea and will discourage a lot of predators.
Be sure to put nest boxes out of sight from each other if you install more than one. Bluebirds are territorial and they have to catch a lot of insects to feed their young. Be sure to clean out the boxes each year.