Bluebirds Close to Home

Bluebirds can bring flashes of azure color and mellow songs to where you live. The best way to bring them close to home is with nest boxes. You’ll need an untreated wood box with a one-and-a-half inch hole five feet above the ground. Finding the right place for the nest box is important, too. Shrubs that bear small fruits can entice bluebirds. Find instructions for building an effective bluebird nest box below.

BirdNote^®

Bluebirds Close to Home

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[Eastern Bluebird song]

Who wouldn’t want bluebirds nesting close by? Flashes of azure as they fly, their mellow, burbled songs. They’re the birds our culture links with happiness.
And the best way to bring bluebirds close to home is with nest boxes.

[Western Bluebird song]

The right kind of box is critical: an untreated wood box with a one-and-a-half inch hole, situated five feet above the ground.

Bluebirds are early migrants, so have your box in place before they arrive. Keep in mind it’s the presence of good nesting spots that attracts them. Even with a box in place, it could take weeks for bluebirds to check it out.

[Eastern Bluebird song]

Males claim and defend boxes, then lead females to inspect their choice.

[Mountain Bluebird song]

Bluebirds catch insects on the wing and also enjoy berries. Entice them by planting shrubs that bear small fruits, like elderberry and dogwood.

Plan ahead, and bring the birds of happiness closer to home.

[Eastern Bluebird song]

You can find links to great resources on bluebirds and how to build the right kind of nest box at our website, BirdNote dot org. I’m Mary McCann.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Eastern Bluebird ML 534419 recorded by W. Hershberger, Western Bluebird ML 44896 recorded by G. Keller, and Mountain Bluebird ML 43462621 recorded by A. Spencer.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote December 2021/February 2024 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# bluebird-01-2021-12-15 bluebird-01

References:
https://www.audubon.org/news/how-build-bluebird-nest-box
Bluebird information site (Sialis) http://www.sialis.org
http://sialis.org/nestboxguide.htm 
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/opinion/2021-ha…