By Carla Burgess
- Introduction
- Bird and Box Tips
- Identifying Other Species
- Feeding Bluebirds
- Cool Links
- Download
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Bird and Box Tips
Building and Mounting Boxes
A versatile and functional bluebird box has a fixed floor, three fixed walls, and a front wall that swivels at the top and latches at the bottom. Entrance holes should be no smaller than 1 1/2 inches and no larger than 1 9/16 inches (to exclude starlings, which are larger than bluebirds). Perches are not recommended. Floor size should be either 4-by-4 inches or 5-by-5 inches. Boxes must have ventilation and drainage holes in each corner. Birdhouses may be mounted on wooden, metal or PVC poles. Baffles on the poles made of plastic or aluminum tubing will discourage predators like snakes and raccoons.
Place boxes at a height convenient for monitoring, usually 5 feet. Allow 100 feet between boxes, as bluebirds are territorial. Select a site near open or mowed areas, but not too open—bluebirds need a high perch nearby from which to spot prey. Boxes may be erected year-round. Put up new ones by mid-winter to recruit birds.
- For educational brochures or to order boxes, feeders, specialty hardware or handy cardboard nest cups, contact Homes for Bluebirds, P.O. Box 699, Bailey, N.C. 27807, www.danfinch.com/birds.htm or (252) 235-4664.
- The N.C. Bluebird Society has county coordinators who provide bluebird house plans, tips and reference material. To find the coordinator in your county, visit the society’s Web site at www.ncbluebird.com. Or call Chuck Bliss at (336) 625-5423.
- The North American Bluebird Society also offers plans, fact sheets and other resources. Visit www.nabluebirdsociety.org/ or call (330) 359-5511.
Monitoring and Maintaining Boxes
The Birdhouse Network provides field worksheets and instructions for recording and submitting your data. Your input helps biologists expand the body of scientific information. See www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/ or call (800) 843-BIRD. Observe and record nesting activity, including when egg-laying begins each season, what materials the birds use for building the nest, size of the clutches and survival rate of young. Remove any dead babies as soon as you see them but leave unhatched eggs alone. Clean out boxes between each brood, removing old nest material, blowfly larvae and other insects, and debris. Check for and fix any leaks.
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