By Carla Burgess

• Introduction
• Bird and Box Tips
• Identifying Other Species
• Feeding Bluebirds
• Cool Links
• Download the full article as a  

Identifying Other Species

Bluebirds build neat, cup-shaped nests made of weed stems, grasses and sometimes pine straw. House sparrow nests are tall and messy, sometimes made of trash. Remove these nests, or better yet, locate your boxes away from places where house sparrows abound—such as close to your house or near a source of grain. Do not disturb nests of other native species that may use the box, such as tree swallows, flycatchers, wrens, chickadees and titmice. These are protected by law and are desirable species you can still have fun observing.