Bluebirds are one of the most loved backyard wildlife visitors, and it’s easy to see why! With their brilliant blue feathers, warm red breasts, and cheery call, they bring a certain beauty and liveliness to any outdoor space. Watching them perch on fenceposts, catch insects, and raise their young is a joy for any nature lover.
However, bluebirds haven’t always had it easy. Due to habitat loss, competition from invasive species like house sparrows and starlings, and a decline in natural nesting sites, their populations dropped drastically in the early 20th century.
Fortunately, bluebirds became one of the earliest success stories in conservation movement- Thanks to dedicated efforts from conservation enthusiasts providing nest boxes and suitable habitats, their numbers have rebounded to stable levels and continue to grow every year.
If you’re wondering how to attract bluebirds and get them to nest, I can happily tell you from experience that bluebirds are very accommodating as long as their basic needs are met. These include:
- A reliable food source
- Fresh water for drinking and bathing
- Open space with suitable habitat
- Safe nesting spots, protected from predators and competition
By providing the right conditions, you can create a bluebird-friendly environment and play a role in continuing their conservation success. Read on to learn how!
What do Bluebirds Eat?
A Bluebird’s diet consists mostly of insects and berries, with a balance of around 2/3 insects and 1/3 berries. Their preferred food source is insects, as these provide the necessary proteins to lay eggs and raise young.
Bluebirds will turn to berries in the winter, especially as insects die off or go dormant. Many bluebirds migrate south in the Winter to have better access to food and water.
Feeding Bluebirds
Since Bluebirds feed mostly on insects and fruit, they don’t typically visit birdfeeders. They prefer to forage for insects on the ground, and will sometimes pick them off plants or even out of the air.
If you really want to get bluebirds to visit your feeders, your best bet is to put out mealworms. These are the larvae of a type of beetle, and are widely available in dried form. You will need to put up a special feeder for these to keep them from getting wet and rotting, I’ll try to include a link at some point in our recommended resources section.
Selecting Plants that Provide Food for Bluebirds
We don’t typically put out mealworm feeders for the bluebirds, since it can get expensive to keep buying mealworms, and long-term sustainability may be in question.
My preferred way to help the bluebirds is to select good native plants that will support their food and shelter needs.
When looking for plants that will provide food for bluebirds, you need to consider more than just berry-producing plants.
The best plants to select would be ones that host a variety of butterfly and moth caterpillars, since these are the main food of bluebirds.
An excellent resource for this is the NWF’s plant finder – This is a great tool for finding plants that support insects, which are a vital part of the food web of many birds and animals.
Remember not to spray insecticides on your gardens, as this completely defeats the purpose! If you have a good selection of plants adapted to your area, you will attract birds and predatory pollinators that will keep insect populations under control.
How do I Provide Water for Bluebirds?
In addition to food, Bluebirds also need water. While any water source will work, their preference is for moving shallow water such as streams and springs. A birdbath or a fountain will provide their water needs.
Remember that bluebirds still need water in the winter if they stay around! If all other water sources are frozen, then it becomes vital to provide some source of thawed water.
During the main season, this isn’t so much of an issue unless the weather turns dry for an extended period of time.
Bird Baths
Bluebirds will usually visit bird baths, especially ones that are placed directly on the ground.
When preparing a bird bath for bluebirds specifically, make sure that the water isn’t too deep, and that there is sufficient perching space around the rim of the bird bath.
Bluebirds have an affinity for moving water, so consider putting some kind of birdbath agitator in your birdbath – These solar-powered devices have vibrating pads on them that agitate the water. This makes it more likely for bluebirds to use the birdbath, plus it helps to keep mosquitoes from breeding in your birdbath.
If you are in an area where some bluebirds overwinter, you may need a birdbath heater. As long as the weather stays above 0 degrees or so, these plug-in heaters work very well to keep the water thawed.
Aside: A native prairie plant, Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum), functions as a natural bird bath! The leaves "cup" the stem, hence the name, and collect rainwater that birds will happily utilize as a bath.
Cup plant hosts a variety of insects and is topped with sunflower-like blooms, and its bold texture makes an interesting statement in the landscape. Definitely worth checking out!
Fountains
Ideally, Bluebirds prefer moving water. If you have a natural spring or stream in your yard, that is more than sufficient. Thankfully, artificial streams and especially fountains, are very easy to make yourself. I had a backyard waterfall next to our patio which I sadly had to remove when we added on to our house, but I am planning on adding it back in. I’ll try to include a step-by-step guide of how I install it when I finally get around to it!
What is a Bluebird’s Preferred Habitat?
Bluebirds are birds of open, grassy areas with some trees and shrubs around to perch in.
They really like the area at the edge of woods or a hedgerow along a pasture – They hunt for bugs in the grass, and fly back to the hedgerow trees for safety.
Bluebirds don’t like overgrown, brushy areas – In these areas, wrens seem to outcompete bluebirds. They really proliferate in large lawns, golf courses, parks, and anywhere else that has some open area.
They will nest in wooded areas as long as the understory isn’t too thick, such as the old remnant forest tracts in agricultural fields.
How to Make Your Yard a Bluebird Habitat
It really doesn’t take much effort to make your yard more bluebird-friendly.
Here at the Garden, we always see bluebirds flying around. We let one area of pasture go unmowed for a season, and put up nesting boxes. As a result we have had at least 3 successful pairs every year since we did this.
What are Problems Bluebirds Face?
While Bluebirds are very easy to attract, it is important to remember that they do face some problems.
The main difficulties they face are predators and other birds that will compete for their nesting space.
Common Predators of Bluebirds
The main predators of Bluebird adults are housecats and hawks. Make sure that your yard has plenty of twiggy small trees and shrubs that the bluebirds can duck into to get away from them.
Also make sure that it doesn’t get too overgrown around your birdbath and houses. Cats will take advantage of the cover and hide in wait for birds.
Snakes, raccoons, squirrels and chipmunks will sometimes get into the nesting boxes and eat the eggs or young hatchlings – For tips on how to control nest predators, scroll down to the Nesting Box Location section.
Competitors of Bluebirds
The biggest competitor of bluebirds by far are house sparrows, sometimes called English Sparrows.
These birds are much more aggressive than bluebirds, and take over nest boxes earlier in the season than bluebirds. Sparrows are very difficult to keep out once they’ve taken over a nesting box, and the best solution at that point may be to clean the box out and move it.
House sparrows mainly congregate around houses and barns, so by moving your nesting box at least 100 feet away from the nearest human structure, you’re increasing the chances of your bluebirds nesting successfully.
Moving on to our next topic: Nest placement!
Where should I place my Bluebird Nesting Boxes?
While bluebird boxes are very easy to install and can be installed almost anywhere, some care should be taken when choosing a site. Here are some of the factors that you will need to consider:
The Best Location for Bluebird Nesting Boxes
The best location for a Bluebird Nesting Box would ideally be in an open, grassy area with trees not too far away. A key example of this is pastureland – Here in Eastern North America, pastures are usually surrounded by forest, and this is where Bluebirds really proliferate.
Make sure that you don’t put the nesting box right at the edge of the woods or in a shrubby area – These places are the preferred habitat of House Wrens, and they will claim a nesting box right away. They are also fiercely competitive, keeping Bluebirds from being able to nest.
As I mentioned earlier, you will definitely need to keep the nesting box away from buildings, with 100 feet being the minimum to keep house sparrows and starlings from discovering them.
How Far Apart should Bluebird Nesting Boxes Be?
In order to prevent conflict between pairs of bluebirds, try to keep your nesting boxes at least 150 feet apart. Each box has the potential of raising a brood of young, so try to put as many on your property as you can fit within that distance!
Side Note – If you are looking to purchase a bluebird nesting box, I recommend the round Gilbertson-style ones. My brother got a few of these several years ago (I can’t even remember where from), and they have been extremely successful. House sparrows do not like the smaller, deeper box, and the design makes it hard for predators to get in.
These boxes are somewhat hard to find, and not a lot of large stores sell them. If you are handy with tools and like to build birdhouses, here’s the original plan – They are very straightforward to make!
Which Direction should my Bluebird Box Face?
Place your bluebird nesting box so that the entrance faces away from the hot sun and away from the prevailing wind. I usually place them facing East, since our strongest winds come from the West and South. We also get really hot afternoon sun, so I consider that as well when placing the box.
Bluebirds begin coming back up from the south in mid-March, and they select nesting sites right away. Be sure to have your boxes cleaned out and put up by March 15th.
Hopefully I’ve given you some helpful, actionable tips for getting bluebirds to nest – I wish you the best with your bluebird endeavors this year!
The plans did not come up. Where do I find them? My son is capable of fabricating.
Sorry about that, Janet! Looks like the original link is broken. I have updated the link now.
Best of luck attracting bluebirds!