Bluebird Nesting Boxes and the Bluebird Trail

I recently learned from an authority on such matters that a standing dead tree provides more habitat for wildlife than a living tree. Loss of habitat for our nesting friends is not limited by our want to remove dead trees from our properties. The clearing of lands for development, highways, and the loss of farm and croplands, all conspire to make it more and more difficult for many species of birds to endure, no less flourish.

Bluebirds in particular are in some peril. With a little bit of help, you can effect a change for these beautiful birds. Here’s a few do’s and don’ts to get started with Bluebirds, a project young children will especially take pride in creating.

Getting started with Bluebirds

There are some specifics for the Bluebird box; no perches, and various sized holes depending on your location. Here in Aubuchon country, we have Eastern bluebirds, and these birds prefer an entrance hole measuring 1-3/8 x 2-1/4”. If you’re sending a gift to a California friend, you will need a box suitable for Western range bluebirds.

If you wish to build your own boxes as a DIY project, you can download a PDF of the contruction from the North American Bluebird Society here → http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/

Worried I’d be late to the Bluebird rescue if I chose to build my own, I opted to buy the simplest of nesting boxes, made to the exact specifications the Bluebird Society recommends. At www.hardwarestore.com, you will find both the simple bird house box I used to for the Bluebird trail, as well as fancier accommodations for “in town” birds or those who prefer more stylish upgrades.

The Bluebrid Trail

Bluebirds prefer an open rural setting with some scattered perch trees and sparse ground cover. They prefer a nearby perch site along their trail, where they can take a rest on tree branches or a fence line while on the hunt for food. I believe Bluebirds like some solitude in their environment, and thrive best away from the competition of other nesting birds, and people. In practice, a vast, well maintained cemetery lined end to end with Bluebird Nesting box trails would be the very habitat any Eastern Bluebird would rate a five star accommodation.

If you discover the Bluebirds are not impressed by your efforts or your habitat, a sparrow or a wren will quickly occupy your Bluebird box if you add on a perch, or an additional entrance.

Here on the farm, small colorful birdhouses are set out far and away from the more utilitarian and hopeful environs of the Bluebird trail. In all, there’s plenty of room here to support the activities of nesting birds, which adds a difficult to describe dimension to our outdoor living experience once the no vacancy sign goes up.

As for the Bluebirds, I’ll relocate theses nesting boxes if they remain unoccupied this year, and I’ll try again to find a suitable location where they would prefer to gather. I won’t give up on them, and hopefully neither will you-there’s nothing more beautiful to see than a long line of Bluebirds loving life on their Bluebird trail.