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How To Get Bluebirds In Your Backyard Part 1: Evaluating Your Property For Bluebirds EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a two-part series on bluebirds and bluebird nest boxes. This column covers evaluating your property for bluebirds. Next month's column will center on construction and installation of bluebird nest boxes. In the last issue of Montana Best Times we discussed the fine points of identifying the three species of bluebirds (Mountain, Western, and Eastern) found in Montana. Now let's see if your property qualifies as bluebird habitat. One of the main limiting factors of bluebirds are their nest sites - or the lack of them. Before you get too excited about putting up a nest box you need to ask yourself the following: Does my property adjoin a large open meadow, abandoned field or native grassland? Is there an adequate supply of insects on the ground? Are house pets like cats and dogs secure or controlled enough that they will not bother the bluebirds? Are there no predators like American Kestrels or Black-billed Magpies nearby? Am I committed to the annual cleanup and maintenance of the nest box? Do I want a bird that Henry David Thoreau described as "carrying the sky on its back" on my property? If the answer to these questions is yes, you are following the yellow brick road to bluebird happiness. Take it from me, having bluebirds on your property is a real treat. Watching those feathered gemstones flying near my house is something I look forward to on a daily basis. Each morning before dawn they give an off-tone whistle that is my alarm clock to get out of bed and do something and take notice of the Montana outdoors. If bluebirds are given enough space they will adapt to human presence. In 1993, we built our present home in Gardiner in sagebrush grassland habitat. I always dreamed of having bluebirds close to the house. So I crafted a bluebird nest box and placed it on our deck, and established a buffer zone where humans could work and bluebirds could nest. It worked and Mountain Bluebirds have been nesting in this box for years, and having two clutches most years. At our home we set up some rules: Don't approach the bluebird nest box too closely too often, have a birdbath nearby (bluebirds and especially bluebird families enjoy bathing), have perches available for landing and hunting, and clean out the nest boxes before they arrive in early March. Every several years there is a change of bluebird mates, probably due to mortality. But the bluebirds keep returning and we keep enjoying them around our house. The bluebirds are so tame, in fact, that we can sit out on our deck and have them land within 7 feet of where we are sitting. What has worked for the bluebirds is that our bluebird box offers security from predators, space from people, a good insect food source, water for bathing and perches for hunting. It is a win-win situation for both bluebirds and ourselves and I know we got the best end of the deal. If you are interested in Montana bluebirds, you should become familiar with the name Art Aylesworth. Art was the godfather of bluebirds in Montana, and resided in the Flathead Valley. He built or was responsible for the building of thousands of bluebird nest boxes in Montana, and was instrumental in establishing the Montana bluebird trail system. Unfortunately Art passed away, but left Montana with a legacy in bluebird conservation that will never be matched in our lifetime. When you set up a bluebird nest box, there are always nuisance birds that will try to take over the nest box. Northern Flickers will try to widen the nest hole. For flickers, tie some flagging near the hole. In a short period of time this will cause them to move on, after which remove the flagging. Tree Swallows and in some cases House Sparrows will try to take over the box as well. If the nest box is set up early enough - in February - the bluebirds should prevail. As an alternative for the bluebirds, offer another nest box at least 50 to 100 yards away and out of sight if possible. In the effort to get bluebirds on their property, some people will provide food in the form of mealworms for them. I prefer to allow them to get natural food on their own. This way they are not left high and dry should a snowstorm hit or if you happen to go on vacation because they have become dependent on the food source. The best time to set up a nest box is in the spring before the birds arrive. However, you can put one up now and hopefully by next spring you will have bluebirds nesting in it. With a better understanding of the habitat food and habitat requirements of bluebirds, we can move on to the construction and placement of nest boxes - the subject of Part 2 next month. Enjoy! And the Best of Big Sky Birding to you!
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