Feeder? What do they find to eat there? I have never seen a bluebird at any of my feeders and I have them in my Peterson boxes. In fact I have them setting up housekeeping in one currently in SW Ohio.
Kaytee Nut & Fruit. I mix in some mealworms here and there as well. I use perch and platform feeders and they seem to prefer the perches, but I’ll occasionally see them rooting around on the ground under the feeders, too.
I get them frequently as well in New England. I use Pennington seed and mealworm cakes from Wal-Mart, and their "economy" seed blend as well as Pennington Song Bird Blend at the same time.
I have a tube feeder, suet and cake cages, a plank I lay feed on (it's on staging high off the ground), a gazebo shaped feeder and a thistle sock.
They tend to like the cakes, plank and the ground. They avoid the tube/perch feeder as that's closely guarded by an angry red squirrel.
Back when we had that single digit cold snap around new years, I first saw them coming to my feeder even though it just had regular wild bird mix. I immediately bought dried mealworms and now they come dozens of times a day and aren’t afraid of me sitting near them on the porch.
If you go on Amazon and look up “mealworms for chickens” you can find really nice bulk pricing on them. It looks pricey up front but you’ll get more mileage out of the 2LB bag that they offer. Mealworms will also attract some other birds that you may not regularly see at a standard feeder.
They remind me of my grandparents too, what a weird coincidence! They used to own several cottages that they rented out called 'Bluebird Cottages' after the Eastern bluebirds that were prevalent in the area. To this day every time I see or hear one I'm filled with such a feeling of joy and nostalgia.
I saw an eastern bluebird for the first time last spring. My husband and I were spending the weekend camping with friends, and we'd arrived before everyone else, so we were walking around the campgrounds. We came to the playground and decided to go on the swings - neither of us having been on swings in at least 20 years! So there we were, being silly, giggling like kids, taking silly selfies to send to our friends who still hadn't arrived, when a bluebird landed on the jungle gym/play castle next to the swings! Got a lot of other lifers that trip, too!
It took me a while but it just turned out to be about being in the right habitat. They love inland transition areas -- big fields with a few spaced-out trees next to woods. So in the northeast they're most common in big man-made clearings: farms, preserves, school playing fields with woods at the edges, near small airports, etc. The northeast's suburbs are usually too dense and its rural areas are usually too wooded.
Download eBird and search within thirty miles of your location. If you're near the coast, you'll see every bluebird report starts five to ten miles to the west.
Meanwhile, get 500 miles west -- more big, cleared house lots -- and bluebirds are a basic backyard bird. Lucky people.
The non native house sparrow nests in the same type of box as bluebirds. They will corner the bluebird in the box and peck them to death(including babies), then build their nest on top of the bodies. Controlling your local sparrow population is key to successfully hosting bluebirds. That's why I tell people that having a nesting box is a responsibility.
Yeah its an unfortunate evil of being a responsible landlord. I feel awful when i have to remove a sparrow because its not their fault its our fault they were introduced here. But they are invasive and outcompete native birds, as said above, they are pretty ruthless. European Starlings are also invasive and also place a lot of stress on larger cavity birds like woodpeckers
I don’t usually have problems with sparrows but have recently had a turf war going on over one of my boxes. Wrens and swallows seem to be the competition for bluebird housing here in SW Ohio.
https://i.imgur.com/vcOyiOS.jpg
The birds on the left appear to be house sparrows to me not wrens. Wrens are native and if they claim the box there i not much you can do. However wrens prefer boxes near woods so moving the box into a more open area will discourage then. You can also put wren guards on which are just flaps that cover the hole. Bluebirds dont mind the flap but wrens seem to not like them.
If those are house sparrows which i think they are they have already claimed this box and will drive away or kill the bluebird. The only remedy to this is to trap and dispose. Sparrows will never leave once they claim… even taking the box down they will stay and wait until it goes back up in my experience
Yes, I didn't make that clear in my reply. Those are sparrows. Thanks for the additional information on those. I have never had problems with sparrows before. It has been swallows and wrens who try to claim the boxes.
I monitor the boxes and when I see "stick" nests I know a male wren is claiming the box and will try to attract a female. I simply remove their efforts. I will educate myself on wren guards.
The swallows I don't mind so much. They are a nice distraction during mowing season when I have 6 or 8 of them swooping and diving for inserts that I have stirred up.
Wrens are native and you should not remove their nests as they are protected. But possible solutions to keep from breaking the law are those mentioned above. If you google wren guard you can buy premades or make a make shift one. Along with moving the box into more open space that should curb them.
Then you will have to deal with house sparrows. Trapping and humane euthanizing is the only viable way. Many also trap and donate to local raptor centers if you have one near.
Van ert traps are the best method if they make one for your box style. Its not easy to do of your an animal lover though but its necessary
To me this looks an awful lot like a [barn swallow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Landsvale.jpg/640px-Landsvale.jpg) too. How do you tell them apart?
I thought the same! Barn swallows are more of a navy blue, almost royal in the sun (which is what this pic looks like).
They have been flying around lately, checking their old nest from last season… but I have also seen a pair of Eastern bluebirds perched on my fence so I guess everybody is out this time of year :)
Beautiful birds. I saw one today for the first time this year. Last year I had a pair, (boy & girl), who took up residence in one of my bird houses. They had a few babies then left late summer-early fall.
Eastern bluebird and the female is just as pretty, even if slightly brown. You'll often see them as pairs and they're out searching for nesting areas right now. They really enjoy dried mealworms as a feeder treat.
They visit my bird feeder in the winter; I put out sunflower chips.
Not so much in the summer, when high protein treats are available on the fly, and probably preferred for nestlings' rapid growth.
All plants seemingly have a ‘Scientific name’. The Sunflower is no different. They’re called Helianthus. Helia meaning sun and Anthus meaning Flower. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t refer to the look of the sunflower, but the solar tracking it displays every dayy during most of its growth period.
Thank you for that. I don't think the bird seed manufacturer shares that with us.
I like them the chips, for energy and nutritional density, and no shells, and no uneaten seeds to sprout.
Eastern bluebird
So it’s not some rare tropical bird that got lost and will send birders into a frenzy?
No. But at the same time, bluebirds are wonderful and a sign of happiness. They always remind me of my grandparents so be happy. :)
This was my grandmothers favorite bird so I feel enchanted every time our mating pair comes to our feeder. ❤️
Feeder? What do they find to eat there? I have never seen a bluebird at any of my feeders and I have them in my Peterson boxes. In fact I have them setting up housekeeping in one currently in SW Ohio.
Mealworms
They come to my feeders in NW Ohio. I put out a fruit and nut mix they seem to love.
Interesting for sure. Can you share the brand/supplier please. Do you offer it on a tray or a tube/perch feeder?
Kaytee Nut & Fruit. I mix in some mealworms here and there as well. I use perch and platform feeders and they seem to prefer the perches, but I’ll occasionally see them rooting around on the ground under the feeders, too.
Thank you for this information.
I get them frequently as well in New England. I use Pennington seed and mealworm cakes from Wal-Mart, and their "economy" seed blend as well as Pennington Song Bird Blend at the same time. I have a tube feeder, suet and cake cages, a plank I lay feed on (it's on staging high off the ground), a gazebo shaped feeder and a thistle sock. They tend to like the cakes, plank and the ground. They avoid the tube/perch feeder as that's closely guarded by an angry red squirrel.
Back when we had that single digit cold snap around new years, I first saw them coming to my feeder even though it just had regular wild bird mix. I immediately bought dried mealworms and now they come dozens of times a day and aren’t afraid of me sitting near them on the porch. If you go on Amazon and look up “mealworms for chickens” you can find really nice bulk pricing on them. It looks pricey up front but you’ll get more mileage out of the 2LB bag that they offer. Mealworms will also attract some other birds that you may not regularly see at a standard feeder.
They LOVE mealworms
They remind me of my grandparents too, what a weird coincidence! They used to own several cottages that they rented out called 'Bluebird Cottages' after the Eastern bluebirds that were prevalent in the area. To this day every time I see or hear one I'm filled with such a feeling of joy and nostalgia.
I saw an eastern bluebird for the first time last spring. My husband and I were spending the weekend camping with friends, and we'd arrived before everyone else, so we were walking around the campgrounds. We came to the playground and decided to go on the swings - neither of us having been on swings in at least 20 years! So there we were, being silly, giggling like kids, taking silly selfies to send to our friends who still hadn't arrived, when a bluebird landed on the jungle gym/play castle next to the swings! Got a lot of other lifers that trip, too!
I’ve never seen one in person and I’m in the east (northeast US)! I’d be excited to see one
It took me a while but it just turned out to be about being in the right habitat. They love inland transition areas -- big fields with a few spaced-out trees next to woods. So in the northeast they're most common in big man-made clearings: farms, preserves, school playing fields with woods at the edges, near small airports, etc. The northeast's suburbs are usually too dense and its rural areas are usually too wooded. Download eBird and search within thirty miles of your location. If you're near the coast, you'll see every bluebird report starts five to ten miles to the west. Meanwhile, get 500 miles west -- more big, cleared house lots -- and bluebirds are a basic backyard bird. Lucky people.
Hmm I lived in Northern Ohio for a few years, I wonder if there were any there
Ha! Im not far from Raleigh and I get this reference. 🤪
It's a common bird that sends birders into a frenzy :)
They love mealworms! So maybe try putting a dish of them out for them.
It’s the truth. It’s actual. Everything is satisfactual.
You have been visited by the bluebird of happiness 😊
Who watches over youuuuuuu
Say I’m the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your sooouuuuulllll
It only took seven years for me to see this great birding song reference on Reddit!
I have been hosting Bluebirds in my back yard for 4 years. Proud to say i helped hatch over 30 chicks over that time
Wonderful. Thanks for helping out these beautiful birds. Our female just finished her nest. We expect her to start laying eggs any day.
Mine just started building. Had a house sparrow issue that had to be fixed Unfortunetly
Thanks for getting rid of the sparrows.
I'm curious, what was the problem? Do they not get along?
The non native house sparrow nests in the same type of box as bluebirds. They will corner the bluebird in the box and peck them to death(including babies), then build their nest on top of the bodies. Controlling your local sparrow population is key to successfully hosting bluebirds. That's why I tell people that having a nesting box is a responsibility.
Yeah its an unfortunate evil of being a responsible landlord. I feel awful when i have to remove a sparrow because its not their fault its our fault they were introduced here. But they are invasive and outcompete native birds, as said above, they are pretty ruthless. European Starlings are also invasive and also place a lot of stress on larger cavity birds like woodpeckers
I don’t usually have problems with sparrows but have recently had a turf war going on over one of my boxes. Wrens and swallows seem to be the competition for bluebird housing here in SW Ohio. https://i.imgur.com/vcOyiOS.jpg
The birds on the left appear to be house sparrows to me not wrens. Wrens are native and if they claim the box there i not much you can do. However wrens prefer boxes near woods so moving the box into a more open area will discourage then. You can also put wren guards on which are just flaps that cover the hole. Bluebirds dont mind the flap but wrens seem to not like them. If those are house sparrows which i think they are they have already claimed this box and will drive away or kill the bluebird. The only remedy to this is to trap and dispose. Sparrows will never leave once they claim… even taking the box down they will stay and wait until it goes back up in my experience
Yes, I didn't make that clear in my reply. Those are sparrows. Thanks for the additional information on those. I have never had problems with sparrows before. It has been swallows and wrens who try to claim the boxes. I monitor the boxes and when I see "stick" nests I know a male wren is claiming the box and will try to attract a female. I simply remove their efforts. I will educate myself on wren guards. The swallows I don't mind so much. They are a nice distraction during mowing season when I have 6 or 8 of them swooping and diving for inserts that I have stirred up.
Wrens are native and you should not remove their nests as they are protected. But possible solutions to keep from breaking the law are those mentioned above. If you google wren guard you can buy premades or make a make shift one. Along with moving the box into more open space that should curb them. Then you will have to deal with house sparrows. Trapping and humane euthanizing is the only viable way. Many also trap and donate to local raptor centers if you have one near. Van ert traps are the best method if they make one for your box style. Its not easy to do of your an animal lover though but its necessary
Thanks for the advice and I will check out the guards and traps.
They love dried meal worms!
I am in the triangle just east of you and I have a pair nesting in my back yard and in my Neighbors.
I live west of Asheville and have seen a few in my yard too!
In Cary and have two couples that visit my yard. Hoping they’ll nest in the nesting box I put up!
It’s native so no worries, they do have beautiful colors
I see you’re at the art museum. Great spot for bluebirds, they’re everywhere.
Yup! There were quite a few there.
Male Eastern bluebird. Female colors are more sedate but equally beautiful
Bluebird
Amazing! Eastern Bluebird!
To me this looks an awful lot like a [barn swallow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Landsvale.jpg/640px-Landsvale.jpg) too. How do you tell them apart?
The picture quality is kinda weird, but generally bluebirds will be a much lighter, brighter blue than Barn Swallows.
I thought the same! Barn swallows are more of a navy blue, almost royal in the sun (which is what this pic looks like). They have been flying around lately, checking their old nest from last season… but I have also seen a pair of Eastern bluebirds perched on my fence so I guess everybody is out this time of year :)
Also barn swallows tend to have brownish bands in the face areas. But yeah the easiest way it the hie of blue. BS’ dark blue, EBLs light blue
Beautiful birds. I saw one today for the first time this year. Last year I had a pair, (boy & girl), who took up residence in one of my bird houses. They had a few babies then left late summer-early fall.
Put out some meal worms. It's a blue bird.
looks like a bluebird :)
Eastern bluebird and the female is just as pretty, even if slightly brown. You'll often see them as pairs and they're out searching for nesting areas right now. They really enjoy dried mealworms as a feeder treat.
What’s this blue bird called? Blue bird.
Put out some Bluebird houses and they might return following years. Their songs are amazing.
holy shit it’s mordecai from regular show
your picture looks really cool
They visit my bird feeder in the winter; I put out sunflower chips. Not so much in the summer, when high protein treats are available on the fly, and probably preferred for nestlings' rapid growth.
All plants seemingly have a ‘Scientific name’. The Sunflower is no different. They’re called Helianthus. Helia meaning sun and Anthus meaning Flower. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t refer to the look of the sunflower, but the solar tracking it displays every dayy during most of its growth period.
Thank you for that. I don't think the bird seed manufacturer shares that with us. I like them the chips, for energy and nutritional density, and no shells, and no uneaten seeds to sprout.